The Nepisiguit beluga is alive and well

On June 2, 2017, the Marine Animal Response Society (MARS) received a report of a beluga swimming up the Nepisiguit River near Bathurst, New Brunswick. The whale was not inclined to leave the river and its health was failing. Since the St. Lawrence beluga population is classified as “endangered” and has been declining considerably since the early 2000s, the survival of a single individual could have an influence on the population’s recovery. Based on consultations between MARS, GREMM, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and veterinarians from the Université de Montréal, the Vancouver Aquarium and the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, it was decided that the animal should be captured and relocated back to the St. Lawrence Estuary to determine whether it is possible to reintegrate a vagrant beluga with its natal population.

On June 15, the beluga was captured in the river and transported to the Bathurst airport, from where it was flown to Rivière-du-Loup (during which time it was rehydrated) and taken to the port of Gros-Cacouna, where it was placed on a small vessel and released into the water near a group of belugas in the St. Lawrence Estuary. A tag attached to the animal’s back transmitted satellite positions for 19 days following its release. The last time a signal was received from the Nepisiguit River beluga was on July 4.

On July 4 in the evening, the GREMM research team did not receive the transmissions of the satellite tag placed on the right flank of the beluga. Hoping for a temporary problem, the researchers waited two more days before having to resolve the following: we lost contact with the beluga.

Some hypotheses may explain the situation: the beacon may be broken; It may have detached itself from the back of the beluga; or the beluga is dead and the body sank or the beluga floats on its back and the beacon finds itself submerged at all times, preventing it from transmitting its signal.

The first hypothesis seems unlikely for researchers. The second one could be more plausible: in 2015, the research project “Belugas on the Move”, which aimed to better understand the winter use of the territory by the belugas, had not produced the expected results. This project also used a LIMPET (Low Impact Minimally Percutaneous Electronic Transmitter) satellite tag and the tag retention did not exceed 13 days. For the placement of the tag on the Nepisiguit beluga, the team therefore attempted a different technique. This technique is used in Alaska on the beluga population of Cook Inlet, and provides a follow-up for 60 to 130 days. In the case of the Nepisiguit beluga, follow-up will have lasted 19 days.

Finally, the hypothesis of the death of the animal could be confirmed if the carcass of the beluga were to run aground on the banks. It would then be possible for the transmission to resume indicating the position of the carcass or the carcass be identified and reported to the Marine Mammal Emergency Call Centre at 1-877-7baleine.

At the time of the release in the water on June 15, the veterinarians had issued a reserved prognosis. They were particularly concerned about the debility of the electrolytes in its blood formula and doubted whether it would be possible to recover. However, the beluga had so far thwarted the prognosis by continuing its course, swimming more than 570 km through the estuary.

“Nothing is being played yet,” says Robert Michaud, Scientific Director of the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals and coordinator of the attempt to rescue the young beluga. “If the animal is still alive but its beacon has fallen, it will have left a scar under its dorsal crest which should allow us to recognize it easily. Our season with the belugas begins and we will keep our eyes wide open. ”

The story of the beluga does not stop with the end of the tag. Many developments can still occur, and the rescue operation has already tested hypotheses and advanced science.

Recap

June 2: the Marine Animal Response Society received notification of a beluga roaming the Nepisiguit River, near Bathurst, in New Brunswick.

June 7: The beluga is unable to get out of the river on its own. The displacement plan is prepared.

June 8: Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Marine Animal Response Society experts arrive on the scene to assess the various displacement options.

June 9: Unveiling of the beluga’s relocation plan to the Saint Lawrence. Six days are needed to get the equipment, human resources, optimal weather conditions and all the components required for the response.

June 15: Day of the response.

July 3: The beluga was around Longue-Rive.

July 4 : No new position from the tag was received.

The beluga continues what looks like an exploration of the estuary. Since June 30, the beluga has gone upstream the St. Lawrence River to the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park for a two-days visit. During the night of July 2 to 3, the beluga was in front of Cape Bon-Désir, in the marine park. Tonight, the positions placed him further downstream, near Longue-Rive, Côte-Nord.

