Beluga lost in the Seine: the cetacean had to be euthanized during its transfer

80 people were mobilized on the evening of Tuesday August 9 to take the beluga out of the Seine, and lead it to a salt water basin located on the coast at Ouistreham (Calvados). Unfortunately, the cetacean, too weakened, had to be euthanized. However, the first phase of the operation had gone well, and the animal with imposing dimensions, 800 tons, had been taken out of the river without incident.

A dozen veterinarians were at his side for the transport from the Eure to the salt water basin that was waiting for him. But they had to resolve to euthanize him during the trip. “His condition was not compatible with a release“, explains Florence Ollivet-Courtois, colonel of the veterinary firefighters of SDIS 91. The cetacean had been wandering for ten days in the Seine, and had stopped eating.