After being spotted in the Le Moyne channel, not far from the Jacques-Cartier bridge, the second minke whale observed this week in the Montreal waters of the St. Lawrence River seems to have moved again.
Posted at 6:11 p.m.
This was indicated by the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM) at the end of the afternoon, Thursday, while specifying that it was in the process of establishing its exact position.
Meanwhile, his colleague observed for the first time a few days earlier had still not moved and remains under surveillance near Île Sainte-Hélène.
The simultaneous presence of two minke whales in the St. Lawrence River near Montreal is a highly unusual event, never seen in recent history.
The GREMM asks citizens not to attempt to approach the two marine mammals with a boat.
In 2020, a humpback whale also dazzled Montrealers with its jumps in the St. Lawrence River, cheering up the confined population at the start of the pandemic.
However, the whale was found stranded near Varennes two weeks later. After an autopsy, the exact cause of his death could not be determined with certainty. She could have collided with one of the many ships circulating in the Port of Montreal or have succumbed to a serious infection.
In 2012, a beluga also came up to Montreal, causing a surprise. Before that, we have to go back to 1901 for the last whale observed in the metropolis.