Bilou
Beluga
Adopted by the riverside municipalities of the St. Lawrence
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ID number
DL1308
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Sex
Male
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Year of birth
Around 1990
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Known Since
1997
Distinctive traits
We’re not yet able to identify Bilou from the right side. His left flank shows several scars, the main one of which being nearly twice as long as his dorsal crest.
Life history
It was in 1997 that we encountered Bilou for the very first time. He was pale gray at the time. Beginning in 2003, he was always noted as being “white”. Belugas fade from gray to white in colour between the ages of 12 and 16. Bilou would therefore have been born around 1990. His sex was confirmed by genetic analysis of a biopsy taken in 1998: Bilou is a male.
Bilou has been regularly observed in large, highly dynamic herds composed essentially of young males. Like adult males, young males stay away from herds of females accompanied by young in the summer. In contrast with adult males, young males do not seem to form lasting associations with other males.
These associations are established a little later in their lives. They may play an important role in belugas’ reproductive lives. To date Bilou has no known faithful companion.
How Bilou’s story unfolds will teach us volumes on the evolution of belugas’ social lives. By better understanding how belugas live, we will better be able to protect them.
Observations history in the Estuary
Years in which the animal was not observed Years in which the animal was observed
Latest news
Well, that’s great news! Bilou is back! The last photo of him was taken in 2013. We were starting to get worried. Where has Bilou been for the last seven years? Has he even avoided showing us his easily recognizable left flank all these years? For the moment, we haven’t noticed any significant markings on the right side that would allow us to identify him on that side. But let’s get back to the meeting on August 4, 2020, while we were sailing on the BpJAM. Very sociable, Bilou swims in a herd of 70 to 80 belugas. The composition is varied: adults, juveniles and even calves. Males and females are together in the area, a rare occurrence in the middle of summer. What must have brought them together: food. It must be particularly abundant, because even a minke whale is joining them. Then, perhaps because they’ve had their fill, the belugas change their behavior. At the surface, we see groups forming and breaking up, bodies brushing against each other and even a penis appearing! A beluga head emerges from the water and stares at us, pectoral fins slapping the surface. What a thrill! Then the drizzle that was cooling us off turns to rain. The wind picks up, forcing us back to port. Have fun without us, belugas!
We’re with Bilou off the coast of Ile aux Pommes near the south shore. He’s in one of the seven groups of young grayish belugas that are stirring at the water’s surface. Their tails and heads can be seen protruding from the water. A calf passes from one group to another without appearing to us to be accompanied by any one adult in particular. When we leave the sector more than 70 belugas are present.
We observe Bilou in the Saguenay Fjord as part of a herd of some thirty individuals. He swims alongside belugas DL2450 and DL2026. The animals are active and roaming around Baie Sainte-Marguerite. The majority are good-sized white adults, with a few gray juveniles. We assume they are males. The Saguenay is a place where the sexes and generations of belugas intermingle in summer : networks of males intermingle with communities of females.
Bilou swims among hundreds of his peers in the heart of the Saguenay Fjord. He’s in a very dynamic herd of young adults, or “teens”. The animals strike the surface with their tails and even stick their heads out of the water. All this agitation is difficult to interpret. Until we unravel the mysteries of beluga whale life, we classify these behaviors in the broad category of “social activities”.
Sponsors
The riverside municipalities of the St. Lawrence Solidary adopted Neige, Nics, Bilou, Cica and Solidaire (2014).
Beauharnois; Bécancour; Candiac; Carleton-sur-Mer; Charlemagne; Chute‐aux‐Outardes; Châteauguay; Contrecoeur; Grande Rivière; La Pocatière; Lanoraie; Les Bergeronnes; Louiseville; Lévis; Matane; Montmagny; Montréal; New-Richmond; Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs; Percé; Pincourt; Port-Cartier; Québec; Repentigny; Rimouski; Saint-André; Saint-Zotique; Sainte-Anne-de-Sorel; Sainte-Anne-des-Monts; Saint‐Ignace‐de‐Loyola; Saint‐Siméon; Salaberry-de‐Valleyfield; Sept-Iles; Sorel-Tracy; Tadoussac; Varennes
Click on the names below to discover texts, drawings and videos composed by children of participating schools on Facebook as part of the Our Beluga’s Name is… contest.
Neige was named by the special education class of the École Saint-Alexandre in Port-Cartier.
Nics was named by the 5th and 6th grade class of the École Élisabeth Turgeon in Rimouski.
Bilou was named by the 3th grade class of the École de Ste-Thérèse-De-L’Enfant-Jésus in Saint-Jérôme.
Cica was named by the 2th grade class of the École de la Ruche in Lévis.
Solidaire was named by the 5th grade of the École Our Lady of Pompei in Montreal.
Bilou a été nommé par la classe de 3e année de l’école de Ste-Thérèse-De-L’Enfant-Jésus de Saint-Jérôme.
Cica a été nommé par la classe de 2ième année de l’école de la Ruche de Lévis.
Solidaire a été nommé par la classe de 5ième année de l’école Our Lady of Pompei de Montréal.
