Facts About Beluga Whales
By zteve t evans
The beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) and the narwhale are the only two members of the Monodontidae family and the only members of the genus Delphinapterus. They are also known as the white whale, melonhead, and sea canary, because they make a high pitched twittering sound at times (Delphinapterus leucas) and the narwhale are the only two members of the Monodontidae family and the only members of the genus Delphinapterus. They are also known as the white whale, melonhead, and sea canary, because they make a high pitched twittering sound at times
Belugas are found inhabiting the Arctic and sub-Arctic sea and have evolved some physiological and anatomical features that mark them as different from other whales.
For example they are distinctively coloured all white and lacks a dorsal fin. On their forehead is a large dome called the melon which is where its echolocation organ is located. Beluga males grow up to 18 feet (5.5 metres) in length and can weigh up to 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg).
Senses of Beluga whales
Beluga whales have a highly developed sense of hearing and echolocation abilities which they use to find their way around underwater and under ice and to find trapped air bubbles and holes in the ice they can breathe through.
Social life
Belugas are social animals usually living in groups of up to ten individuals. During summer they have been known to congregate in shallow coastal waters and in estuaries numbering in their hundreds and sometimes thousands.
Diet of Belugas
The diet mainly consists of fish, crustaceans and other invertibrates found in the depths of the ocean. Being opportunistic feeders their diet will vary according to season and location. Belugas are slow but strong swimmers and can dive to depths of 2,300 feet (700 metres) ins search of food.
For example they are distinctively coloured all white and lacks a dorsal fin. On their forehead is a large dome called the melon which is where its echolocation organ is located. Beluga males grow up to 18 feet (5.5 metres) in length and can weigh up to 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg).
Senses of Beluga whales
Beluga whales have a highly developed sense of hearing and echolocation abilities which they use to find their way around underwater and under ice and to find trapped air bubbles and holes in the ice they can breathe through.
Social life
Belugas are social animals usually living in groups of up to ten individuals. During summer they have been known to congregate in shallow coastal waters and in estuaries numbering in their hundreds and sometimes thousands.
Diet of Belugas
The diet mainly consists of fish, crustaceans and other invertibrates found in the depths of the ocean. Being opportunistic feeders their diet will vary according to season and location. Belugas are slow but strong swimmers and can dive to depths of 2,300 feet (700 metres) ins search of food.
Habitat, range and population
Most beluga whales are found in the Arctic Ocean living in the waters around the coasts of North America, Greenland and Russia. Their total global population is believed to be in the region of 150,000 animals. According to a study undertaken in 2006 using radiocarbon belugas have a life span of 70-80 years.
Migration
The majority of belugas winter around the Arctic ice cap until the sea ice begins to melt in the summer. They then move south to spend the summer in coastal waters and estuaries. However, there are some populations of belugas that do not migrate.
Hunting Belugas
For centuries the beluga has been hunted by native people of Russia and North America. To these people living in the cold, barren lands in the Arctic Circle they provided food and other resources that were unobtainable in any other way.
During the 19th century and some of the 20th centuries beluga whales were hunted commercially. In 1973 whale hunting came under international control. Now there are only groups of Inuits who are allowed to hunt them for subsistence only and that is strictly controlled and monitored.
Conservation of Belugas
In 2008 the International Union for Conservation of Nature placed them on their Red List as "near threatened." The beluga population of Cook Inlet, Alaska is classed as "Critically Endangered" and protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Canada has two of its seven populations of belugas that are assessed as being endangered, one inhabits Ungava Bay and the other lives in eastern Hudson Bay.
Predators and Threats to Belugas
Orca whales and polar bears are their natural predators though they are also suffer from contamination of the waters they live in and infectious diseases. One disease that is found in domestic cats is now being found in belugas
Belugas are one of the most endearing of cetaceans because of their white colouring and their "friendly, smiling faces" and are popular with the public in North America, Europe and Asia. As such they are popular cetaceans for marine parks and aquariums to keep in captivity but this practice is coming under increasing criticism and scrutiny and is being seen as increasingly unethical.
© 06/09/2014 zteve t evans
Most beluga whales are found in the Arctic Ocean living in the waters around the coasts of North America, Greenland and Russia. Their total global population is believed to be in the region of 150,000 animals. According to a study undertaken in 2006 using radiocarbon belugas have a life span of 70-80 years.
Migration
The majority of belugas winter around the Arctic ice cap until the sea ice begins to melt in the summer. They then move south to spend the summer in coastal waters and estuaries. However, there are some populations of belugas that do not migrate.
Hunting Belugas
For centuries the beluga has been hunted by native people of Russia and North America. To these people living in the cold, barren lands in the Arctic Circle they provided food and other resources that were unobtainable in any other way.
During the 19th century and some of the 20th centuries beluga whales were hunted commercially. In 1973 whale hunting came under international control. Now there are only groups of Inuits who are allowed to hunt them for subsistence only and that is strictly controlled and monitored.
Conservation of Belugas
In 2008 the International Union for Conservation of Nature placed them on their Red List as "near threatened." The beluga population of Cook Inlet, Alaska is classed as "Critically Endangered" and protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Canada has two of its seven populations of belugas that are assessed as being endangered, one inhabits Ungava Bay and the other lives in eastern Hudson Bay.
Predators and Threats to Belugas
Orca whales and polar bears are their natural predators though they are also suffer from contamination of the waters they live in and infectious diseases. One disease that is found in domestic cats is now being found in belugas
Belugas are one of the most endearing of cetaceans because of their white colouring and their "friendly, smiling faces" and are popular with the public in North America, Europe and Asia. As such they are popular cetaceans for marine parks and aquariums to keep in captivity but this practice is coming under increasing criticism and scrutiny and is being seen as increasingly unethical.
© 06/09/2014 zteve t evans
References and Attributions
Copyright 6 September, 2014 zteve t evans
Copyright 6 September, 2014 zteve t evans
- File:Delphinapterus leucas 2.jpg From Wikipedia - Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) - Author: Steve Snodgrass - Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
- Beluga whale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Basic Facts About Beluga Whales - Defenders of WildlifeBeluga whale
- Beluga Whale - NOAA Fisheries