A beluga whale stranded for several days in the Seine River was successfully removed from the French waterway Wednesday in preparation for a transfer to a saltwater basin in Normandy in hopes of saving its life, reports The Independent.
The dangerously thin marine mammal has no digestive activity for unknown reasons, conservation group Sea Shepherd France tweeted, saying veterinary exams were done after the beluga was hauled out of water after hours of preparation.
The group said the beluga was a male with no infectious diseases and that veterinarians would try to re-stimulate the marine mammal's digestion. Conservationists have tried unsuccessfully since Friday to feed fish to the beluga.
Photos posted by Sea Shepherd France show the white mammal lying on a big net that was used to get it out of a river lock.
A veterinary team was planning to transport the 4-meter-long (13-foot-long) whale to a coastal spot in the northeastern French port town of Ouistreham for “a period of care,” according to Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France.