For the second time in two years, a whale has made its way to Montreal, this time arousing much less wonder, due to fears for its health.
Posted at 4:28 p.m.
A minke whale was spotted for the first time on Sunday in Le Moyne Channel, the thin body of water separating Île Sainte-Hélène from Île Notre-Dame, near the Jacques-Cartier Bridge in Montreal.
A very unusual environment for the marine mammal that can measure 6 to 9 meters in length, which normally lives in the St. Lawrence estuary, the gulf or in the Saguenay, several hundred kilometers away, according to the Research and Development Group. Marine Mammal Education (GREMM).
Monday morning, volunteers from the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Network went to the site and were able to confirm the presence of the cetacean in the river. “The individual was in the same place as the day before, at the height of the Cosmos footbridge, and was swimming facing the current”, specifies the GREMM on its website.
The animal appears to be in good health, according to observers, but the Port of Montreal presents “more risks” to its health.
In the spring of 2020, a humpback whale spotted in the Old Port of Montreal aroused the wonder of Montrealers, at the very start of the pandemic. The animal was subsequently seen near Pointe-aux-Trembles before being found stranded in Varennes. The thesis of a collision with a boat had been evoked to explain his death, but without being confirmed by the experts.
More details to come.