The Colorado Springs Gazette final

Whale lost in French river euthanized during rescue

BY THOMAS ADAMSON

PARIS • A beluga whale that became a French celebrity after a wrong turn took it up the Seine River had to be euthanized Wednesday after experiencing health complications during an urgent rescue operation, authorities said.

The sparkling white marine mammal appeared deep inside France last week, having accidentally veered off the normal ocean migration route that takes belugas to and from Arctic waters.

Fearing the malnourished creature would not survive in the Seine much longer, a wildlife conservation group and veterinarians planned to move the lost whale to a saltwater port in Normandy, from where they hoped to return it to the open sea.

A team of 80 people assembled to try to save the animal’s life, and it was successfully moved Tuesday night from a river lock in Saint-pierre-la-garenne, west of Paris, into a refrigerated truck for the 99-mile journey to the port in Ouistreham.

But during the drive, the 13-foot-long whale started to breath with difficulty, according to Florence Ollivet Courtois, a French veterinarian who worked on the rescue operation.

“During the journey, the veterinarians confirmed a worsening of its state, notably in its respiratory activities, and at the same time noticed the animal was in pain, not breathing enough,” Courtois said.

“The suffering was obvious for the animal, so it was important to release its tension, and so we had to proceed to euthanize it,” she added.

A necropsy is planned on the whale, which weighed about 1,764 pounds.

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2022-08-11T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-11T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/281595244308587

The Gazette, Colorado Springs