A Pod Of Beluga Whales Adopt A Lost Narwhal In The St. Lawrence River

A narwhal who is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of its normal range seems to have been adopted by a group of belugas. The narwhal has been observed with the belugas for nearly three years in North America’s St. Lawrence River.

An unusual visitor has been hanging out in the St. Lawrence River for the past three years: A narwhal, more than 1,000 kilometres south of its usual range.

But the lone narwhal is not alone — it appears he has been adopted by a band of belugas.

The narwhal — thought to be a juvenile male because of its half-metre-long tusk — was filmed in July playing among a pod of young belugas, thought to be mostly or all males.

The video was taken by the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM), a non-profit group dedicated to whale research, conservation and education based in Tadoussac, Que.

“It behaves like it was one of the boys,” said Robert Michaud, the group’s president and scientific director.