The Body Of A Whale Was Seen Floating In The Saint Lawrence River
Experts said they don't know if it's one of the pair spotted swimming near Montreal.
A whale carcass floats on the Saint Lawrence River.
It may be a sad end for one of the whales that visited Montreal earlier this month, but maybe not. The carcass of a minke whale was spotted by a fisherman in the waters of the Sainte Lawrence River near Contrecoeur, in the Monteregie, just under an hour north of Montreal.
Earlier this month, a couple of the aquatic mammals were seen swimming near Île-Sainte-Hélène, a rare sight for one, let alone two whales to be seen that far from the sea.
While the pair were identified and monitored by experts, there were no efforts to get them turned back around. The Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network (RQUMM) decided to let them make their own way without intervention.
The whales weren't spotted again until a fisherman called the network this morning around 10 a.m. alerting officials to the floating carcass of a small whale, around 5 to 6 metres in length. That's longer than the first whale, which measured around 3.4 metres.
"It is impossible for the moment to verify whether it is the carcass of one of the minke whales that recently stayed in the waters around Montreal," according to an RQUMM statement on Thursday afternoon.
As of 4:00 p.m., the carcass had not been found by authorities, although multiple photos of the animal have been circulating on social media.
The RQUMM team said it will continue its efforts to find the whale. If found, the carcass could be taken to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Montreal in Saint-Hyacinthe for examination.