“She passed, she passed! »several dozen onlookers happily exclaim: a humpback whale seven to 10 m long crossed the Rance tidal power plant in Saint-Malo this Friday, February 10 and is heading offshore after wandering in the estuary for more than 24 hours.
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Several nature protection associations, the maritime gendarmerie, scientists from the National Museum of Natural History were mobilized around the event, never seen since the commissioning of the dam in 1966.
Stuck in Rance since Thursday
Volunteers and professionals have been busy since Thursday morning with boats to try to guide the animal to the high seas, in vain until Friday 12:10 p.m. and the official announcement of its passage to the sea and freedom.
The cetacean had been spotted for the first time in the Rance on Thursday around 10 a.m. It had probably entered the river by taking advantage of the opening of a valve of the tidal power plant and was struggling to find its way back to the open sea despite the efforts of humans.
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The whale spent Thursday making “round trips between the dam and Plouër-sur-Rance”about ten kilometers inland, told AFP Thierry Buanic, president of the naturalist association Al Lark which coordinated the rescue operation.
If his state of health did not cause particular concern, “top priority” was from “bring the whale out of the estuary”, he pointed out. This Friday, thanks to the falling tide, it was therefore decided to open all the floodgates of the tidal power plant, exceptionally shut down, as well as its lock.
“Exceptional measures”
“The main problem is the level differential between the Rance and the sea. So since this morning (Friday) 9 a.m., we have opened wide all the floodgates of the tidal power plant”six in total, each measuring 10 m wide and 15 m high, so that the animal can go back where it came from, explained Thierry Buanic.
“We have completely stopped the factory since Thursday 11 a.m. and we are putting in place exceptional measures to adapt the operation and allow the whale to go back to sea as quickly as possible”told AFP Jean-Marie Loaec, the director of the tidal power plant, which produces 12% of the electricity in Brittany.
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The operation was successful and the animal seems to have quickly found its way out after swimming near the dam. A boat from the Al Lark association was to escort the whale to the sea off Saint-Malo to “to see if it reaches the sea well and that it does not skirt the coast”said Thierry Buanic.
“All’s well that ends well, it’s unexpected!” », he rejoiced. It is, according to him, ” very rare “ that large mammals like this humpback whale get by in such cases, citing as an example the case of the beluga trapped in the Seine last summer.
After a week of wandering in the Seine, the 800 kg beluga had to be euthanized on August 10, 2022 after being transferred by truck from a lock in the Eure to the Norman port of Ouistreham (Calvados), because he was too weak.
