In Search of the Sperm Whale

November 27: In GREMM’s (Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals) offices in Tadoussac, staff members are busy working on their respective projects. Around 2:30 in the afternoon, the phone rings. Renaud Pintiaux exclaims on the other end of the line: “Sperm whale off the Bon-Désir campsite! I saw it breathe before taking a dive. I saw its dorsal crest and its tail, it’s definitely a sperm whale!” There’s a little less than two hours of daylight left, it takes a good twenty minutes to drive to Les Bergeronnes and a sperm whale can remain underwater for over an hour. The chances of observing the animal again are slim, but together with a colleague, we decide to venture out on a “sperm whale quest”.

Here we are standing on the packed snow, defying a stiff breeze and temperatures hovering around -10°C. We scan the horizon through the lenses of our binoculars. Offshore visibility is reduced by sea smoke. A passionate birder who has joined us spots a minke whale a few nautical miles from the coast. My binoculars are not powerful enough to locate it. We stomp our feet to keep warm while the sun goes down. We return home empty-handed, but happy to have observed the raw beauty of the St. Lawrence under the snow.

Renaud has incredible luck with sperm whales (or is he just more patient than we are?): He sees another one on December 1! The largest of toothed cetaceans is a rare visitor to the Estuary. Renaud also spots two humpbacks. Are they the same individuals that were observed by a deckhand off Île aux Pommes on December 3? It’s possible.

Other sightings reported in recent days include belugas and minke whales as well as harbour and harp seals in the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park area.