There is no good news about the beluga whale in the Seine. He continues to stay at a lock, but he feels worse. He still refuses to eat. The prospects are not good.
A completely emaciated beluga whale swimming in the Seine in France continues to refuse to eat. According to the authorities, he is in Normandy in a lock 70 kilometers from the capital Paris. The whale is still under surveillance. The Notre-Dame de la Garenne lock is about 200 meters long and may no longer be used until further notice.
The animal was first sighted in the Seine on Tuesday - beluga whales normally live in arctic waters off the coasts of Russia, Alaska and Canada. The French authorities had described the health of the sighted whale as worrying, he was "emaciated" and apparently suffering from "skin changes".
Animal rights activists had expressed hope on Friday that the whale would eat in the lock. The marine protection organization Sea Shepherd regretted that "the feeding attempts in the river have so far not interested the beluga". If the whale doesn't eat in the lock, things will get complicated, said Chairwoman Lamya Essemlali. "The veterinarians who specialize in beluga are telling us that we must act quickly because the animal is very emaciated and it will be very difficult to get it out of the water and take care of it."
According to experts, this is only the second time that a beluga whale has strayed to France. The first time a fisherman caught a whale in his nets was in 1948 in the Loire estuary.