The Nepisiguit beluga made his first visit to the north coast. Yesterday (June 22) the young beluga of Nepisiguit undertook his first “crossing” of the estuary. After spending a few days off Saint-Fabien, he was last night a few kilometres off the Petits Escoumins. Again the transmission period was relatively short (20:19 to 23:09) but the distance travelled during the last day is quite large. These indications are very slight in judging the condition of the animal, which has not yet been examined.  Released on June 15, the beluga of Nepisiguit has nonetheless been freely moving in the St. Lawrence estuary for a week. This in itself is an encouraging sign for researchers who are eagerly waiting to meet him.

The young beluga of Nepisiguit continues its “exploration” of the estuary. The signals received from the satellite tag last night (June 21) place the beluga still off Saint-Fabien. After a short offshore getaway the day before (June 20th), the beluga moved closer to Bicquette Island and then back to Saint-Fabien. The signal reception period (20:12 to 23:31) remains relatively short, suggesting that our beluga still spends a lot of time on the surface. The wind is still blowing from the south-west, again pushing our patrols to sea.

The young beluga of Nepisiguit returned to the St. Lawrence in Cacouna last June 15 was last night (June 20) still in front of Saint-Fabien. However, he had “taken off”, which is encouraging news, because he had changed his trajectory from the last days leading downstream to the limit of the summer range of the belugas. On the last day, the beluga moved away from the coast to the centre of the estuary.

The signals transmitted by the satellite beacon fixed to the back of the beluga make it possible to reconstitute the trajectory of the beluga. The continuing trajectory towards the gulf of the last few days had raised concerns among researchers. They wondered whether the beluga was able to swim against the current or to stand on the spot or whether he would continue its trajectory and leave the area frequented in summer by the beluga whales.

It has been only 6 days since the Nepisiguit beluga has returned to its natural habitat. The researchers reassess that the situation of the beluga remains critical and that it may take several weeks to re-establish its strength and re-enter a “normal” beluga life. The movements registered yesterday were, however, received as an encouraging sign as he is still in an area heavily frequented by belugas and he seems to be able to swim actively in the current.

Again, the forecast did not allow the researchers to patrol at sea. A story to follow.

The young beluga of Nepisiguit, who had been released off Cacouna for a little more than two days, was yesterday evening (17 June) swimming close to Ile Blanche, in front of Cacouna. Again, the transmission period was relatively short, from 20:43 to 23:13. This suggests to researchers that the beluga still spends a lot of time on the surface.

However, the distance traveled, more than 10 nautical miles, and the area in which it is located, is encouraging. This area, located within the boundaries of the Saguenay-St.Lawrence Marine Park, is heavily frequented by juvenile belugas. Once the condition of the young beluga improves, one of its challenges will be to bond to a social group. Belugas are not only gregarious, they are social animals. At its age, it is estimated by its length (2.40 m) that it is between 2 and 3 years old, the Nepisiguit beluga should be in a group of females accompanied by young and spend more and more time with juveniles.

We hope to be able to resume the patrols at sea tomorrow if the weather permits.

After a long day of waiting, we received yesterday night (June 16) signals from the satellite tag of the young beluga of the Nepisiguit River (Bathurst NB) brought back to the St. Lawrence estuary and released off Cacouna Thursday on June 15th. Good news, the beluga continue to swim upstream. At the last position received at 9:48 pm, he was in an area regularly frequented by beluga whales. However, we do not know if he joined a group of belugas yet. Patrols at sea by the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammal Research and Education Group (GREMM) on the Bleuvet will be conducted over the next days to attempt visual contact with the beluga whale.

The current pattern of signal reception could make the task difficult. As was the case on the first day following the release, we obtained locations only for a few hours yesterday, actually between 20:00 and 21:48. The tag attached to the beluga has been programmed to send 250 signals per day and it sends these signals every time it is exposed to the surface. It is possible that the beluga, recovering from its adventure, spends a lot of time at rest, near the surface. The tag then could transmit all its signals within a few hours. Its transmission cycle begins at midnight universal time ie 8:00 pm in Quebec. If our hypothesis is good and the beluga is fine we should have news of our beluga only late in the evening.

The team is very encouraged by these early news. However, we remain cautious about the long-term prognosis. A story to follow.

