Beluga whale trapped in River Seine euthanized | USA TODAY

Rescuers were able to remove the Beluga whale from the Seine, but it was later euthanized due to its worsening conditions.

RELATED: Experts fear trapped Beluga whale may starve

The cetacean was euthanized while on its way to a saltwater pool in Normandy after being stuck at Saint-Pierre-La-Garenne, a freshwater lock 45 miles northwest of Paris, starting on Aug. 2. The whale's health quickly deteriorated after it refused food, according to the conservation group Sea Shepherd France.

Weighing about 1,800 pounds, the whale was at least 800 pounds underweight, and veterinary exams revealed no digestive activity. Authorities injected the all-white Beluga with vitamins Saturday in hopes of reviving its appetite and strength. Rescuers described it Monday as alert but not eating.

» Subscribe to USA TODAY:
» Watch more on this and other topics from USA TODAY:
» USA TODAY delivers current local and national news, sports, entertainment, finance, technology, and more through award-winning journalism, photos, videos and VR.

#Beluga #Whale #France

26 comments

    1. @Maria D They wouldn’t have killed it if they had not procrastinated in transferring her into the ocean. You make a blunder and then overlook the ramifications of the blunder by not taking accountability for it.

  1. Why did they wait a week for moving the poor animal? day after day its health condition was getting worse….too sad officials wait so long for trying to release him in ocean….

  2. Can’t save a sick whale, but we can keep a 1,000 year of rich guy alive until he looks like the Cryptkeeper.

    I understand not wanting to make the animal suffer, but how lightly populated would our world be if we gave up on humans as quickly as we do animals?

  3. People who comment without knowing the whole story are very exhausting.
    The whale was already in terrible condition when it was spotted in the Seine. They hesitated, didn’t really know what to do. If she stays here she’ll die, if we try to move her, knowing she’s extremely weak, she might die too. They decided to act but her condition was getting worse so they ended her suffering instead of letting her die in agony. Yes, they could have acted faster and maybe she would have had a better chance of survival but we’ll never know. I doubt it personally. I’m pretty sure they tried their best though.

  4. Woooooow took to long to act and then they have to kill??? All the brilliant minds, thec and infinite possibilities they just kill. So much for this brilliant, educated and self driving generations.

  5. Way to go HUMANS! Couldnt just leave it alone..Not going to be happy until the whole planets dead are ya Satan

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.