The orca died naturally.
The very sick cetacean, which had been adrift in the Seine for several days, was found dead, the NGO Sea Shepherd announced on Monday May 30.
After a plan to bring her back to sea failed, scientists intended to euthanize her in order to end her suffering.
The rescue measures put in place on Saturday to try to bring the animal back to the sea, via an experimental device of sound stimuli and surveillance by drones, highlighted a "lack of vivacity, incoherent reactions (...) and erratic and disoriented behavior,” the prefecture wrote in a statement.
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
"Cries of Distress"
"The sound recordings also revealed vocalizations similar to cries of distress", adds the prefecture, which specifies that the attempts to rescue the orca were interrupted at the beginning of the evening.
The four-metre cetacean, whose health has deteriorated in fresh water, drifted away from the ocean earlier this month.
It was spotted for the first time at the mouth of the Seine on May 16 between the port of Le Havre and the city of Honfleur in Normandy, before going up dozens of kilometers upstream to find itself near the city of Rouen. .
With Reuters
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