The body of a young humpback whale came out of the water in Sainte-Anne-de-Sorel (AFP)
Sorel, Canada:
A young humpback whale that swam on one of Canada’s main rivers, delighting Montrealers who packed the shores to get a glimpse of the first species in local waters, has died.
The pilot of a passing commercial vessel spotted a “whale carcass” near Varennes in the province of Quebec, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Montreal, Marie- Eve Muller of the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Network (RQUMM).
The body was towed by the Canadian Fisheries Service to Sorel, 80 kilometers east of Montreal, where it was lifted from the shore using a giant crane
“It is very likely to be the same whale seen near Montreal a few days ago,” said Muller.
The giant creature was seen last week swimming in the St. Lawrence River, diving into the backdrop of the Montreal skyline.
The two to three year old cetacean appeared healthy from a distance, and scientists hoped that it would return to the estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, more than 400 kilometers away.
The pilot of the boat, who discovered the carcass, told Radio-Canada that he had “seen no blood or deformation”, which would indicate the possibility of a collision with a ship.
A team made up of the RQUMM, federal fisheries and veterinary medicine officials from the University of Montreal visited the site “to find out more”.
An autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of death.
Local media, citing experts, have speculated that the whale could have been struck by a freighter or run aground in shallow waters.
Humpback whales live near the Arctic and Antarctic, with adults reaching up to 17 meters and weighing up to 40 tonnes.
Each pod spends the summer near the poles and travels to the tropical areas of their respective hemispheres during the winter to reproduce.
The Montreal visitor likely got lost while hunting for prey or made a navigation error, Muller said Sunday.
It is the first humpback whale observed in these regions.
“There have previously been reports of minke whales or belugas, but never for this species,” explained the RQUMM.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
