Atlantis

Beluga

ligne décoration

Adopted by Canadien Pacifique Hotels, Atlantic Region, CP Region

  • ID number

    DL0192

  • Sex

    Male

  • Year of birth

    Before 1978

  • Known Since

    1990

Distinctive traits

Atlantis can be identified by the two small, round scars on his left flank, close together like a pair of glasses. His dorsal ridge also contains several notches to distinguish him from the others.

Life history

When we first met him in 1990, Atlantis was already white. He would therefore have been born before 1978.

His habits and social contacts already led us to assume that Atlantis was a male from one of the two Saguenay male networks. Atlantis’ sex was confirmed by genetic analysis of a biopsy, a tiny piece of skin taken from his back.

Atlantis belongs to a group of males well known to the team : “la bande du Saguenay”. As they swim up the Saguenay fjord, these belugas often reach Sainte-Marguerite Bay, where they engage in some surprising behavior : vocalizing at the water’s surface, heads and pectoral fins out of the water, and dozing while “logging” at the surface.

Observations history in the Estuary

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

Years in which the animal was not observed Years in which the animal was observed

Latest news

On June 16, 2009, Atlantis swims among a herd of around 15 individuals, adults and juveniles, in the Escoumins area. The group appears to be mainly made up of large males, who vocalize, whistle and approach our boat. Finally, the animals were confined to the waters off Cap Granite. Having obtained sufficiently exhaustive visual documentation, we leave the site.

Sponsor

Canadien Pacifique Hotels, Atlantic Region, CP Region adopted Atlantis (1998).