After a long day of work to relocate the beluga lost in the Nepisiguit River to the St. Lawrence Estuary, the response team announced that he is swimming freely in his original range. All steps of the operation have been completed on June 15. The teams are returning to their home ports, relieved to see the animal swimming and breathing in the river, but aware that the beluga’s survival is not completely guaranteed. The whale is and will continue to be monitored.

At daybreak, teams prepared themselves at each response site: the Nepisiguit River, the Bathurst Airport, the Rivière-du-Loup Airport, and the Port of Gros-Cacouna.

A team from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Marine Animal Response Society caught the young male around 12 p.m., Atlantic time. This was not an easy feat. Once the whale was caught, veterinarians from the Université de Montréal Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the Vancouver Aquarium and the Shedd Aquarium tested his condition before he was transported. The veterinarians gave him a fair prognosis. He had drank a lot of fresh water and lost weight. He needed to be relocated for his survival in the very short term.

During transport by truck and plane, the beluga’s condition remained stable. The beluga arrived in Rivière-du-Loup at about 1:30 p.m. Quebec time. He was immediately transported to the port of Gros-Cacouna. After a satellite transmitter was inserted, blood was taken, and a biopsy was done, the animal was lowered by crane onto a submerged pontoon attached to the Bleuvet, the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals’ research vessel. When the animal hit the salt water, it began to breathe more easily, more calmly and at a more relaxed rate.

A Parks Canada team patrolled the sea during the day in search of beluga pods. The Bleuvetjoined the Parks Canada vessel Alliance with a pod made up of young and female belugas two nautical miles from the port At 4:54 p.m., the beluga was released into the St. Lawrence Estuary. During the first breathing sequence, it swam slowly. The second breathing sequence was energetic; the whale was with some small grey belugas (juveniles). The team could hear the beluga’s calls through a hydrophone. It then lost visual contact with the animal, but its whereabouts were located with the aid of the satellite transmitter. Over the next few hours and days, the beluga will be track remotely. It is hoped that it will be integrated into a group of other belugas. The team returned to port encouraged, but aware that there were still a number of challenges facing the beluga.

Here is a drone footage of the release in the St. Lawrence. At first, the beluga swam quite slowly but get more vigorous after its first breath. You can see the tag on its right lap.

• June 2: the Marine Animal Response Society received notification of a beluga roaming the Nepisiguit River, near Bathurst, in New Brunswick.
• June 7: The beluga is unable to get out of the river on its own. The displacement plan is prepared.
• June 8: Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Marine Animal Response Society experts arrive on the scene to assess the various displacement options.
• June 9: Unveiling of the beluga’s relocation plan to the Saint Lawrence. Six days are needed to get the equipment, human resources, optimal weather conditions and all the components required for the response.
• June 15: Day of the response.
• June 16: No new position from the tag was received at 3pm. We hope to get one by the end of the day.

We sincerely thank all those who participated in the response:

Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals, Marine Animal Response Society, Maritime Marine Animal Response Network, Réseau québécois d’urgences pour les mammifères marins [Quebec Marine Mammals Emergency Response Network], Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Science Team, Conservation and Protection Team, and the Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Gulf Region/Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Quebec Region Management Team, Parks Canada, Transport Canada, Centre de remorquage 2000, the Université de Montréal Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Vancouver Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium, Whale Stewardship Project, the Port of Gros-Cacouna, Arrimage Québec, the Rivière-du-Loup Airport, Bathurst Regional Airport, the Bathurst and Rivière-du-Loup police services and all on-site volunteers at different locations.

Follow the operation with  #greatbelugarescue on Twitter.

Over the past two days, Cathy Kinsman and Ken Petersen from the Whale Stewardship Project have been observing the behaviour of the lone beluga. Since 1998, the Whale Stewardship Project has been conducting research projects on solitary and social belugas that stray outside their normal range. The Nepisiguit River beluga probably measures less than 2.5 m and is between 2 and 3 years old.

Cathy Kinsman explain that the beluga’s behaviour is particularly repetitive: “It’s always in the rapids. It has been moving around in a radius of 2 or 3 m at the most. It continues to swim and its breathing has been calm and regular. For the last two days, that is pretty much all it has been doing. It doesn’t appear to be struggling.”

Previously, the beluga rescued from the St. Paul River also had a period of repetitive stationary movement. Écho, a.k.a. Casper, held itself vertically without moving for long periods.

