An orca stranded and died on the Belgian North Sea coast. The killer whale was initially spotted swimming along the coast towards France in the morning, the Belgian news agency Belga reported.
In the afternoon he was washed up on the beach in the holiday resort of De Panne and died a short time later, it was said. Attempts to use a lifeboat to encourage the whale to swim deeper into the sea again failed.
It was not immediately known why the killer whale approached the coast. According to statements from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, the orca looked very thin, which could indicate poor health, Belga also reported. No external injuries or fractures were found. An autopsy of the animal is scheduled to be carried out on Monday.
The presence of an orca in the southern North Sea is exceptional, it said. In 1850, an orca washed up on a Belgian beach. Last October, an orca stranded on the Dutch North Sea coast and died.
