uThe seriously ill orca, who separated from the group and swam tens of kilometers down the Seine in France, died of natural causes. This information was released by the Sea Shepherd group, on Monday, after several failed attempts to return it to sea.
According to Reuters, scientists concluded over the weekend that the 4-meter-long animal was terminally ill and likely had mucosal fungus (or black fungus), a disease seen in whales in North America but not in Europe.
The municipality of the Sina Maritime Region explained that while trying to lure him back to the sea with a drone that made a sound, on Saturday, the animal was already responding in an irregular and incoherent manner. Orca recordings picked up what experts say were distress calls.
They added that after infecting the skin of weakened animals, mucous fungus can spread to the heart, lungs and brain, which explains the whale’s disoriented behavior, noting that the disease appeared to be very advanced in this case, and that it was probably causing him great suffering.
The body will now be taken to the riverbank and an autopsy will be performed.
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