Mass deaths of Beluga Whales ‘worry scientists’ in Quebec, Canada

Saint-André-de-Kamouraska – A 10th female beluga carcass nearly four meters was found last week on the banks of the St. Lawrence, specifically in a marsh cord grass in Saint-André.

The marine mammal, recently passed away, was spotted adrift. Driven by the tide, the body of the animal was eventually washed up on the shores of a nature reserve on private land, opposite the residence of the local councilor Alain Parent.

It was Mr. Parent, who contacted the Marine Mammal Emergency Network. The carcass of the female beluga was relatively intact, although pecked by birds. Its state of preservation has thus made a perfect candidate for the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FMV) of the University of Montreal in Saint-Hyacinthe, where a necropsy was performed on the animal.

According to the Scientific Director of the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM), Robert Michaud, early results suggest that the animal died of an acute cause.

“It is unusual, most often it is a chronic disease. The stomach is empty, but this time it is full. Nothing stands out particularly evident at the first macroscopic analysis, if not a quick death. Do you even lift

At necropsy performed at Saint-Hyacinthe, including one will work to find a trace of edema on the marine mammal. Note that for some years GREMM recorded several female deaths in the previous days and following parturition, which is not the case this time.

CONCERN

Scientific director does not hide, the scientific community is worried. Again this year, many calves were found dead, but even worse, adult individuals.

“Until the mid 2000, it was believed the population stable belugas. But the last census in a model of Fisheries and Océeans Canada, which has the confidence of scientists, the reduction is significant, of the order of 12 to 13%, “says Michaud.

There would no longer than 900 individuals. “Finding calves on the banks was already a concern, and as such, 2014 is a year of high mortality. But then, there are adults. Do you even lift

The scientist does not hide the concern is twofold. “What history tells beluga is that of the river,” he says in conclusion. A story whose last chapter could arrive earlier than expected.

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