A Beluga whale, first spotted in France's Seine River last Tuesday, is now stationary in the river 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Paris.
The seagoing mammal is said to be alert but not eating, and hopes to save it are fading, according to an NGO.
"Update from Sea Shepherd France on the Beluga whale in the Seine: he still refuses to eat, despite appetite stimulators given by vets. Although his weight is dangerously low, he's still alert and moving, so they are trying to guide him back out to sea rather than euthanize him," the environmental group said in a tweet.
Police in Eure, Normandy are overseeing efforts to save the whale alongside animal experts who have been monitoring the Beluga since it was first seen last week.
The Beluga had evidently wandered far from its pod (group) and into the Seine via the English Channel. Said to be underweight, experts have attempted to feed and administer vitamins by throwing them into the river, but to no avail.
The Beluga is between two locks positioned in the Seine, languishing in temperatures far from the Arctic or sub-Arctic waters it is accustomed to.
The Beluga whale – a cetacean, or an aquatic marine animal – is often called the white whale because of its characteristic blanched white skin, the only one to possess this color.
Migratory animals, Belugas spend the winter around the Arctic ice cap. In the summer months, when the sea ice melts, they move to warmer river estuaries and coastal areas.
According to France's Pelagis Observatory, which specializes in sea mammals, this particular Beluga is believed to originate from the Svalbard archipelago, a Norwegian cluster of islands between Norway and the North Pole, 3,000 km away. -
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