Survivor of the Estuary

The last time “Le Survivant” was seen was on November 23, 2014, off the coast of Cap de Bon-Désir in the municipality of Les Bergeronnes. Five months later, on May 2, the same observer spots Le Survivant again, and from the same promontory. The beluga is swimming alone.

This seasoned collaborator recognized Le Survivant’s distinctive field marks in the photo that he had just shot, having worked for many years aboard the GREMM research boat Le Bleuvet, where he helped monitor belugas in their environment. Indeed, he was able to identify this male – which has been known since the 1980s – based on the small tightly spaced scars on his right flank and his dorsal crest interspersed with gashes.

The region of Sorel-Tracy adopted Le Survivant in 1990 during the first wave of the Adopt a Beluga campaign which was relaunched on November 10, 2014 under a new formula.