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Another minke whale visits Pictou County, this time in New Glasgow Whale tale, take two Debbi Harvie May 8, 2011 Above: DFOi officers help lead a stranded whale to open water, after it was trapped in the East River in Blue Acres. Whales seem to be flocking to the shores of Pictou County. For the second time in as many weeks, a juvenile minke whale was beached in the area. Sunday evening, Department of Fisheries and Oceans received a call regarding a whale beached on a sandbar near the train bridge behind the Sobeys head office in the East River. “The Marine Animal Response Society, MARS, in Halifax came down and led the whale out to deeper water,” explains Camille Poirier, detachment supervisor for the conservation and protection branch of DFO out of Pictou. “It was dark however, so the whale ended up back in the East River.” Monday morning, DFO was called again to the East River near Blue Acres, where the whale was trapped on a mud flat. Again MARS was called in with special equipment to help the whale return to its home in the Northumberland Straight. “They brought a sling with pontoons to tow the whale to deeper water,” says Poirier. “They are taking the whale through the Pictou Harbour right into the Strait.” This minke whale is not the same whale that was stranded on Big Island a week ago. “This particular whale is about two feet shorter,” explains Poirier. “It is about 11 feet.” According to Poirier, both whales were in good shape with no signs of illness or skin conditions. MARS and DFO officers worked for hours to slowly drag the whale to safety. “This is quite unusual,” he says. “It is unusual to have one whale with no injuries this close to shore so early in the season, even more so to have two. We really have no idea what is causing them to swim so close to shore.” The minke whale is one of many types in the Strait. “All has gone well and we had yet another successful release,” says Poirier.
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