Fears for health of killer whale lost in the river Seine

A killer whale that has been making its way up the river Seine since the start of April is in poor health, having been exposed to too much fresh water. But authorities and marine scientists are hesitant to intervene.

An orca in southern Indian Ocean near the Crozet islands in 2007. The animals are not often seen in the English Channel, and even more rarely in fresh water, like the one making its way up the Seine. © Marcel Mochet/AFP

The four-metre-long mammal, also called an orca, was first spotted at the start of April near the mouth of the Seine, a rare occurrence given the animals are only occasionally spotted in the English Channel.

Since then it has stayed in the estuary, apparently lost from its pod. It was recently spotted nearly 60 kilometers upstream around Yainville, west of the city of Rouen.

Local authorities and marine experts have been monitoring its position, but have not intervened. But now the animal’s health appears to be suffering.

“We are very, very worried,” said Gérard Mauger, vice-president and founder of the Cotentin cetacean study group, which is tasked by the French biodiversity office to study and preserve marine mammals in the Channel.

⚪⚫ La suite des péripéties de l'orque normande ⚪⚫

🐬 L'orque observée sous le pont de Normandie dernièrement est toujours présente dans la zone. Celle-ci continue à faire des aller retour dans la Seine mais en poussant toujours plus loin. pic.twitter.com/28bGZSDx0a

— C’est Assez ! (@cestassezfrance) May 25, 2022

'Weakened'

The animal’s health “is very degraded”, he told the AFP news agency – to the point where its life is in danger.

The Seine-Maritime prefecture said that the animal was “very weakened” and could be “hurt or sick”.

Though killer whales, which are not whales but members of the dolphin family, are not threatening to humans, the prefecture warned people not to “put this wild animal in danger” by gathering near it.

Experts are not sure why the killer whale was drawn to the Seine in the first place. It could have been excluded by its group, or isolated itself because it was sick.

And now that it has made it to the river, it might stay.

• Rescuers in Tasmania battle to save whales in mass stranding
• WWF France describes 'agony' of injured whale in the Mediterranean

"It’s health means that it is more comfortable to be in a river because it is less rough. It uses less energy,” Mauger said.

But it is more difficult to find food in a river, where there is fewer prey, and the orca “is all alone, while these are animals that hunt in a pack”.

Long exposure to fresh water could cause skin problems such as infections or ulcers.

No rescue attempts have been made for fear of stressing the animal further.

“It is very far from the sea. It’s very complicated to find solutions to encourage it to go back towards saltwater,” said Mauger.

(with AFP)