Trapped male beluga carried ashore in Bathurst and flown to Quebec

A trapped beluga whale that swam into theNepisiguitRiver by mistake two weeksago was rescued Thursday and flown fromBathurst, N.B., to Quebec.

Scientists who ran the 2-hour rescue mission said the whale will join an adoptive pod in the St. Lawrence River.

The mammal wouldn't have got out of the river on its own, the experts said.

They hope the rescue will improve the whale's chance ofsurvival after its stayin the northern New Brunswick river.

• Rescue mission planned for beluga stranded in Bathurst
• One beluga whale is either lost, or really likes Bathurst

The rescue mission got underwayearly Thursday morning. Scientists withGREMM, a marine mammal research group based in Quebec, used a hoop net,a stretcher and an inflatable mattress to capture the whale.

After coaxing the mammal into the net shortly after noon, the group carried it fromthe water and liftedit into the back of a truck for transportation to the airport.

"Hopefully it will go back to... normal behaviour"

7 years ago

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A beluga whale was rescued near Bathurst Thursday and moved to its natural habitat in Quebec. The aircraft carrying the whale landed in Rivire-du-Loup, Que., at about 1:45 p.m. ET. There, it was transferred to another truck for the last leg of its journey a 50-kilometer drive on Highway 132 throughNotre-Dame-du-Portage and Cacouna before reaching the water near its new home.

Not too stressed

At a press conference at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans office in Beresford, N.B.,Thursday afternoon, reporters were told that the whale did not appear too stressed during its rescue. The animal is a bit thin, however, and its skin is not in the best shape.

Once it was in the net, the scientists worked quickly to carry it out of the river, they said. They could be seen splashing water on the whale, and laying a wet towel on it.

Once ashore, the whale was treated by a vet and received an injection to keep it calm. The vet remainedwith the animal during its transport to Quebec and connected it to an IV while in the air.

The scientists confirmed that the whale is a male.

In an earlier interview with CBC News, RobertMichaud, the scientific directorof GREMM,said the researchershope totake the whale to theCacounaregion of the St. Lawrence River near Rivire-du-Loup, about 200 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

A plan like this has never been tried before, Michaud said.

But with the beluga population declining, he washopeful the plan would work.

It's still not clearhow the beluga whale ended up in theNepisiguitRiverin early June.