A ten-meter whale was found stranded on a beach on the Île de Ré.

A ten-meter-long whale beached itself and died on a beach on the Île de Ré, in Charente-Maritime. The animal, discovered Friday evening at Rivedoux-Plage, mobilized authorities and specialists from the national stranding network, who described it as a particularly rare event in this area of ​​the Atlantic coast.

The cetacean was identified as a fin whale, the second largest whale species in the world after the blue whale. According to experts, the animal, a female, had been spotted near the coast in the afternoon before beaching itself alive. However, its condition did not allow for a rescue operation during the night, and the mammal died shortly afterward.

The third case observed in over a century

For experts, this stranding is an exceptional phenomenon. It is only the third recorded case on the Île de Ré for this species, following previous strandings observed in 1920 and then in 2017. Since the start of the surveys carried out by the national stranding network, the number of fin whales found on the French coast generally varies between one and thirteen individuals per year.

The carcass, estimated to weigh around twelve tons, was removed on Saturday using a crane truck before being transported for an autopsy. The analysis will determine the exact cause of death and the reason for the animal's stranding. According to data from the Pelagis Observatory, no fin whale strandings had been reported on the French coast since 2023.