Capone
Beluga
Adopted by the Scout and Guide of Saint-Jovite, école Envol and école Petite Rivière
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ID number
DL0103
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Sex
Male
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Year of birth
Around 1980
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Known Since
1990
Distinctive traits
Capone’s name comes from all his scars, as if he’d been riddled with bullets on his left flank. On the right flank, his marks are quite similar, only less numerous.
Life history
Our very first encounter with Capone was in 1990. At the time, he was a juvenile beluga. Then, in 1995, he was almost perfectly white. Capone was born in the early 1980s.
Capone’s sex was confirmed by genetic analysis of a biopsy taken from his back : he was male. He is part of the network that uses the head of the channel and the downstream portion of the estuary, but avoids the Saguenay River.
Capone is a downstream male that frequents the cap Bon-Désir area on the north shore and Trois-Pistoles on the south shore. He is often seen in flocks of varying sizes, composed almost exclusively of adults. The adults present are probably males, as during this season there is segregation between males and females. This companionship between males could be linked to a reproductive strategy. In fact, the beluga’s strategy is similar to that of certain dolphin populations : males cooperate to isolate a female from her group and force her to mate.
Observations history in the Estuary
Years in which the animal was not observed Years in which the animal was observed
Latest news
On October 8, 1997, we were off Les Escoumins following a group of seven belugas, including Capone. The group was made up of adults and juveniles. After an hour’s observation, another group of some fifteen individuals joined our seven belugas to form a new herd.
Capone was last seen on October 14, 2015. Is he dead? Has he remained invisible to researchers all this time? One thing is certain, we remain vigilant and hope for a meeting soon.
Sponsors
The Scout and Guide of Saint-Jovite adopted Capone (1998).
The École Petite Rivière adopted Capone (1998).
The École Envol adopted Capone (1998).