HELLO, MONTREAL!
Um. Try not to panic, but there’s a beluga on your face.
Yes, you have read correctly. If you are walking around the Old Port (of Montreal), take a gander down into the water, and you may possibly catch a glimpse at the beluga who has lost its’ way and landed by our shores.
Officials are asking members of the public to not interact with the beluga if spotted. Instead, take a photograph and call the Marine Mammals Emergency Network immediately!
1-877-722-5346
That is, 1 – 8 7 7 – 7 2 2 – 5 3 4 6.
The lost whale may be ill, and will have a poor chance of surviving should it remain in the Montreal area.
The descriptions made are said that the animal is light grey in color (they turn whiter with age) and is about three meters in length.
Belugas who stray from their usual territory tend to be either young or sick, claims Robert Michaud – a scientific director of Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals. According to the sightings documented throughout the past few days, this particular whale appears to be a full-grown adult, though it is too soon to confirm whether the erratic change of course may be caused by illness.
Beluga whale expert Pierre Béland did, however, shed light on a new theory to possibly explain the animals behavior.
“It could be psychological,” he said. “Maybe he hates his buddies and went off alone. Why not? These animals are very, very intelligent. I had a friend who was working for the U.S. Navy and he was training belugas partly for military reasons that he never disclosed. But he was also studying their behavior. And he told me that they were 10 times better than dolphins at identifying objects and at finding things.
“Dolphins are like 4-year-old children,” Béland added. “They’re very moody. If you don’t do what they like, they sulk.
“Belugas don’t do that. They’re very patient.”
A few weeks ago, a sighting of a beluga was made in Quebec City, reports at the end of September east of Montreal were made, as well as several sightings near the Jacques Cartier Bridge and Clock Tower Pier. Experts says it is possible that this is the same animal traveling along our waters and it would be a first for our history that a beluga has swum this far upriver.
Pierre Béland – situated in Montreal – expresses his great concern for the lost whale. According to Béland, the St. Lawrence is like a highway for toxins,
“Most of the water that flows down here comes from the Great Lakes, and the Great Lakes are contaminated with industrial and agricultural chemicals, some from the 1920s”.
Again, I cannot stress this enough:
Officials are asking members of the public to not interact with the beluga if spotted. Instead, take a photograph and call the Marine Mammals Emergency Network immediately!
1-877-722-5346
That is, 1 – 8 7 7 – 7 2 2 – 5 3 4 6.
The lost whale may be ill, and will have a poor chance of surviving should it remain in the Montreal area.
the chatterbox 