Like the sperm whale, this animal is an expert in deep-sea diving for
long periods of time. A small population off Nova Scotia is threatened by
natural gas exploration around Sable Island.
Northern Bottlenose Whale "Science
and conservation" page
I want to know more
On November 7, 1994, our research team’s cameras and field books were
already put away for the winter when a news bulletin on T.V. reported the
stranding of a rorqual whale on the tidal flats of Montmagny. Upon hearing
the report, however, we had to admit that it was probably another species
entirely.
At 8:30 the following morning, two members ofGREMM searched the shore
to put any doubts to rest . On seeing the carcass, they were not
surprised. As they had presumed, it was a northern bottlenose whale
(Hyperoodon ampullatus). Immediate call to action; a series of
telephone calls and authorizations were exchanged. We had to perform a
necropsy and recover the skeleton at all costs. Why was there so much
excitement? The northern bottlenose whale, while not a rare species, is
seldom observed in the St. Lawrence Estuary. It is spotted more often in
the Atlantic Ocean, mainly offshore from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and
as far north as the Arctic. What, then, was it doing in this area? We will
never know. The spring tide combined with the tidal flats probably took it
by surprise.
An examination of the carcass revealed it to be a female measuring
seven metres long and weighing approximately three tonnes. Judging by the
presence of milk in the teats, she was probably accompanied by a young
calf. People who saw the animal die on the muddy tidal flats were
convinced that they had also seen a second animal the day of the
dissection.
The next day I returned to the shore to see what I could see. There had
been a dramatic turn of events: there was a second individual stranded at
Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies several kilometres downstream. Once again, it was
a northern bottlenose whale, this time a young male. It wasn’t that
surprising that another animal of this species had thus ventured into the
Estuary. Indeed, the bottle-nosed whale is a gregarious species, that is,
it lives in groups, generally composed of 10 or more individuals. However,
this second stranding in the same week didn’t help to explain what led
these whales so far upstream, nor what caused them to beach themselves.
Yet this was not the first time we’d found this species in our waters.
In fact, a review of the literature showed that a 6.7 m female was
captured near Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière on September 4, 1940.
More recently, in 1987, an adult male was stranded on the shores of the
Magdelen Islands. A necropsy revealed the cause of death to be a plastic
bag in its stomach.
Keep an eye out. Who knows what other surprises the St. Lawrence holds
in store…
