Beluga, White whale, Sea Canary, Melonhead
The Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is a cetacean adapted to life in the Arctic, with anatomical and physiological characteristics that differentiate it from other cetaceans. Amongst these are its all-white color and the absence of a dorsal fin, which allows it to swim under the ice with ease. Belugas are commonly housed in aquariums, dolphinariums, and wildlife parks in North America, Europe, and Asia. They are considered charismatic because of their smiling appearance, communicative nature, and supple graceful movement.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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MolluscivoreA molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specializes in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, and cephalopods. Known mo...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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AquaticAn aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract ...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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PredatorPredators are animals that kill and eat other organisms, their prey. Predators may actively search for or pursue prey or wait for it, often conceal...
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Pack huntersA pack hunter or social predator is a predatory animal that hunts its prey by working together with other members of its species. Normally animals ...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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Highly socialHighly social animals are those which are highly interactive with other members of their species. They live in large groups, nest in colonies, and ...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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Canada Province AnimalsSn
Snow WhiteThe beluga is also called the white whale because of its milky white skin and is the only whale species that is completely white. It is gray when born and this color fades gradually with age. It is small in size and lacks a dorsal fin. Belugas are toothed whales, with flexible lips that can produce a range of facial expressions. They have wide, paddle-like flippers and notches in their tails. Their necks are extremely flexible and they can turn their heads almost 90 degrees sideways. Their extremely thick layer of blubber provides insulation in freezing Arctic waters. Their bodies are fifty percent fat, much higher than other non-Arctic whales, with a body fat of only twenty percent.
Beluga whales occur in the Arctic and sub-Arctic waters of the Arctic Ocean. During the summer, they can mainly be found in deep waters, particularly along the coasts of Alaska, northern Canada, western Greenland, and northern Russia. The southernmost extent of their range includes isolated populations in the St. Lawrence River in the Atlantic, the Amur River delta, the Shantar Islands, and the waters surrounding Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. Belugas are migratory and the majority of groups spend the winter around the Arctic ice cap; when the sea ice melts in summer, they move to warmer river estuaries and coastal areas. Some populations are sedentary and do not migrate over great distances during the year. coastal areas, as well as the adjoining seas, preferring inlets, fjords, bays, channels, and the shallow Arctic waters warmed by continuous sunlight.
Beluga whales are diurnal and highly sociable animals. During summer, thousands of them gather together in river estuaries to molt. They rub their bodies on the gravel of the sea bed to shed their yellow, withered skin from the previous year and to again become gleaming white. At this time, females with babies will often group together, while males gather in large bachelor groups. Belugas are able to dive deeper than 1,000 m, but usually, they are found on the surface, swimming slowly. During winter it may become necessary to form breathing holes amongst the ice, which they do with their heavy heads. Belugas are cooperative animals and frequently hunt in coordinated groups. The animals in a pod are very sociable and often chase each other as if they are playing or fighting, and they often rub against each other. Often individuals will surface and dive together in a synchronized manner, in a behavior known as milling. Belugas are among the most vocal cetaceans. They use their vocalizations for echolocation, during mating, and for communication. They possess a large repertoire, emitting up to 11 different sounds, such as cackles, whistles, trills, and squawks.
Belugas are carnivores (piscivores, molluscivores) and eat a variety of prey, such as smelt, flatfish, flounder, salmon, sculpins, and cod. They also eat invertebrates such as crabs, clams, shrimps, worms, octopuses, squid, and more creatures that live on the seabed.
Beluga whales are polygynous, with a dominant male often mating with several females during one mating season. The mating season takes place between late February and early April. Gestation lasts 14 months and a single calf is produced. The calf has a grayish color and is very well-developed. The nursery pod stays together during the delivery, then all of them move off except for a teenage nursemaid. Birthing usually takes place near rivers because the temperature of the water is ten degrees higher there. This is for the benefit of the calf, which has less blubber than a full-grown adult. The newborn stays between the two females, their swimming pulling him along with the current. A calf totally depends on its mother’s milk for one year, and lactation lasts as long as 1.5 to 2 years. Females become reproductively mature in 4 to 7 years and males in 7 to 9 years of age.
Hunting by Inuit and Alaska Native groups is the biggest known threat to belugas across certain portions of their range. Further threats are contamination of river estuaries, infectious diseases, and disturbance by vessel transport, gas, and oil production. An increasing concern is noise, which can damage a whale’s hearing and affect its ability to navigate, communicate, and locate prey.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total size of the beluga whale population is 136,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
