Whale seen off Montreal’s Old Port has been spotted again, dead

Simon Lebrun, a maritime pilot for over 13 years, posted a video of the mammal's body floating about 40 km further down the river from where it was originally spotted. The whale is past Varennes, close to l'Ile Beauregard, however it appears to be lifeless.

"We know the area quite well, so pretty early we saw there was something dark on the horizon," said Lebrun, who was the first person to actually spot the whale the morning in swam in close to the Old Port.

"When you see something such as a whale, obviously it stands out, it's not supposed to be in these parts."

"And now I see it dead and beached," continued Lebrun. "I can see the population had really attached itself to the whale, I was kind of surprised by the whole thing. In the end we all hoped she would find her way back."

Although it has yet to be confirmed as to whether the whale that has died was the same one Montrealers were watching in awe, officials working for the Groupe de recherche et d’education sur le mammiferes marins (GREMM) have already confirmed that the floating carcass is with certainty, a whale.

The news of its death comes as a shock as experts previously said the whale showed no signs of distress and had most likely swam close into the harbour in search of food.

"We're still trying to confirm it is the same whale but there is high probability it is the same," said Marie-Ève Muller, from the GREMM.