National Post (National Edition)
Beluga’s scary fixation on Maritimes
Researchers fear Nepi getting too close to people
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. • A group of marine researchers says a young beluga whale is too attached to the Maritimes for his own good.
Nepi, who’s estimated to be about four years old, was spotted in Summerside, P.E.I., in early December, much to the delight of a local diving class.
“We heard a whale, or what we thought was something blowing, and then this whale appeared,” recalled Kimball Johnston, an instructor at Holland College’s commercial diving program.
The group, which included Johnston and 11 students, thought the whale would swim away and keep his distance. Instead, Nepi hung around the divers for several hours.
“He started coming around and was more curious, and was diving amongst our divers, and kept getting closer and closer to the point where he was right up next to them,” he said.
Johnston, who’s been diving for more than 20 years, said he’s never seen a beluga so close to the Island.
Robert Michaud, scientific director of the Quebec-based Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals, says it’s worrying to see a young beluga getting friendly with people while away from home — especially when it’s a repeat offender, like Nepi.
Michaud’s group first came across the young whale in June 2017. After getting a call about a beluga being stuck in the mouth of the Nepisiguit River in Bathurst, N.B., the group coordinated a rescue that involved moving him to the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, near Cacouna.
The marine research group put a tag on Nepi so they could track him, but the mischievous whale managed to lose it after about 20 days.
A year after he went off the grid, Nepi was spotted by a wildlife photographer in Ingonish, N.S., and researchers managed to identify the whale by looking at the photographs.
Now that the beluga has popped up once again in P.E.I., Michaud said he’s mystified as to why Nepi finds the Maritimes so alluring.
“This young whale would be much better hanging around with others of his own kind in the St. Lawrence area. This is why we moved it back to Cacouna,” he said. “The question is why he went back again. Is it the individual temper of this guy to be adventurous?”
When belugas get too close to boats and people, Michaud said, it can often lead to tragedy for the declining species, which is why it’s dangerous to allow them to get too close and encourage them to be fearless of people and their vessels.
“When the animals are not cautious, when you move in reverse with your boat, then accidents happen,” he said. “So we hope it won’t happen with Nepi.”