Bonheur

Beluga

ligne décoration

Adopted by Dawn L. Duquet

  • ID number

    DL0476

  • Sex

    Female

  • Year of birth

    Before 1990

  • Known Since

    1994

Distinctive traits

Bonheur’s left flank bears very different markings: gray spots on her head, a small gray line in front of the ridge and three scars just before the peduncle. For the right flank, we use the details of the dorsal ridge.

Life history

Our very first encounter with Bonheur dates back to 1994. At the time, it was a juvenile beluga whale. Over the years, its coloration has faded and since 2002, it has been almost perfectly white. In 2011, it was completely white. Bonheur would have been born in the early 1990s.

Bonheur is a female; her sex is confirmed by a biopsy, the genetic analysis of a tiny piece of skin taken from her back. For the moment, we can’t yet determine which community of Bonheur females belongs to. In summer, there is strong sexual segregation among adult beluga whales. Both males and females show marked preferences, both in their associations and in the areas they frequent. In juveniles and young adults such as Bonheur, this behaviour is not as marked.

Bonheur is a female. How do we know this? Through a biopsy. A tiny piece of fat and skin, containing the animal’s genetic secrets, is removed with a crossbow that shoots a dart with a stinger. GREMM has been conducting biopsies on belugas since 1994 to identify their sex and family ties.

Regularly seen with...

Observations history in the Estuary

1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019

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

Latest news

We were cruising along the mouth of the Saguenay, near the rivière aux Canards at Baie-Sainte-Catherine, when we spotted Bonheur in a flock of some 50 individuals, white adults and young grays. We also recognize DL0743, a male from the Saguenay.

The animals are very active. They dive and swim to the same spot over and over again, a behavior known as “miling”, which is often associated with feeding. The mouth of the Saguenay is a meeting place! Networks of male belugas come across herds of females with young. Gatherings form here, ephemerally, due to the abundance of food.

Our boat is located on the north shore of the maritime estuary between Tadoussac and Rivière-Portneuf. We observe a herd of some twenty individuals, and Bonheur is among them. The herd is made up of adults and young. They spend their time diving in and out of the water. The water is very clear, so it’s impressive to watch them move around like this. Among the herd, we spot a small group of females. They’re easy to spot because they’re small and round. Close to the boat, we hear a loud breathing noise, but can’t spot the individual behind it – an unusual situation!

 

Today, September 14, 2011, off Île aux Basques, we meet around forty individuals, including Bonheur. The herd is made up of adults, juveniles and two newborns. The majority, however, are gray juveniles.

Sponsor

Dawn L. Duquet adopted Bonheur (2000).