Scientists are looking for signs of a young whale that was flown from a New Brunswick river to the waters off Quebec after losing contact with the whale a few days ago.
The beluga, which is about two metres long, was captured in the Nepisiquit River last month -- where it was alone -- and transported to Quebec where it was released near Cacouna in the St. Lawrence Estuary.
The Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals says it haven't received satellite transmissions from the whale, which was outfitted with a tracking device, since last Tuesday.
The Quebec City-based group says scientists are reserving conclusions about what happened to the beluga, but the animal's death is among the explanations being considered.
It says scientists are holding out hope that the tracking device was detached from the beluga or may be broken, but says the whale's prognosis was "reserved" at the time of its release on June 15.
Scientific director Robert Michaud says experts will keep their eyes open for evidence of the whale's fate, whether it be a live animal with a scar from its fallen tracking device or a beluga carcass.
