The orca in difficulty in the Seine will be euthanized

Europe 1 with AFP 9:38 p.m., May 29, 2022

The orca in difficulty in the Seine between Rouen and Le Havre will be euthanized, the Seine-Maritime prefecture said on Sunday, announcing that operations to guide it to the sea using sound stimuli have failed.

"The working group of experts has unanimously concluded that the only possible solution is to euthanize the animal", specifies the prefecture which indicates that the services of the State "are preparing the modalities of this intervention".

In a press release, the prefecture announced the failure of the operations launched on Saturday to help the killer whale find its way back to the sea - its natural environment.

These mobilized for several days many experts and veterinarians specializing in wildlife as well as a drone piloted by the firefighters of Sdis (departmental fire and rescue service).

The orca was first sighted on May 16 between Honfleur and Le Havre, near the Pont de Normandie.

The animal had probably arrived "already weakened" towards the Seine estuary, Gérard Mauger, vice-president of the GECC, told AFP.

Operations around the animal in the Seine have "highlighted a lack of liveliness, inconsistent reactions to sound stimuli and erratic and disoriented behavior of the killer whale", indicates the prefecture.

"Vocalizations similar to cries of distress"

Sound recordings also revealed "vocalizations similar to cries of distress", underlines the prefecture.

"Attempts to bring the orca back to the sea having failed, and in order not to further aggravate his level of stress, the decision was taken to interrupt the intervention at the beginning of the evening", adds the prefecture.

According to Charlotte Curé, spokesperson for the GECC, an association based in Cherbourg commissioned by the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) to study and preserve marine mammals in the Channel, "the state of health of the animal diagnosed by the veterinarian is alarming".

It would be a "generalized mycosis of the Mucormycosis type", an emerging disease observed on marine mammals in different parts of the world, particularly in North America.

According to Charlotte Curé, the photos revealed in particular "deep ulcerations, deep dermatitis with necrotic lesions".

"It is a condition (...) likely to affect immunocompromised animals" and the experts confirmed that the disease has reached "a very advanced stage, to the point that it would cause significant suffering to the animal. animal", underlines the prefecture.

Bathing prohibited in the area

On Sunday, follow-up measures continued with the help of the river brigade, firefighters and GECC teams.

The operation had received support from the NGO Sea Shepherd, whose "three boats" had arrived in Seine-Maritime on Saturday evening.

After analysis, images collected on Saturday "led to note" the critical state of health of the animal ".

"After obtaining the diagnosis from the veterinarian (certain death)", it was decided to end the operation, underlines Charlotte Curée, specifying that "the setting up of a new operation envisaging a dam via a line of boats has ruled out and thoughts converged unanimously on the only possible solution of euthanizing the animal", explains Charlotte Curé.

If "the risk of transmission from the animal to humans is very limited", the prefecture recalls that "the area in which the killer whale is found is prohibited for swimming, fishing and that the catchment areas of water are not fed or impacted by the Seine".