Their light coloration is believed to camouflage the animal in snowy, icy surroundings. Areas such as the dorsal ridge, the edges of the pectoral flippers and the edges of the tail flukes may be darker on adult belugas. Size: Average weight and length of an adult ranges between lbs. Average calf birth weight is lbs. The maximum adult weight reported is lbs. Teeth: The beluga whale has homodont, conical teeth. Teeth are not replaced if lost.
Beluga whales use echolocation to find prey in murky water. Diets of subpopulations are regionally and seasonally influenced. They are opportunistic feeders, and will consume over species of marine and freshwater fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and even zooplankton. Belugas do not chew. Larger prey may be torn into smaller pieces, but most food is swallowed whole.
Feeding Behaviors: Belugas can hunt cooperatively to conserve energy. Spit and suction behaviors allow belugas to catch benthic seafloor region prey. Range: Found throughout the Arctic with some subarctic populations such as the St.
Lawrence and Amur rivers. From Svalbard, Norway around to the west coast of Greenland. Cook Inlet stock, Ungava Bay stock, St. Lawrence River stock, Bristol Bay stock, etc. Habitat: Belugas can be found in a wide variety of environments, from deep offshore waters to shallow bays and estuaries; even ranging far upriver.
Can travel back and forth between fresh and salt water. Sexual maturity: Females — between years of age Males — between years of age Timing: Reproductive cycle is strictly seasonal, though there is slight variability between regions. Observed in human care, gestation ranges from months.
Births occur most often from late spring to early summer: April — July. Birth: Belugas give birth to one calf at a time. Females give birth every years. An average birth lasts eight hours. Calf: Calves may not successfully nurse until more than a day after birth. Once nursing, belugas nurse about every half hour, though there may be variation from calf to calf.
Calves curl their tongue, similar to humans, which is used as a straw for nursing. When curled a water-tight seal is formed by the scalloped edges around the tongue.
A female beluga can lactate produce milk for approximately 2 years following the birth of her calf. One example of this is the Cook Inlet stock: being isolated geographically as well as genetically, the belugas of this subpopulation are particularly vulnerable. Another population, the beluga whales in Bristol Bay, was believed to be approximately 1, to 1, belugas in the year A few exceptions occur in which hunting is not permitted.
Social Units Belugas are gregarious, and often hunt and interact in groups. Some stocks are migratory, and some are not. Pod structures are very fluid, with individuals moving between different pods. Pods can join to form herds of several hundred animals at a time. Pods often consist of the same sex and age class.
Males often travel in tight pods of 10 individuals. Females and their young form pods, with calves sometimes remaining with their mothers for years or more. Females without young tend to form pods. Older subadults can also be found together. Skin Beluga skin is ten times thicker than dolphin skin and one hundred times thicker than terrestrial mammal skin. As the calf develops a thick layer of blubber, the skin is shed. Belugas are constantly sloughing their skin, but also experience an annual molt, which is unique among cetaceans.
This may be triggered by environmental cues such as temperature and salinity. Belugas have well-developed skin sensitivity which plays an important role in tactile-oriented social behavior. Blubber Below the skin is a thick insulating layer of blubber which is considered unusually thick when compared to other Odontocetes toothed whales.
Typical thickness of blubber is 4 inches 10 cm , but thicknesses of up to Thickness varies seasonally. Vision The beluga whale has good vision below and above the water surface. Oily mucus is secreted that protects the eyes, washes away debris and possibly streamlines the eye as the beluga swims. Scientists are unsure if the beluga possesses color vision.
The eyes do contain both rods and cones; however, there is only one type of cone, and two or more is typically necessary for color vision. Sleep State The beluga engages in unihemispheric slow wave sleep USWS in which one half of its brain is in a sleep state, while the other half maintains visual and auditory awareness of the environment, while allowing it to surface to breathe.
Life Expectancy Estimated life expectancies in wild beluga populations vary from one study to another. The longevity of belugas in human care has yet to be established because the oldest belugas in human care are currently living and are over 40 years of age.
Further research and information is still forthcoming. The maximum observed swim speed of a beluga whale is about 17 mph The beluga whale can swim backwards. This adaptation is helpful in an environment where sea ice can change rapidly.
Feeding dives last minutes, rarely lasting longer. Dives lasting up to 25 minutes have been recorded. Belugas can reach depths of 3, ft. Hearing The beluga whale has acute hearing, and can detect sounds ranging from 1. Small external ears on the sides of the head may be useful for detecting low frequency sounds, but high frequency sounds are mainly received through a fat-filled canal in the lower jaw.
Belugas have the most diverse vocal repertoire of all cetaceans. Their diverse repertoire is composed of the predominant sound types among toothed whales: whistles, clicks, chirps, groans, trills, buzzes, roars.
Whistles: narrow-band frequency-modulated vocalizations Pulsed sounds: trains of broad band pulses Increased vocalizations have been observed during social interactions. The containers were their shelter as they were moved between the flatbed trucks and aircraft, where the temperature was set to 55 degrees for their comfort. Veterinarians and animal transport experts traveled with of them to monitor their breathing and overall health.
Fish and Wildlife Service inspectors verified the permits were in order before the whales made the final drive to the aquarium.
Meanwhile, there have been reports that Marie Holer plans to sell Marineland, but her lawyer and Marineland representatives have declined to clarify.
The Canadian law aimed at phasing out cetacean captivity could be a bellwether for the U. But with the sheer number of aquariums and marine entertainment parks in the U. Though controversial, the transfer of these five belugas signals a growing focus on the precarious situation of these animals, both in the wild and captivity. All rights reserved.
Animals News. The monumental task of moving whales across borders The complex—and controversial—transfer of five belugas from Canada to the U. A crane lifts Kharabali, a beluga whale, out of a pool at Marineland. In a complex, cross-border operation, she and four other belugas were transported from the Ontario aquatic park to Mystic Aquarium, in Connecticut. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.
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He said he expects top researchers from around the world will visit Mystic to work with the Belugas, which are known for their white color, bulbous forehead and vocal sounds.
We have a very unique situation here and none of our research is invasive or harms the whales in any way. We'll notify you here with news about. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Comments 0. Top Stories.
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