![France readies rescue of beluga astray in Seine](https://www.americanmarconiwirelessnews.com/media/shared/articles/96/99/a4/France-readies-rescue-of-beluga-ast-266659.jpg)
-
Macron, ex-PM remember bloody liberation of French port
-
Noel Gallagher's 'Brit Pop' guitars go under hammer
-
US clears way for hearing aid feature in new Apple AirPods Pro
-
Hamilton not disappointed by Newey move to Aston Martin
-
Final report clears WADA in Chinese swimmers case, adds rules need strengthening
-
US calls for Africa to get two permanent UN Security Council seats
-
Burrow's Bengals aim to bounce back against Chiefs
-
Ingebrigtsen says getting stronger, bullish over world records
-
Putin warns West risks 'war' if it backs Ukraine long-range strikes
-
Peru mourns divisive former strongman Fujimori
-
Vaughan's son takes 11 wickets as Somerset revive title bid by beating champions Surrey
-
Long-awaited case on Man City charges to start on Monday: report
-
PSG refuse League order to pay Mbappe disputed €55 million
-
Harris, Trump target swing states after fierce debate
-
Ten Hag hits back at Ronaldo criticism over Man Utd ambition
-
Oscar hopefuls to bookend US French film festival
-
UN chief calls for 'courage' ahead of Summit of the Future
-
French rugby federation blames 'poorly managed' supervision for youth player drowning
-
Movie producer Harvey Weinstein indicted on new charges: US media
-
Ex-Scotland captain Hogg to miss Montpellier match after bail release
-
'Historic': Bad weather slashes wine harvest in France's Jura
-
ECB rate cut boosts European stocks, euro
-
Piastri not 'pulling over' for Norris at every race
-
'Energised' Tebogo looking to close season with Diamond League bang
-
Millions in SE Asia battle floods, death toll passes 250
-
Fiat 500 electric production pauses for one month
-
London Fashion Week opens with Charli XCX party and second-hand runways
-
ECB cuts rates again, Lagarde backs EU reform call
-
Storm Francine downgraded but still drenching US south
-
Everton say 'work to be done' on Textor takeover
-
Shelling kills 3 Red Cross workers in E.Ukraine
-
Shelling kills 3 Red Cross workers killed in E.Ukraine
-
Iran president makes 'historic' visit to Iraqi Kurdistan
-
Brigitte Macron awarded damages over false trans claim
-
ECB rate cut boosts Europeans stocks, euro
-
Deadly Israeli strike on Gaza school draws global condemnation
-
Russia recaptures part of Kursk region
-
Bike-loving Dutch grapple with 'fatbike' phenomena
-
Ahead of Champions League warm-up, PSG are soaring and Brest slumping
-
ECB cuts rates again as inflation slows
-
Denmark's von Trier to direct a new film
-
Arteta agrees new Arsenal deal
-
Jon Bon Jovi helps woman standing on edge of US bridge
-
SpaceX makes history with first spacewalks by private citizens
-
England's Livingstone 'feels like a kid again' after injury setbacks
-
Brazil urges EU to suspend 'punitive' anti-deforestation law
-
Myanmar residents flee deadly floods in boats and on makeshift rafts
-
Power struggle and chaotic player trading: What's going at Chelsea?
-
Blinken seeks common cause in Poland after Ukraine jitters
-
Stocks rally on cooler US inflation, before ECB rate call
RBGPF | 4.7% | 59.81 | $ | |
RYCEF | 2.33% | 6.45 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.08% | 25.221 | $ | |
BCC | 3.72% | 126.81 | $ | |
NGG | -0.17% | 69.2 | $ | |
SCS | 0.34% | 13.385 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.17% | 25.174 | $ | |
RELX | 1.56% | 47.895 | $ | |
RIO | 0.96% | 61.805 | $ | |
JRI | -0.08% | 13.17 | $ | |
VOD | -0.05% | 10.035 | $ | |
BCE | 0.23% | 35.27 | $ | |
GSK | -1.67% | 43.051 | $ | |
BP | 0.95% | 31.59 | $ | |
BTI | -0.35% | 38.985 | $ | |
AZN | -2.27% | 78.745 | $ |
![France readies rescue of beluga astray in Seine](https://www.americanmarconiwirelessnews.com/media/shared/articles/96/99/a4/France-readies-rescue-of-beluga-ast-266659.jpg)
France readies rescue of beluga astray in Seine
Marine experts will attempt Tuesday to rescue a beluga whale that swam up the Seine river and return it to the sea, officials said, a complex and risky operation for an animal already sick and malnourished.
The four-metre (13-foot) cetacean, a protected species usually found in cold Arctic waters, was spotted a week ago heading towards Paris, and is now some 130 kilometres inland.
"An operation to transport the beluga astray in the Seine will be attempted this evening," said government officials in the Eure department, who are orchestrating the effort.
The animal's progress inland has been blocked by a lock at Saint-Pierre-La-Garenne in Normandy, and its health has deteriorated after it refused to eat.
But its condition is currently "satisfactory", Isabelle Brasseur of the Marineland sea animal park in southern France, Europe's biggest, told AFP.
She is part of a Marineland team sent to assist with the rescue, alongside the Sea Shepherd France NGO.
"What's exceptional is that here the banks of the Seine are not accessible for vehicles... everything is going to have to be done by hand," Brasseur said.
So far the beluga has not turned around, and experts have dismissed any attempt to "nudge" it back toward the English Channel with boats, saying it would stress the weakened animal and probably be futile in any case.
Starting at around 8:00 pm (1800 GMT), the team will try to get the animal weighing 800 kilogrammes (nearly 1,800 pounds) onto a truck and drive it to an undisclosed seawater basin where it can be treated before being released, the Eure authorities said.
The Sea Shepherd France NGO, which is assisting the operation, said Tuesday that tranquilisation is not an option, since belugas are so-called "voluntary breathers" that need to be awake to inhale air.
- 'Have to get it out' -
"In any case, we have to get it out of there... and try to figure out what is wrong," Brasseur said.
Veterinarians will keep constant surveillance during the move.
"There may be internal problems that we can't see," she said despite the fact that belugas are "extremely hardy" as a species.
Interest in the beluga's fate has spread far beyond France, generating a large influx of financial donations and other aid from conservation groups as well as individuals, officials said.
Sea Shepherd on Monday issued an appeal in particular for heavy-duty ropes, nets, mattresses and other equipment.
According to France's Pelagis Observatory, specialised in sea mammals, the nearest beluga population is off the Svalbard archipelago, north of Norway, 3,000 kilometres from the Seine.
A.Malone--AMWN