Calm Before the Big Cold Front

A resident of Gallix was lucky enough to see a few pinnipeds in the last week. Her first encounter took place on January 31: “In the late afternoon, the sea was calm and offshore, I saw a big black spot on the horizon. Probably a seal or two on a chunk of ice, but it was too far to confirm with certainty! The next day, luck was on her side again and she describes to us her observation: “I just saw four of them on the ice or snow offshore, not quite as far as they were yesterday.”

In Franquelin, ice prevents any sighting of large whales and there does not seem to be the slightest trace of a seal on the horizon. At Cap de Bon-Désir in Les Bergeronnes, a solitary beluga is spotted swimming offshore while harbour seals are resting quietly on the shore and ice is beginning to form in the bay. The presence of a dozen or so harp seals was also reported.

Even if it is sometimes difficult to know what kind of seal we are dealing with, especially if the individuals are far away, there are a few tricks that can help. Harbour seals, which are year-round residents in the St. Lawrence, have rounded heads and V-shaped nostrils. Their snout resembles that of a dog. Greyish-yellow to light brown in colour, their coat has a few spots on the back, while their belly is more uniform. The harp seal arrives in the St. Lawrence in the fall and leaves in the spring. Newborns are completely white, while adults have irregular black spots. Males show a black harp-shaped marking on their backs, while this pattern is not always present in females. Grey seals are not normally observed in the St. Lawrence during the winter. Instead, they are found off the coasts of Nova Scotia, where they breed and give birth.