A beluga would have been seen in the Seine. An investigation is underway to learn more about his condition.
A marine animal, believed to be a beluga, a protected species of cetacean usually living in cold waters, was spotted in the Seine on Tuesday, the Eure prefecture announced on Wednesday. According to the study of the first pictures, “the animal would be a beluga”, “a protected species of cetacean usually living in arctic, subarctic waters and in the estuary of the St. Lawrence in Quebec”, indicates the prefecture in a press release, without specifying in which sector of the Seine the animal was seen, nor the size of the individual. In adulthood, a beluga measures about 4m.
The identification work was carried out jointly by the services of the French Office for Biodiversity and the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations. “An assessment of his state of health is underway in order to take the appropriate measures to optimize his chances of survival”, adds the press release, specifying that “it happens to isolated individuals to wander in more southern waters”, which can “temporarily survive in fresh water”.
The prefecture asks the population not to move around the site or try to approach the beluga so as “not to stress the animal during the information gathering phase”. She stresses that the State services “are mobilized for the preservation of wildlife and continue their continuous monitoring of the population”. At the beginning of June, an orca had been observed in the Seine, between Rouen and Le Havre. The animal was finally found dead and an autopsy favored death by starvation.