France whale: Rescue operation begins to save beluga stuck in Seine

Rescuers in France have launched an ambitious operation to save an ailing beluga whale stuck in the Seine river.

The four-metre (13ft) whale - a protected species usually found in much colder Arctic waters - was first spotted a week ago north-west of Paris.

It is now trapped more than 100km (62 miles) inland and its health has deteriorated after failing to eat.

About 80 people are involved in the operation, including divers, vets, and police officers.

Rescuers will try and lift the beluga onto a sort of hammock before moving it onto a refrigerated truck that will take it back to the sea, a local official said.

They will then hope to treat the animal for several days before releasing it back into the open water.

"It's a long rescue operation, very technical, which required many skills," said Isabelle Dorliat-Pouzet, secretary general of the Eure prefecture.

Animal specialists will be on constant standby during the move.

"There may be internal problems that we can't see," said an expert from the Marineland sea animal park in southern France - although she added that belugas are "extremely hardy" as a species.

People gathered on the banks of the river at Saint-Pierre-La-Garenne in Normandy to watch the rescue - as interest in the whale's survival spread beyond France.

So far rescuers have tried to feed the whale frozen herring and live trout to stimulate its appetite and help it make the long return journey back up the river out to the English Channel - but the whale has not turned around.

Experts are puzzled how the whale managed to stray so far south from its natural habitat.

Belugas occasionally venture south in the autumn to feed as ice forms, but it is rare for them to travel so far from their native home. According to France's Pelagis Observatory which specialises in sea mammals, the nearest beluga population is off the Svalbard archipelago, north of Norway, 3,000km (1,870 miles) from the Seine.