The weakened beluga whale stuck in a Seine lock in France is to be returned to the sea. "It seems possible for us to think about a transport to the sea," Deputy Prefect Isabelle Dorliat-Pouzet told BFMTV in Évreux on Monday.
Wal seemed too weak for transport at first
So far, this option has been ruled out because the whale seemed too weak for it. However, experts are now advising to venture the transport towards the English Channel. The option has been in the works since Monday morning. The white whale also behaved a little more dynamically than before on Monday, Dorliat-Pouzet told the broadcaster.
As the prefecture announced on Monday, the beluga whale, located around 70 kilometers from Paris in the river lock, is still being observed by experts, the fire brigade and gendarmerie are on site. The organization "Sea Shepherd France" reported that the beluga whale is still not eating, but is curious.
In the early morning, he rubbed himself against the lock wall for 30 minutes, removing stains that had formed on his back. Antibiotics might have helped, too.
It is not the first time that a large whale has strayed into the French river: in May an orca starved to death after weeks of odyssey in the Seine, in July a fin whale was presumably sighted in the river estuary near Le Havre.
