Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/orca-stranded-dies/

Swimming for two months from the English Channel to the Seine River in France, a sick killer whale finally succumbed to death.

This was confirmed by the non-government organization Sea Shepherd France which found its dead body on the banks of Seine River between Rouen and Le Havre.

“We are currently with her to prevent her body from being hit by a ship, which would compromise the autopsy. We are waiting for the team mobilized by the State to recover her,” the NGO posted on Twitter.

Authorities had been monitoring the killer whale for weeks after discovering it swimming in France’s territorial waters. They had also tried to coax it back to the ocean through drones that played orca sounds but all their efforts were in vain.

Finally, the experts who had been looking after it decided to put the sick killer whale to sleep due to its deteriorating condition. It was believed that the animal was infected with mucormycosis, also called black fungus, which affected its skin, internal organs, and brain.

Also, swimming in the Seine River’s fresh water for weeks must have further weakened the killer whale.

After towing the dead orca to the riverbanks, the prefecture of Seine-Maritime provided a lifting transport system so veterinary specialists and biologists could conduct an autopsy on the carcass and several samplings to determine why the animal got stranded in the region.

According to the International Whaling Commission, killer whales — the largest of the dolphin species — are considered as “Data Deficient” on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

However, orca population is on the decline due to diminishing food sources, bioaccumulation of contaminants due to their being apex predators of the ocean, and human-induced threats that include vessel strikes and intentional killing.

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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog