Flippo

Beluga

ligne décoration

Adopted by the sub-distributors of Messageries dynamiques and by the Magazine Québec-Science

  • ID number

    DL0104

  • Sex

    Female

  • Year of birth

    Around 1960

  • Known Since

    1977

Distinctive traits

The two deep, closely spaced scars on Flippo’s right peduncle are her signature. The details of her dorsal crest are not pronounced enough to recognize her from the left flank.

Life history

Flippo was first photographed in 1980. She was slightly gray, almost all white. She was born around 1960.

Flippo was regularly observed with a newborn on her flank. These observations, her affiliations and her small size confirm that Flippo is a female from the Saguenay Fjord community.

Flippo was first observed in 1977, by the team of Leone Pippard, a pioneer in beluga research. In the 1970s, little was known about the belugas of the St. Lawrence. Along with her colleagues, Leone Pippard sounded the alarm about the fragile state of this small population of white whales.

Observations history in the Estuary

1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013

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

Latest news

We come across a dozen belugas off Île Verte. Among this group of adults and calves we spot Flippo. The herd is split into several scattered groups of two to three individuals. The wind is starting to pick up, so we decide to head for the head of the herd to collect as much data as possible before leaving the site.

Flippo was last seen over twenty years ago. What happened to her? Did she die? Has she remained invisible to the researcher’s eye all this time? One thing is certain, her story remains a valuable source of information for our knowledge of this fragile population.

Sponsors

The sub-distributors of Messageries dynamiques adopted Flippo (1994)

The Magazine Québec-Science adopted Flippo (1994).