Wayward beluga whale sighted off Maine coast

By DEIRDRE FLEMING, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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Photo by Paul Rollins A beluga whale swims off Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth in late June. The whale, nicknamed Poco, is 10 feet long and about 3 years old, and was last sighted off Rockland.

The story of the wandering beluga is all the way out of the bag, and wildlife officials worry that the publicity could be bad news for the young whale.

The beluga has become a minor celebrity along the Maine coast - from Biddeford to Mount Desert Island - as it follows motorboats and approaches divers.

But biologists and federal marine officials say the endangered whale, nicknamed Poco, is out of his element. They say the mammal likely wandered from its pod and needs to return to its home range, believed to be in the St. Lawrence Estuary or the Arctic.

"Even though he encourages interaction with humans and is seeking it, the less we can do to encourage him, the better," said Dana Hartley, a coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "He is moving north. We'd like him to move up the coast back to Canada."

The 10-foot whale has nudged divers, pushed dinghies and been spotted numerous times following motorboats, according to marine officials and biologists.

They say the whale is a male juvenile, about 3 years old. It is comfortable around people and appears to be seeking out human contact. It was last sighted off Rockland, said Rosemary Seton at the College of the Atlantic.

Paul Rollins, a diver who runs Rollins Scuba Associates in South Portland, took underwater photos of Poco in late June off Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth.

"It comes up to you before you come up to it. It had its head under my arm, like it was saying 'Pat me, pat me,' " Rollins said.

While marine officials first tried to keep the whale's presence quiet - fearing publicity would cause people to search for it - they now are warning boaters and divers to stay away.

"We're asking people to respect that he is a wild animal. Don't encourage him to do all these actions, which he really seems to enjoy," Hartley said.

The Coast Guard and Marine Patrol also are monitoring Poco's journey to make sure boaters do not cluster around the mammal or try to follow it.

The whale was first sighted last September in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick. It then headed south, instead of swimming north toward its home waters.

Poco next was reported off the coast around Gloucester, Mass., and in Boston Harbor. It started heading north again in June, with sightings in Biddeford, Cape Elizabeth, Friendship, Mount Desert Island and, most recently, Rockland.

Belugas typically are found in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Russia, Greenland and North America, but are rarely seen along the East Coast. Poco is heading north, but appears to be in no hurry to reach the St. Lawrence Estuary.

Belugas do migrate south in the summer to molt, Hartley says, but they normally linger in one area. "Poco is not acting in that way," she said.

Belugas are a social mammal, and, in the absence of its own kind, Poco is seeking companionship from humans, even vessels, Hartley says.

Biddeford Police Officer Joe Stephenson saw the whale last month while on the patrol boat near the Saco River.

"It's an amazing thing. You don't expect to see a beluga whale this far south," Stephenson said. "It comes right up alongside boats. People pat it. A couple of charter fishermen - it wouldn't leave them alone."

Biologist Bob Bowman watched Poco spinning and pushing dinghies off Mount Desert Island. Bowman says the boaters getting the whale-propelled ride were amused and delighted.

But Bowman, who rescues stranded marine mammals for the Center for Coastal Studies, is concerned.

"He is out of his habitat," Bowman said. "He should be with others of his kind. . . . I wonder if he's acting less and less like a beluga. It's been a long time since he's seen another of his kind."

Beluga, which means "white one" in Russian, is protected in the United States under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. The act established a moratorium on harassing, hunting or killing marine mammals in U.S. waters, which Hartley says includes trying to touch a whale.

The goal is to get Poco to swim north and return to a pod. Bowman says biologists discussed moving the whale to its native waters, but it was judged to be too risky.

In 25 years of whale research, Bowman has never seen a mammal act like Poco. "This thing is so cute. It nuzzles up alongside," he said.

Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:

dfleming@pressherald.com