Identifying Whales in Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park
A deep dive into the fascinating world of the whales commonly seen in Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park. Whether you have ever been on a whale watching tour in this region or if you are planning to embark on one soon, this article is made for you. The main goal is to equip you with the knowledge you need to identify each whale species, while also providing fascinating additional facts about these majestic creatures. In particular, I will delve into how marine biologists identify individual whales to gain deeper insights into their behaviour and biology.
At a Glance - Whale Identification
Which whale species can you identify in Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park?
The park hosts four regularly observed whale species with distinct, learnable identification traits.
- Beluga whales — small, white, year-round residents
- Minke, humpback, fin whales — large, seasonal baleen whales
What visual cues help distinguish each whale species quickly?
Species identification relies on body size, colouration, dorsal fin shape, and surfacing behaviour.
- Beluga — white body, no dorsal fin
- Humpback — long white flippers, tail shown when diving
- Minke vs fin — size, group behavior, blow height
When is the best time to observe and identify whales here?
Whale diversity and sighting frequency peak during midsummer in specific park zones.
- Best months — July and August
- Best areas — north shore near Les Escoumins
- Best method — whale-watching tours or shore viewpoints
Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park
The Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park lies where the Saguenay River meets the St. Lawrence. People often call this stretch of the St. Lawrence a river, but it is an estuary that widens downstream into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. At the mouth of the Saguenay, marine life is abundant—especially in summer.
In summer, four whale species are common in the park: beluga, minke, humpback, and fin. On most whale-watching tours you can expect to see at least three of them; with luck you may also spot the year-round resident beluga, the smallest of the four.
Along the North Shore, several harbours are used as tour departure points. For shorter crossings and more time near whales, choose a harbour close to Les Bergeronnes or Les Escoumins: most sightings cluster toward the northeastern end of the marine park.
Bring warm layers even in summer; the breeze off the water is often cold. If you photograph from deck, thin gloves help against wind chill. For the strongest odds of good sightings, plan for July and August.
Beluga Whales
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We start with the Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas), the smallest of the four species in this guide. Year-round residents here number roughly 1,500–2,000 animals.
Belugas, also called white whales, are toothed whales. They live up to about 30 years. Calves are dark grey and fade to the familiar white with age. Males reach up to about 5.5 metres.
They usually travel in pods of around 10; in summer, aggregations can reach the hundreds. Their main predators elsewhere—polar bears and killer whales—do not occur in the Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park.
Researchers tell individuals apart using head shape, dorsal ridge, tail outline, and scars or pigment patterns on the body.
For visitors, the simplest cue is colour: adults are white. Belugas are still easy to miss because they are small and merge with wave glare, especially when you look toward the sun.
From Tadoussac, a short walk to the lighthouse on the peninsula near the harbour is one of the best shore vantage points to watch belugas enter the Saguenay on their way to feeding and nursery areas upstream.
Fact Sheet
- Life Expectancy 30 years
- New Born 1.5m, 60kg
- Sexual Maturity 6-14 years
- Adult Male 3.5-5.5m, 1.1-1.9t
- Adult Female 3-4.1m, 0.7-1.2t
How to Identify
- White color
References
Minke Whales
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Next is Northern Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), often the trickiest of the four to identify with confidence. In summer they are common in the Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park, usually alone or in pairs—a cow with a calf or juvenile is typical.
They are dark on the back (black to dark grey) with a pale grey or white belly. Lifespan is on the order of 30–50 years.
Their migration is still poorly mapped, but animals usually arrive in May and are largely gone by October; routes and stock structure are active research topics.
For photo-ID, adults are tracked using nicks and scars on the back and dorsal fin, often from gear, vessels, or predators. In my own catalogued sightings from the park, roughly 40% of adults had marks on the dorsal fin sharp enough to tell individuals apart.
Visitors often confuse them with fin whales. A dedicated comparison follows later so you can separate minke from fin reliably at the surface.
Fact Sheet
- Life Expectancy: 30-50 years
- New Born: 2.5m
- Sexual Maturity: 7-8 years
- Adult Male: 8.35m 7t
- Adult Female: 8.9m 8.25t
How to Identify
- Dark grey, black color
- White belly
- Small size
- Well formed dorsal fin
References
Humpback Whales
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Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is the species summer visitors most often come to see. Animals usually reach the Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park by June and leave by October.
They are large baleen whales—up to about 17 metres—with dark grey bodies and pectoral flippers that can reach roughly one-third of body length. Those flippers carry a lot of white, so they often flash bright against the dark body at the surface.
You may find them in pairs or small groups; at times many gather in one area. With luck you might see flipper slapping or breaching.
Researchers and citizen scientists match individuals from the black-and-white pattern on the underside of the tail (the fluke), visible when a whale lifts its tail before a sounding dive. A clear photo of the fluke can be uploaded to Happy Whale, which tries to match it to catalogued animals and can return an ID or nickname; you can also browse resights reported by other observers.
For quick field ID among the three large seasonal baleen whales here—minke, humpback, and fin—the humpback is the one that regularly shows its tail on the way down, and its dorsal fin profile is distinctive once you have seen a few.
Fact Sheet
- Life Expectancy: 50+ years
- New Born: 4.3m 680kg
- Sexual Maturity: 5-10 years
- Adult Male: 14-15m 40t
- Adult Female: 15-16.5m
How to Identify
- Shape dorsal fin
- Display fluke
References
Fin Whales
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The last species in this guide is Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus), second in size only to the blue whale. Adults reach about 22 metres and roughly 70 tonnes—enough bulk that a close encounter on a tour tends to stick in memory.
They are also among the fastest of the great whales, commonly quoted at about 37 km/h sustained with bursts near 46 km/h—hence the old nickname "greyhound of the sea."
In the Saguenay St. Lawrence Marine Park you usually see them in groups of roughly two to ten animals. I have often watched those groups travel in tight formation at speed—more of a synchronized "pack" motion than the looser spacing you tend to get from minkes or humpbacks in the same waters.
Specialists match individuals from scars and nicks along the back and dorsal fin and from subtle grey pigmentation patterns that only show up in sharp stills. At sea the body reads as plain grey; the useful detail appears in zoomed photographs.
Pinning a specific fin whale to a catalogue entry is slow, finicky work—similar in difficulty to beluga photo-ID, though the markings you rely on look nothing alike.
Fact sheet
- Life Expectancy: 90+ years
- New Born: 6m 1.8t
- Sexual Maturity: 6-12 years
- Adult: 18.5-20m 38.5-50t
How to Identify
- Proportion Dorsal Fin / Body Size
References
Fin Whales vs Minke Whales
To distinguish fin whales and minke whales at the surface, consider:
- Colouring: Fin whales often look lighter overall than minkes. Both are dark grey on the back, but the fin whale’s tone is usually a shade paler.
- Group size: Fins more often travel in groups of three or more. Minkes are usually alone or in pairs.
- Blow / spout: A fin whale’s blow is taller and more columnar—easier to spot at distance. A minke’s blow is lower and easier to overlook, especially in chop.
References
All content on this page — including photos, videos, and field audio recordings — was created by Karl-Heinz Müller, a Montréal-based wildlife filmmaker, sound recordist, and photographer. Founder of MUUUH and Québec Sauvage, he has spent over a decade documenting Canada’s natural habitats through immersive soundscapes and wildlife films. Learn more about Karl-Heinz
Last updated: 2026-04-03