Solidaire

Last winter, our research assistants undertook the meticulous analysis of some 13,000 photos collected throughout the summer of 2018.Thanks to this exercise, we were able to conclude that we spotted Solidaire at least once. Here is a description of this encounter.

We’re off the coast of Les Escoumins on board the BpJAM, our inflatable research boat. The sun glare on the water prevents us from obtaining an accurate count, but we have at least 70 belugas in front of us. We approach a cluster of 5 individuals to photo-identify them. All of a sudden, we start seeing pectoral fins poking above the surface and tails being lifted out of the water. We slip on our hockey helmet and leather gloves as we gear up to launch the drone. We also drop a hydrophone into the water to record the beluga’s vocalizations.

Once the drone has achieved lift-off, we observe the whales’ behaviours. The animals’ broad shoulders indicate that we are dealing with a group of bulls. They are strongly interacting, grazing and jostling one another. Within the group, we recognize Écho, Gaston, Solidaire, Lugi, DL2023 and DL0058. The herd splits into smaller groups of ten or so individuals, while a few of the animals are swimming alone. Two young grey belugas and one that is almost white – what we would call dirty white – approach the boat and and begin to nibble on our hydrophone. The animals pick up their pace and we film for the twenty minutes of battery life we have left before departing to search for another group.

Summer 2016, our 32nd season at sea with the belugas, was once again rich in encounters and surprises. Good news: after a notable three-year absence, we saw Solidaire again this summer. Since our first meeting in 1994, he has regularly been “missing in action”. We’re still trying to better understand these brief absences: do they reflect his travels or the vagaries of our sampling? [In hindsight, we discovered that Solidaire had been seen in 2015 and 2013, but that his identification had eluded us at first glance].

On July 29, 2016, we crossed paths with Solidaire near Ile aux Pommes off Trois-Pistoles. He swims among a herd of males, white adults and gray juveniles, including around 150 individuals. The herd is divided into about twenty groups.

The animals are very active: some belugas “porpoise”, i.e. they swim with their bodies out of the water, while others stick out their tails. We hear all kinds of vocalizations. Before taking photos, we have to spot the markings on the animals’ flanks. Despite the size of the herd, we manage to do the rounds, and several individuals show easily identifiable markings. Further analysis of the data will tell us who Solidaire’s comrades were that day.

As we start our day, we come across a lone beluga. We decided to continue towards Rimouski, in search of more belugas. As luck would have it, we came across a huge herd of around 200 belugas! The herd spreads out over a good distance and is divided into six groups. The size of the individuals tells us that they are mostly males, adults and juveniles. Among this mass of white backs, we recognize Solidaire, swimming in the company of two other well-known males, Jetstream and Trèfle.

We’re off Ile aux Basques, filming underwater images of beluga whales. Solidaire is immortalized on film with other white adults and grey juveniles that pass and repass under our boat. Belugas are gregarious and curious animals, and they sometimes examine boats. This investigative behavior exposes them to the risk of collision. That’s why St. Lawrence boaters are urged to exercise extreme caution in the presence of belugas, and if possible, to keep their distance.