A Humpback and a Blue Whale on the North Shore

So what is a humpback doing in the frigid waters of the Estuary? Is it a straggler? An early arrival? A non-breeding individual taking advantage of food resources without too much competition? In winter, whale monitoring on the St. Lawrence is on hiatus, so the humpback will continue on its way, leaving us wondering…

White instead of black

Unless someone manages to photograph it from shore! On February 15, Renaud Pintiaux set out on the rocks with precisely this objective. Together with a friend and his faithful canine companion, he patiently scans the open sea on this winter day. Ultimately, he observes not a large rorqual but rather a group of around ten belugas passing by Cap de Bon-Désir. He photographs a few of these white whales and sends in the images to GREMM’s beluga photo-ID team. Perhaps the team’s sharp eyes can put a name to some of these belugas!

Why invest so much energy to determine whether it is DL9104, Mirapakon or Gaston, for example? Photo-identification helps chronicle not only the history of individual belugas, but also that of the population as a whole. Thanks to this technique, for example, we understand that male belugas in the St. Lawrence band together in three distinct communities that have little contact with one another and which use different territories. It has also been discovered that bulls form lasting relationships with other bulls. This information can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of conservation measures. Thus, by taking into account belugas’ individual preferences, GREMM and the Université du Québec en Outaouais were able to observe that nearly two-thirds of female belugas frequent the Saguenay at least once during the summer.

And a little blue

Individual preferences might also explain the presence of a large rorqual off the coast of Sept-Îles, where giant spouts are erupting on the horizon. Jacques Gélineau has been surveying this area for years, and he oftentimes spots a blue whale during this period. He suspects it might be the same individual returning year after year, but given the distance of the animal which prevents him from taking a photo, there is no way of proving this. Did the large spouts seen offshore this week belong to this blue whale?

This is the frustration of scientists. In winter, one must sift through the huge data sets compiled over the previous summer and those of previous years. Little by little, they deepen their understanding of the individuals and species that frequent the St. Lawrence. But the sea is already beckoning them.