Bon Désir (1965-2000)

Already white when we first saw him, he would be at least 12 to 16 years old.

His large size and social affiliations led us to believe that Bon Désir is a male. He is part of a network of males that frequent the downstream sector between Tadoussac and Les Escoumins.

He’s a “downriver” male who frequents the Cap Bon-Désir area on the north shore and Trois-Pistoles on the south shore. It is often seen in aggregations of varying size made up almost exclusively of adults. The adults present are probably males, as in summer 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: as not all females are “available” for reproduction in summer, the males cooperate to isolate a female from her group and coerce her into mating.