Pollution Stunts Canada's Beluga Whales

The beluga whales make a shrill sound as they stick their noses out of the water, watched by conservationist Michel Moisan. They are a rare sight this far south -- and the chemicals washing into their river are keeping them that way. Most beluga are found in the Arctic, but a rare pocket survives -- just -- here where the river Saguenay river meets the Saint Lawrence some 500 kilometers (300 miles) east of Montreal. They are the only ones among the 13 whale species in the river to live here all year round. "The beluga is currently accumulating the biggest load of persistent contaminants," chemicals that do not break down quickly, said Michel Lebeuf, a specialist from the Maurice-Lamontagne research institute. His team analysed the carcasses of beluga over 15 years and estimates that the traces in the fat of the whale of chemicals banned in the 1980s have fallen little -- in fact, they remain "still very significant."...