Stanley
Beluga
Adopted by The Fairmont Waterfront
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ID number
DL0193
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Sex
Male
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Year of birth
Around 1981
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Known Since
1989
Distinctive traits
Stanley’s dorsal crest contains enough notches to identify him from both flanks with this feature alone. He also has small gray spots on each flank to help identify him.
Life history
We first met Stanley in 1989. At the time, he was gray, so a juvenile. From 1995 onwards, he was always recorded as white. He would therefore have been born around 1981.
Stanley’s sex was confirmed by genetic analysis of a biopsy taken from his back : he was male. His associations suggest that he belongs to the “Downstream boys”, a gang of males regularly found off Les Bergeronnes and Les Escoumins.
Visually, it’s difficult to determine an individual’s sex. Stanley’s sex was confirmed by biopsy. Males are generally longer and larger than females. Other possible methods are : observation of the genital cleft, type of herds frequented, examination when the animal dies and, for females, repeated observations with a newborn.
Observations history in the Estuary
Years in which the animal was not observed Years in which the animal was observed
Latest news
We’re at the mouth of the Saguenay near buoy K54. This is where Stanley, accompanied by DL0248, swims into a herd of around 30 belugas, mostly young grays. We’re at the tail of the herd. It’s difficult to move forward, as we’re right in the heart of the current bar, a dynamic area that also attracts many seabirds, like the Bonaparte’s gulls we observe.
Sponsor
The Fairmont Waterfront adopted Stanley (2001).