Ondine

Beluga

ligne décoration

Adopted by the region of Rivière-du-Loup

  • ID number

    DL0116

  • Sex

    Female

  • Year of birth

    Before 1974

  • Known Since

    1990

Distinctive traits

Ondine’s marks are numerous. First, there are the three deep scars in her dorsal crest. There’s also the small scar just behind her blowhole, visible mainly from the left flank.

Life history

When we first met in 1990, Ondine was already white. She would therefore have been born before 1974.

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

Ondine is probably a fairly old female beluga. Regular observations up to 1995 enabled us to determine that she was a female belonging to the south shore community. Surprisingly, she was almost always seen with Canadine ; female belugas, unlike males, don’t usually form lasting associations with other individuals. In 1994, Ondine was accompanied by a calf, and in 1995 by a newborn calf.

Observations history in the Estuary

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017

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

Latest news

In 2010, surprise : Ondine is photographed in baie des Chaleurs! A few weeks later, she was back at the head of the Laurentian Channel, a bit thinned out. It wasn’t until August 2012 that we heard from her again : several reports of an apparently unwell beluga drifting between Les Escoumins and Les Bergeronnes reached the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network. On August 15, GREMM Research Director Robert Michaud went to the Marine Environment Discovery Centre in Les Escoumins to document one of these reports. He confirmed that it was Ondine, and that she seemed to be in a bad way.

Sponsor

The region of Rivière-du-Loup adopted Ondine (1993).