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From myth to reality, everything about the sperm whale fascinates us — from its submarine-shaped body, its ability to plunge to untold depths and its battles with giant squid, to its complex and astonishing social organisation.
The sperm whale is found in every sea the world, yet it is a rare sight in the St. Lawrence. Even in the days when whalers plied the oceans, it seems that these whales were not abundant in the St. Lawrence. Since researchers began studying cetaceans in the St. Lawrence, there have been occasional sightings in the Gulf and a few reports of stranded whales. In May 1991, observers were incredulous when they caught sight of two sperm whales off Grandes-Bergeronnes. One of them, nicknamed "Tryphon" after a character in the celebrated Tintin comic books, extended his stay until September. Tryphon continued to surprise when, contrary to expectations, he returned every summer, except in 1993. An additional 20 sperm whales were photographed in the area by the GREMM team.
These visitors are often seen in small groups, or pods, of two to four. In August 1997, however, a group of 15 sperm whales was observed — an exceptional sight since males tend to be solitary while females and their young rarely migrate so far north, preferring the tropical or temperate waters south of the 45th parallel. Furthermore, Hal Whitehead and his research team from Dalhousie University, in Nova Scotia, have only observed groups of females and their young on two occasions. None of the animals identified in the St. Lawrence Estuary by GREMM appear in Whitehead’s photo-identification catalogue of 26 individuals, probably males trying to put on extra weight before rejoining the females who remain behind in warmer waters. But who are the sperm whales of the St. Lawrence? What are they doing so far north in the Estuary where they cannot enjoy the deep waters they usually prefer? This new topic of research may shed more light on both the sperm whales and the St. Lawrence.
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Herman Melville’s Moby Dick! This whale prefers very deep waters. Since 1991, sperm whales have been sighted regularly in the St. Lawrence Estuary. In the North Atlantic they are having difficulty recovering from the intensive hunt of the 19th century: their rate of reproduction is low and the hunt, which focused on males, may have led to an imbalance in the male/female ratio.