At the present moment, the beluga’s skin seems to be in better condition than it was at the time of initial observations. “It still has some diatom patches, but they are much smaller. Nothing to be concerned about. Its skin does appear to be better, clearer, and more normal.”

Regarding the water level, it is still acceptable, but has been gradually dropping. Water temperatures also seem to be adequate, but are expected to rise gradually. “The clock is ticking. It’s not an emergency yet, but the beluga needs to be moved soon.”

The beluga was re-evaluated today. It stills appears to be in robust health, spending most of its time swimming in the current. GREMM Scientific Director Robert Michaud was on site with Yves Morin of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a specialist in beluga capture in Hudson Bay, as well as Tim Binder, beluga expert at the Shedd Aquarium, and Catherine Kinsman of the Whale Stewardship Project, an organization specializing in lone and out-of-range belugas.

In light of the information obtained today, the plan to relocate the beluga to the St. Lawrence Estuary sometime this week is being maintained, once all the equipment has been gathered and all the conditions are met. Over the next few days, Marine Mammal Emergencies volunteers will oversee public awareness. DFO officers will continue to visit the site on a regular basis, while Catherine Kinsman will make detailed observations of the beluga’s behaviour.

An attempt will be made to relocate the stray beluga in New Brunswick’s Nepisiguit River to the St. Lawrence Estuary. This decision is unprecedented for St. Lawrence belugas. Experience suggests that the operation will be a risky one, but it could open up new prospects in conservation and rescue. This tricky intervention brings together experts from the Marine Animal Response Society (MARS), the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Network, the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM), Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium and the Vancouver Aquarium.

A beluga that could help save others

After analyzing a number of different options, the expert team concluded that the animal trapped in the river must be moved. They decided to attempt to release it back into the St. Lawrence, its presumed place of origin.

“Even if each step of the operation brings its own set of risks, the experts collaborating in the effort all believe that the end justifies the means. As the state of the St. Lawrence beluga population is precarious, the rescue and reintroduction of a single individual could have an impact on the long-term survival of the species,” believes GREMM Scientific Director Robert Michaud.

In order to track its movements and gauge the success of the operation, a satellite tag will be placed on the animal. Ultimately, if each step unfolds as planned, experts may elect to reintroduce other animals back into their natural environment in cases involving endangered marine mammals outside their normal range or in a vulnerable situation.

Three-step Plan

Sometime within the next week, once all the necessary equipment has been gathered, the operation – which will have to be carried out with maximum efficiency (in less than one day) – will get underway.

First, the MARS and DFO teams will capture the animal. The beluga will be brought to the mouth of the river, where its condition will be re-evaluated.

Learning from the past

In 2001, three beluga whales were trapped in a river in the Lower North Shore region. Despite the fact that they were in a salmon pool, two of the three belugas died of starvation before any human response could be organized. Subsequently, the third beluga was moved to the bay at the mouth of the river. It was later observed in a Newfoundland village, where it was increasingly interacting with fishermen and ships. A few days later, the animal ended up dying following a collision with a watercraft.

With the Nepisiguit River beluga, the experts involved are hoping to successfully reintroduce the animal into a population of belugas in order to ensure the long-term survival of the individual. Even if each step comes with risks, inaction will spell imminent death for the animal.

After observations at the field and a review of the images taken by drone of the animal, the experts continue to analyze the situation. For now, the beluga appears to be in good health, but prolonged stay in freshwater and shallow water can be dangerous. Different options are evaluated to move the animal. You can see here extracts from the video filmed by drone yesterday morning of the beluga.

A lone beluga whale in the Nepisiguit River near Bathurst, New Brunswick was reported to the Marine Animal Response Society (MARS), organization responsible for responding to stranded or vulnerable marine mammals in the Maritime Provinces. The Nepisiguit River, which empties into Chaleur Bay, is currently too low for the beluga to reach the open sea on its own.

At the present time, it is not known whether the beluga belongs to the St. Lawrence population or the Arctic population.

Unusual, but not exceptional

This is not the first time that a solitary beluga has been seen outside its usual range. In 2015, no fewer than four cases were reported in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the US East Coast and even England. You can read about them in the Whales Online archives. Other unexpected observations also occur from time to time. Last summer, a narwhal was seen with belugas in the St. Lawrence.