The BBC wonders: “According to Pelagis, the Observatory for the Conservation of Marine Mammals and Birds in France, the closest beluga population to the Seine is in the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway.” How could a representative of this protected species from arctic waters end up in a meander of the Seine, “3,000 kilometers away” from there and “100 kilometers inland?” The animal, spotted on August 2 according to the Eure prefecture, has become the center of all national and international attention.
An observation by the menu
German TV news website daily News notes that this is only the second time that a beluga has been spotted in a French river, while“a fisherman from the Loire estuary had found one in his nets in 1948”.
The title relays the attempts to reinvigorate and medication the cetacean, stuck in a lock in Saint-Pierre-la-Garenne, “the time that the animal regains its appetite and can continue its journey towards the sea” :
“The vets gave him vitamins, appetite stimulants and medical treatment.”
An impressive rescue device
The efforts were not enough to restore the strength of the malnourished beluga, which was hoisted out of the water on August 10 for additional veterinary examinations. The BBC tells the extent of this operation, “involving some 80 people” and which was to allow the animal to be treated for several days before releasing it into the open sea.
“It took around six hours overnight to hoist the suffering cetacean – which weighs 800 kilos – out of the water. Rescuers transported him to a refrigerated truck which took him to the coast.”
A device “spectacular” but not fast enough, relates the BBC. The beluga, which could no longer breathe properly, was euthanized during transport.
“The French Moby Dick is dead”
“The animal was insufficiently ventilated, and therefore the suffering was evident”,explained the veterinarian of the fire center coordinating the operation, quoted by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitungwhich title: “The French Moby Dick is dead”.
His epic will have “aroused interest well beyond France, and preservation associations as well as citizens made financial donations to support the operation”, related to BBC. The newsrooms echoed this as far as Latin America: on its social networks, the Argentine daily Clarion pays tribute to the beluga’s odyssey by titling: “Sad ending”.