Bon Désir (1965-2000)

Beluga

ligne décoration

Adopted by the Parc national du Fjord-du-Saguenay, the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park and The Scout and Guide of Saint-Hyacinthe

  • ID number

    DL0111

  • Sex

    Male

  • Year of birth

    1965 (death in 2000)

  • Known Since

    1986

Distinctive traits

Bon Désir can be distinguished from other belugas by the deep scar at the end of his dorsal ridge. From the left flank, he reveals a rounded W-shaped silhouette.

Life history

Already white when we first saw him, he would be at least 12 to 16 years old.

His large size and social affiliations led us to believe that Bon Désir is a male. He is part of a network of males that frequent the downstream sector between Tadoussac and Les Escoumins.

He’s a “downriver” male who frequents the Cap Bon-Désir area on the north shore and Trois-Pistoles on the south shore. It is often seen in aggregations of varying size made up almost exclusively of adults. The adults present are probably males, as in summer there is segregation between males and females. This companionship between males could be linked to a reproductive strategy. In fact, the beluga’s strategy is similar to that of certain dolphin populations: as not all females are “available” for reproduction in summer, the males cooperate to isolate a female from her group and coerce her into mating.

Regularly seen with...

Observations history in the Estuary

1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000

Years in which the animal was not observed Years in which the animal was observed

Latest news

We find Bon Désir’s carcass drifting off Les Escoumins. Post-mortem examination confirms that Bon Désir is male. He is at least 35 years old and measures 4.11 m.

Sponsors

The Scout and Guide of Saint-Hyacinthe adopted Bon Désir (2000).

Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park adopted Bon Désir (200).

Le Parc national du Fjord-du-Saguenay adopted Bon Désir (2000).