Patte d’Oie (1970-2010)

Beluga

ligne décoration

Adopted by Peinture Internationale

  • ID number

    DL0036

  • Sex

    Female

  • Year of birth

    1970 (death in 2010)

  • Known Since

    1987

Distinctive traits

On Patte d’Oie’s right flank, below the crest, is the scar that inspired her name. Her dorsal crest has only one small, shallow notch, which is not enough to recognize her on the left flank.

Life history

First observed in 1987, Patte d’Oie was completely white. She would therefore have been born before 1971.

Her small size and the presence of a newborn alongside Patte d’Oie indicated that she was a female from the community on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River.

Patte d’Oie was found dead in 2010. When a fresh beluga carcass is found, it is trucked to the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Saint-Hyacinthe. A detailed necropsy and chemical analysis will reveal much about the animal’s cause of death and exposure to pollution.

Regularly seen with...

Observations history in the Estuary

1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001

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

Latest news

Patte d’Oie is spotted in the ile Verte area in the company of around thirty belugas, and even minke whales are present in the area. Among the individuals observed, one beluga spits water and others are visibly hunting prey below the surface. That day, the team attempts two biopsies on individuals in the group.

This was the last time we saw Patte d’Oie. She was found dead nine years later, in 2010. Post-mortem examination revealed her to be a female over 40 years old, measuring 3.69 m.

Sponsor

Peinture Internationale adopted Octave, Aile Joyeuse, Blanche-Neige, Oreillette, Patte d’Oie and Vagabonde (1988).