Cetacean Diversity in Full Swing

A few grey seals were lurking near the docks in Essipit. As one individual poked its nostrils above the water, one could actually hear it breathing from shore. “Perhaps it was sniffing the air for its next meal,” speculates one observer. Or else it had had a particularly exhausting day! In Tadoussac, a naturalist was able to admire a minke whale performing about ten frog jumps. Not to mention the presence of a fin whale, harbour porpoises, harbour seals and nearly a dozen minke whales in the area. In Les Bergeronnes, a marine mammal enthusiast ponders the identity of a whale she saw earlier: “Last Saturday, humpback whales were blowing left and right! And a mystery whale, too, wandering away from the rest of the group. A high spout and long exhalation, a dark back, and a dorsal fin like that of a blue whale, but still difficult to say for sure what species it was.”

In Pointe-des-Monts, the horizon is rather static, with just two minke whales and a few seals poking their heads above the water, but not a sign of a single large rorqual. Off the coast of Franquelin, harbour porpoises and grey seals were reported. One marine mammal enthusiast makes a remarkable observation: “Two minke whales were seen, one of which showed its pink abdomen on one occasion and on another, rolled over itself at the surface, showing its pectoral fin. The humpback whale H857 has also been in the area for a few days. All this marine life may be attributable to the presence of krill in the sector!

At the Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS), North Atlantic right whales are still present. Over the past week, between 12 and 15 individuals have been observed. MICS founder and director Richard Sears explains that typical mating behaviour was observed between some of the animals! Two fin whales were also spotted near Rivière-au-Tonnerre. Minke whales have been roaming the Mingan Islands, not to mention a few porpoises here and there. A humpback and a blue whale also made appearances, not to mention a visit by a basking shark!

In Gaspé Bay, after a few unproductive days scanning the horizon, marine mammals seem to have all arrived at the same time! For starters, Atlantic white-sided dolphins were observed in good numbers, with tallies of between 100 and 150 animals! This gregarious species lives in groups of several individuals and feeds on small pelagic fish, squid and occasionally benthic crustaceans. Additionally, minke whales have been regularly swimming near the shore, while harbour porpoises are also being observed in the area. On the morning of August 17, a group of five humpbacks appeared in the bay, opposite L’Anse-aux-Amérindiens. And that’s not all: A basking shark was seen and even captured on video!

Two humpbacks and a handful of minke whales were spotted in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. A group of about fifty belugas, mostly males, also wowed observers.

These data were reported by our network of observers. They give an idea of the presence of whales and in no way represent the actual distribution of whales in the St. Lawrence. Use it for fun!

Click on the whale or seal icons to discover the species, the number of individuals, additional information or photos of the sighting. To enlarge the map, click on the icon in the top right-hand corner. The map works well on Chrome and Firefox, but not so well on Safari.

To display the list of sightings, click on the icon in the top left-hand corner.