Beluga whale spotted in Halifax Harbour may have moved on

The young beluga whale that was the talk of Halifax harbour over the weekend may have moved on to friendlier waters, at least that is the hope of the Marine Animal Response Society.

Tonya Wimmer with the organization says there hasn't been a reported sighting since Friday morning.

"It's not surprising, the animals are quite transitory, they do move around quite a bit," she said.

"Not to mention they're also not a very large whale so it could go under the water and you might miss it from time to time."

Members of the Marine Animal Response Society were also out over the weekend surveying the harbour and Bedford Basin, but saw no trace of the beluga.

Wimmer says it's not common to see a beluga in Halifax Harbour, but it has happened over the years.

She says they can become distracted from their pod by a school of fish or even a noise. Wandering is part of their nature.

"We're keeping an eye on it because it is doing what a normal whale would do at this point," she said.

Social animals

Wimmer says the big concern the Marine Animal Response Society had was the possibility the beluga would come in contact with vessels in the harbour or fishing gear.

"We hope that it has actually left the harbour. It was a beautiful weekend and there were a lot of people out, a lot of people on the ferries and on boats," she said.

"If it was out there we were really hopeful that people would have reported it and maybe it means since we didn't get any reports that it's left the harbour."

Another concern is the whale's social nature. Wimmer says if they get interaction from people, they may stick around.

Wimmer says the nearest population of belugas is in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. She says they hope it finds a way back north towards its larger pod.

Most often the wandering belugas are young animals, like teenagers leaving the nest.