A 15-tonne humpback whale is making waves in downtown Montreal but experts are fretting for its safety.
It appeared more than a week ago in the city’s port, about 250 miles away from its Atlantic habitat. None of its species has been known to travel this far up the St Lawrence River.
Measuring 31ft, the juvenile, believed to be male, has drawn crowds, slapping the water and firing columns of spray through its blowhole.
However, for officials and whale experts its presence in the narrow waterway, a transport route for freight to the Great Lakes, is cause for concern because an unpleasant collision cannot be ruled out. “The level of risk associated with this situation is really high,” Antoine Rivierre, of Fisheries and Oceans Canada,