Halifax — Poco, the orphaned baby beluga whale that has surfaced sporadically from New Brunswick to Boston over the past nine months, was spotted this week by U.S. Secret Service officials off Kennebunkport, Me.
Poco swam near the Bush family compound at Walker's Point, playfully rubbing his grey, 3-metre frame against moored boats.
It was last seen several weeks ago in Boston Harbour. This latest sighting likely means one thing: It is headed home, although no one is certain where that is for the wayward beluga.
"At this point he's travelling north," Cathy Kinsman, director of the Whale Stewardship Project in Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S., said. "He's all about surviving, finding food and safe places to rest. But a big part of life for belugas is socializing, so he's seeking that out wherever he can. Who knows, really, what's in the mind of a beluga whale?"
One of the Secret Service men had read of Poco's earlier adventures along the New England coast and e-mailed Ms. Kinsman his whereabouts. She is relieved to know the whale has left hectic Boston Harbour, where he delighted commuters by splashing in the jet bubbles of harbour vessels. Poco is about three years old, just a kid.
"He's been incredibly vulnerable," said Ms. Kinsman, who has studied six stray belugas over the years. "We don't know where he'll end up, but as long as he's travelling under his own steam we'll let him be."
Endangered belugas — fewer than 100,000 remain — make their home in the Arctic and subarctic regions and are rarely seen in waters south of the St. Lawrence River.
Scientists are unsure how the communal creatures separate from their pods. Theories include unexpected icepack shifts and shipping noise that makes it impossible for the highly communicative belugas to find their way to one another acoustically.
Whale watchers became aware of Poco's incredible journey last September. He was sighted in the Bay of Fundy near Pocologan, N.B. Ms. Kinsman, whose non-profit group has studied and lobbied for the protection of lost belugas in Eastern Canada since 1998, promptly named the whale after the nearby village.
It moved lazily along the Fundy coast and spent several months in Passamaquoddy Bay near Deer Island, nosing about aquaculture sites, visiting divers and shadowing skiffs. But after Valentine's Day Poco vanished, only to turn up a month later more than 1,500 kilometres south, in Gloucester, Mass., and later in Boston Harbour.
"That is a dangerous place for a friendly little whale," Ms. Kinsman said. "We monitored him closely. He has already suffered two significant cuts from boat propellers that will leave scars."
Belugas are known as "canaries of the sea" because they gravitate to sound instantly. Without other belugas to talk to, Poco probably checked out any and all noises, especially boat motors. It has been spotted turning propellers with its nose.
Scott Clark, a 36-year-old recreational diver from Shrewsbury, Mass., met Poco underwater a few months ago. Scallop diving off Marblehead, Mass., Mr. Clarke was swimming along the bottom, about 15 metres down, when a shadow fell across the sand. He turned to his left, and was a foot from Poco's eyeball.
"He just stared at me," Mr. Clark said yesterday from his boat. "Then he rolled on his side so I could see his tummy. At first I sort of panicked, thinking it was a shark. Then I realized it was a little whale."
Mr. Clark surfaced and swam towards the boat, hoping the beluga would come with him. Not only did Poco follow, it wedged itself between the diver and boat ladder, wanting Mr. Clark to keep swimming. He spent 45 minutes with Poco, and when he finally boarded the boat, the whale spent a half-hour beneath the craft, unhappily blowing bubbles that ricocheted like thunder off the bottom. Later, when Mr. Clark moored a kilometre away to continue diving, Poco popped up.
"This guy was so smart he figured out what I was doing," Mr. Clark said. "He'd see the scallops first and go hover over them. When there were no scallops in sight, he swam at my shoulder.
"I have never had a connection like that with another person or thing in my life except maybe when my daughter was born and looked at me," Mr. Clark said. "It sounds crazy, but when he looked at me he looked into my soul. It was surreal. I'll never have another experience like that."
The National Marine Fisheries Service in New England, along with Ms. Kinsman, considered a rescue mission to bring Poco north. Now that the whale is moving on its own, the risky plan is on hold.
Poco's tour has spawned a whispering cult of whale lovers who want to share information but don't want to attract too much attention for fear of bringing Poco trouble.
"Everybody wants him to stay safe," Mr. Clark said. "Whales that collide with humans often don't enjoy happy outcomes. I hope nobody sees him ever again, actually. I hope he goes on his way and enjoys life."
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