Beluga whales sighted in at least 2 P.E.I. locations

A marine mammal biologist is asking Prince Edward Islanders not to try to approach beluga whales after two were spotted in Colville Bay near Souris, and another turned up in the Hillsborough River at Mount Stewart.

Tonya Wimmer, a marine mammal biologist with the Marine Animal Response Society in Nova Scotia, said the animals aren't usually seen in P.E.I. waters.

"It's a pretty rare event for a beluga whale to be in this sort of part of the waters in Eastern Canada," she said.

"So that's quite, quite interesting to hear that that's where they are at the moment."

Debbie Murray, who moved to the Souris area from Vancouver about a month ago, captured two belugas on video recently.

"It was pretty amazing, I've never seen anything like this before," Murray said.

"We've been here for a month and had no idea that any wildlife of that kind would be around here. So it was quite the little treat for us."

After aninterview with Murray and Wimmers aired on Island Morning Thursday, CBC P.E.I. received emails and photos about another beluga whale in the Hillsborough River near Mount Stewart.

CBC video producer Danny Arsenault was able to capture still photos and video of the beluga later in the day.

Endangered species

Wimmer saidbelugas are an endangered species and people shouldn't be interacting with them. By law, humans are supposed to keep their distance.

"We remind people thatthese are endangered species. They're not to be approached. There are regulations and rules in place about how close you can get to them," she said.

• THE NATURE OF THINGS:Belugas of The St. Lawrence Estuary

"It's very lovely for people to be able to watch from a distance, but to make sure they keep their distance is the main thing."

That includes refraining from trying to approach them in small boats or on paddleboards, hoping for selfies.

Belugas 'go wandering'

Even though sightings like this are rare for P.E.I., it isn't uncommon for members of the sub-Arctic cetacean species to move around.

"This is the interesting thing with these belugas, who sort of go wandering. We're not entirely sure why this happens," Wimmer said.

"Sometimes [it's] just the single animal, sometimes with a few together. And it seems, you know, quite normal

"We've had this happen off Newfoundland. We have it, you know, inother parts of the Maritimes, even in the northeast U.S., so seemingly quite normal."

'Cute to watch'

Murray said the whales in her front yard "seem to be having fun" in the bay.

"I assume it's playing like they jump out of the water sometime, not huge jumps, but like enough to see their whole body and then, like, just swimming around in circles back and forth, blowing out their blow holes, that sort of thing," she said.

"I'm assuming they're hunting because there's lots of little little fish around here. But, yeah, it's just it's really cute to watch."

She said she is happy they've made it their temporary home and hopes they aren't stuck.

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