DL1415

Off Ile Rouge, at the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord, a herd of 100 to 110 individuals has been spotted. The herd is composed mainly of adults, possibly all males. DL1415 was spotted among the individuals. We attempt a biopsy, but unfortunately the arrow passes just above his dorsal crest. Aiming at a moving target on a moving platform is no mean feat. We’ll have to wait for another opportunity to get that little bit of skin and fat that will confirm whether our suspicions about DL1415’s sex are right, and reveal many other secrets. During the course of this encounter, however, we managed three biopsies on other belugas. A successful day!

Aboard the BpJAM research dinghy, we’re out today to survey the large whales, but we’ve also been instructed to photograph any belugas we come across along the way. We encounter a herd of white whales between the Alouettes flats and the Tadoussac “dunes”, which are in fact marine terraces. We count about 15 belugas, including some that are still gray, i.e. young. Among the belugas, we photographed DL1415, with minke whales feeding on the surface, attracting the attention of cruisers and yachtsmen. To reduce the pressure on the whales, we choose to continue on our way.

August 30, 2012: near Anse à la Boule in the Saguenay, we cross paths with a herd numbering some forty individuals. The herd is noted to be disparate, comprising adults, young and four calves. The majority of the animals are alone, except the females and calves, who are swimming in two isolated groups. The solitary animals are probably males, based on their size and behaviour; DL1415 is identified amongst them.

September 6, 2010, frankly, it’s not an ideal day for beluga photo-identification. The wind is blowing hard, and the (white) sheep are adding to the reflections, making it harder to see the (white) belugas. We set course for the fjord, hoping for calmer weather. We find a herd of around 40 individuals, made up of adults and calves, near Baie-Sainte-Catherine. The belugas are very active, with lots of surface activity such as spitting and tail wagging. Some belugas appear sideways, revealing half their belly. DL1415 is in a group of 10 individuals, including whites (adults), dirty whites (young adults) and well-built grays (teenagers). Also in the same group are DL2319, DL2453, DL2452 and Neo. While the belugas were very active a few seconds earlier, they seem to have evaporated. We wait 10 minutes, but they don’t reappear through the waves. We decide to continue on our way in search of other animals.

DL1415 is recognized among some forty individuals, mostly white adults. Since his first identification, this young male beluga has usually been seen at the mouth of the Saguenay, which leads us to believe that he could be part of one of the two networks of males in the Saguenay. Today, he is in the company of Trèfle and other males belonging to the downstream network, the “downstream boys” as they are known. We believe there are few encounters between males from different networks, but definitive membership of a network could be established late in the belugas’ lives… To be continued!