The Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM) has always found this group of belugas interesting since they first spotted them in 2016 in the St. Lawrence River. That's because this pod has adopted a young male narwhal. The GREMM president, Robert Michaud, describes the narwhal as "one of the [beluga] crew." Every year, the narwhal always reappeared with its beluga pals.
The team at GREMM weren't sure before if the narwhal would stick around the group, but now that they are a bit certain that this odd duck (or in this case, odd narwhal) would stay with his beluga friends, the team has begun running a fundraiser for the aquatic animal. They also asked the public what they should name the narwhal.
The narwhal is estimated to be about 12 years old, and as it is nearing its sexual maturity, researchers wonder if it will cross-breed with a beluga. If it does, its offspring would be a "narluga."
(Image Credit: GREMM/ Baleines en Direct/ YouTube)
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(Image: GREMM)