Quin

When we first met Quin in 1986, he was immaculately white. He would therefore have been born before 1970.

Quin’s sex was confirmed by biopsy : he is a male. He is believed to be part of one of two networks of males that frequent the Saguenay Fjord and its mouth.

Quin’s sex was identified by sampling a small amount of skin and fat. A biopsy was taken using a modified rifle. We position ourselves some twenty meters away from the animal and aim at the area under its dorsal crest, to avoid hitting the head. With this modified rifle, you can adjust the pressure of the shot, depending on the distance from the animal, so as to dose the force with which the sting penetrates the skin and fat. The rifle is fitted with a fishing reel that brings the line back to the boat, avoiding the need to navigate inside the herd. This line, which remains under tension during projection, acts as a dart stabilizer when the dart is projected, in the same way as the tail of an arrow.