The orca in difficulty in the Seine between Rouen and Le Havre was found dead at the end of the morning, Monday May 30, announced Sea Shepherd France on Twitter. “We are currently with her to prevent her body from being hit by a ship, which would compromise the autopsy. We are waiting for the team mobilized by the State to recover it”said the NGO dedicated to the defense and protection of the ocean.
Unfortunately, we found the body of the orca this morning at 11:48. We are currently with her for… https://t.co/KvMOlXuz4W
The killer whale, whose state of health had been judged “alarming” by the veterinarian, was to be euthanized, the Seine-Maritime prefecture said on Sunday, after operations to guide her to the sea using sound stimuli had failed. The animal was probably suffering from a “generalized mucormycosis type mycosis”an emerging disease observed in marine mammals in different parts of the world, particularly in North America.
“Cries of Distress”
“It is a condition (…) likely to affect immunocompromised animals”and experts have confirmed that the disease has reached “a very advanced stage, to the point that it would cause significant suffering to the animal”had underlined the prefecture.
The orca was first spotted on May 16 between Honfleur and Le Havre, near the Normandy bridge. The animal had probably arrived “already weakened” towards the Seine estuary, estimated Gérard Mauger, vice-president of the Cotentin Cetacean Study Group (GECC).
The operations carried out around the animal in the Seine had “highlighted a lack of alertness, inconsistent reactions to sound stimuli and erratic and disoriented behavior of the killer whale”according to the prefecture, which added that sound recordings had also revealed “vocalizations similar to cries of distress”.