French authorities and scientists are trying to assess the health of a beluga whale seen roaming the Seine before planning how they will try to guide it back to the sea.

Since the beluga was spotted in the river on Wednesday, crews have been constantly monitoring its movements using drones. However, according to Isabelle Dorilat-Pouget, spokeswoman for the Herre department in Normandy, the whale is still in much the same spot.

Drone footage shows the beluga occasionally resurfacing and swimming lazily.

It remains unknown why this particular whale has strayed so far from its natural habitat – it is commonly found in arctic and subarctic waters, as well as in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Quebec, Canada – and has now arrived tens of kilometers from the mouth of the Seine.

“Now the challenge is to help her find food and try to escort her to the ocean,” said Lamia Esemlali, head of environmental group Sea Shepherd France. However, he stressed that the possibility of pulling her out of the water was out of the question, as this would be very risky.

The local fire department, which took over the task of watching the whale, said the priority is to assess the whale’s health before considering any intervention.

In September 2018, a white whale was spotted in the River Thames near Gravesend, England. However, he managed to return to the sea after three months, according to the BBC.

At the end of May last year, a seriously ill killer whale separated from her herd and swam away tens of kilometers from the mouth of the Seine. Attempts to return it to the sea were unsuccessful, and the whale died of natural causes.

A month later, a 10-meter minke was also seen in the Seine.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters}