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A beluga whale accidentally trapped in France's Seine river must be euthanized Wednesday after being rescued from a waterway, she said after authorities announced. Died.
Whales have been stranded since last week, deviating from their normal path to the North Pole. Since Friday, conservationists have tried to feed a male marine mammal with fish, but the male refuses to eat.
As rescuers prepared to transfer the whale to a saltwater pool in Normandy, the dangerously thin whale began to have trouble breathing. Experts have determined that euthanizing the creature is the most humane thing to do.
"During the transfer, the veterinarian observed a worsening of its condition, particularly respiratory activity, while at the same time noticing that the animal was in pain and not breathing adequately," said Wild, France. Animal expert Florence Olivet Courtois said. "The animal's suffering was so obvious that it was important to de-stress, so it had to be euthanized."
Conservation group Sea Shepherd France said in a veterinary examination after the removal of the beluga: The river showed no digestive activity.
The photography group Sea Shepherd shows a beluga whale on the Seine in Notre-Dame-de-la-Garenne, west of Paris. (Sea Shepherd via AP)
Courtois was in pain during the approximately 99-mile drive toafter the whale was transferred to a refrigerated truck. said to have experienced Normandy coast.
A beluga whale pulls up from the Seine River. (Reuters/Benoît Tessier)
Rescue teams warned ahead of time that whales were at risk of dying from the stress associated with migration. rice field. However, the animal could not survive any longer in the fresh waters of the Seine, so it was deemed necessary to move.
Firefighters and Search and Rescue Team Members Raise France Nets rescue beluga whales that have strayed into the Seine, France, near the Notre-Dame-de-la-Garenne locks in Saint-Pierre-la-Garenne, France. (Reuters/Benoit Tessier)
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"The decision to euthanize the beluga whale was made because it was so weakened that it could not be returned to water," said Guillaume Léricole, deputy governor of the Calvados region of France. } Associated Press contributed to this report.
