Giving vitamins to beluga whales stranded in the Seine

Paris: French experts have launched a last-ditch attempt to lure stranded beluga whales into eating by injecting them with vitamin-infused darts.

Time is running out for the emaciated whale that showed up in the Seine just over a week ago. First spotted on August 2, the animal is about 70 kilometers from Paris, far from its native Arctic habitat.

Vitamin darts were used after attempts to fortify starved animals with frozen herring and live trout failed due to lack of interest.

“He has to move within the next 24 to 48 hours. These conditions are not good for him,” Ramya Esemurali, head of marine conservation group Sea Shepherd France, told AFP on Sunday. rice field.

Experts are also considering the possibility of opening the floodgates to bring the animals back to the open sea, 100 miles away.

At the request of whale tracking company Sea Shepherd France, the locks were closed to prevent the whales from swimming further inland. However, the longer they stay in stagnant freshwater, the less whales are able to make the long and tiring journeys.

“The ability to return to sea is questionable,” she said. “It would be very dangerous, if not impossible, to drive in a boat.”

On Sunday, Sea Shepherd France released a new update on Twitter, saying the severely underweight animals continue to refuse food but remain alert and active and that euthanasia is premature.