France: marine mammal specialists will try to save the killer whale stranded in the Seine

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A drone will monitor the orca (our photo), 5 meters long, and will broadcast sounds of its congeners to try to reassure it and guide it towards the sea. REUTERS - PASCAL ROSSIGNOL

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Perhaps good news for this killer whale stranded in the Seine near Rouen and spotted for the first time on May 16.

The mammal will perhaps be able to return to the sea. In any case, this is the objective of a study group which has just drawn up a rescue plan.

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All hopes now rest on a technique proposed by French and international scientists.

The orca's state of health being very poor, these marine mammal specialists opted for a minimally invasive method, hundreds of meters away.

Avoid

aggravating the stress of the animal

The objective is to avoid aggravating his stress, which would reduce his chances of survival.

It is therefore a drone which will monitor the orca, 5 meters long, and which will broadcast sounds from its congeners to try to reassure it and guide it towards the sea.

Emergency

So it is still too early to know if the operation will be a success, but this method had already been used in Norway on a group of killer whales, which were however in better health.

Here, there is urgency because the body of the animal is covered with mycoses and the killer whales never evolve separated from their group, or in fresh water.

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• Environment

• Wildlife

• oceans