The orca in difficulty in the Seine has been found dead

Europe 1 with AFP 4:39 p.m., May 30, 2022

The orca in difficulty in the Seine between Rouen and Le Havre was found dead Monday morning and will be towed for autopsy, the Seine-Maritime prefecture announced in a press release.

“Following an observation made by a sailor and relayed by the Haropa captaincy of the port of Rouen, the investigations carried out enabled the boats of Sea Shepherd France to locate the animal on the surface, then to note its death”, said the prefecture.

The orca was in very poor health 

On Twitter, the Sea Shepherd France association confirmed having "found the body of the killer whale (Monday) morning at 11:48 am".

“We are currently with her to prevent her body from being hit by a ship, which would compromise the autopsy. We are waiting for the team mobilized by the State to recover her,” she added.

It was a Norwegian freighter, which was going up the Seine towards Rouen, which spotted the marine mammal.

"The animal was lying on its side, it was not a very good sign", declared to AFP Gérard Mauger, vice-president of the GECC, an association based in Cherbourg mission for the study and the preservation of mammals. sailors in the Channel.

"We were talking more about an orca ghost, so much his skin was ulcerated. She must have suffered martyrdom. Pieces of skin were falling, there was nothing more to do", described Mr. Mauger, who was able to observe the orca on Saturday night.

Unfortunately, we found the body of the orca this morning at 11:48.

We are currently with her to prevent her body from being hit by a ship, which would compromise the autopsy.

We are waiting for the team mobilized by the State to recover it.

pic.twitter.com/kHunMaxGyt

— Sea Shepherd France (@SeaShepherdFran) May 30, 2022

“Everything was ready to euthanize him”

The working group of experts in charge of monitoring the animal had decided on Sunday to euthanize the animal after the failure of operations to guide it towards the sea using sound stimuli.

“Everything was ready to euthanize her” when she was found dead, according to Gérard Mauger.

An autopsy planned to understand the causes of death

His body will now be towed to the banks of the Seine, "where lifting means will be put in place to allow expert veterinarians and biologists to carry out an autopsy and sampling operations, aimed at collecting a maximum of information and try to establish the causes of the wandering and death of this orca", specifies the prefecture.

The autopsy must in particular allow "to learn more about the pathology, a very particular mycosis, and about the causes of death", according to Gérard Mauger.