Wounded whale washes ashore in France

SANGATTE, France: A 7.6-metre whale, wounded but alive, was discovered stranded on a beach in northern France on Monday, authorities said, with experts hoping the rising tide will help the cetacean back on its way.

The appearance of the animal this far south is rare given that this particular species of beaked whale usually swims in deep Arctic waters, they said. The female cetacean, which had suffered non-life threatening injuries, probably ended up on the beach “because it was disorientated”, said Jacky Karpouzopoulos, head of CMNF, an association for the protection of wild mammals in northern France. He said it was “exceptional” to see this northern whale species this far south.

“I´ve never seen anything like it in my 40 years on the job,” he said. It was not possible to lift the animal back into the water, he said. Helpers hoped instead that the rising tide would allow the animal to refloat and swim away, he said. The whale has a bleeding head wound, an AFP journalist saw, but local mayor Guy Allemand said the injury was superficial and not the reason why it had washed up on the shore.