Côte-Nord With a Tinge of Blue

The waters of the St. Lawrence always offer a fascinating panorama, and this is all the more true when the largest animals on the planet, blue whales, come to feed near shore! On February 27, a wildlife photographer followed the movements of one of these giants for several hours between Les Escoumins and Les Bergeronnes. He describes the individual’s behaviour: “Feeding near the surface, sometimes quite far offshore, sometimes very close to the coast. In fact, for over an hour, it came to swim and feed so close to shore that I could even hear its breathing from the mainland.”

All these observations have found their way into the regional media outlets, which have been reporting on the presence of this endangered species in the region. In an interview for Radio-Canada, researcher Robert Michaud comments: “There’s not much ice [anymore] in the St. Lawrence. It is possible that more blue whales remain in the river all winter.” He also encourages observers to pay attention to the presence of smaller spouts, which might indicate that a calf is accompanying the whale.

Thanks to all our collaborators!

Special thanks go out to all our observers who share their love for marine mammals with us! Your encounters with cetaceans and pinnipeds are always a pleasure to read and discover.

On the water or from shore, it is your eyes that give life to this column.