While not a great photo of these belugas, it was still a very neat experience. In addition to the four adults, two infants were present as well. This sub-population is geographically isolated from the populations in the north and has been struggling to survive of late. There are only about 1000 individuals in and around the estuary and despite efforts to protect them over the past decade their numbers have not increased, which is not surprising given that they have some of the highest levels of pollutants (mercury, PCBs, etc.) recorded in marine mammals.  Hopefully with the creation of the marine national park and additional measures (limiting pollutants from factories, reducing the amount of boat traffic in critical areas of their habitat) this population will start to rebound.