Young Narwhal Adopted By Totally Chill Beluga Whale Pod

[Judi Lynn]

3. Friendship blooms as young narwhal swims with St. Lawrence belugas

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, September 13, 2018 12:55PM EDT
Last Updated Thursday, September 13, 2018 3:55PM EDT

MONTREAL -- With its dark grey skin and prominent tusk, the young narwhal stands out from the pod of snowy white belugas it has joined in the St. Lawrence River, some 1,000 kilometres from home.

But against all odds, the wayward arctic mammal appears to have become a fully integrated member of the group, serving as an example of the complex social bonds the animals can form, according to the scientific director of a whale research group.

Robert Michaud said the narwhal was first spotted in 2016 swimming with a group of juvenile belugas in the river, well south of its usual Arctic range.

Drone footage captured by the Michaud's group earlier this summer confirmed the narwhal is still with the same group, and had apparently become "just one of the boys," as Michaud puts it.

More:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/friendship-blooms-as-young-narwhal-swims-with-st-lawrence-belugas-1.4092607