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AnimalsBeluga Whale
Beluga Whale
Common Name: Beluga Whale
Scientific Name: Delphinapterus Leucas
Description
 Beluga
whales are dark blue-gray in color, measure 3-5 feet long,
and weigh 90-130 lbs. The color gradually lightens, usually
turning white by age 5 or 6. Beluga whales grow to an average
length of 15 ft. and can weigh more than 3,000 lbs. Generally,
males are larger in size than females. Belugas are robust-bodied
and have a blubber layer which can be as much as 5 inches
thick. They are muscular creatures with a small rounded head,
a short beak, and are quite mobile in comparison to other
whales.
Diet
Angel
sharks to eat small fishes, crustaceans, mackerel, croaker
and molluscs.
Behaviour
The
belugas have a narrow ridge that runs down the rear of their
backs, which allows them to swim freely under floating ice.
Also, the beluga is the only whale that can bend its neck.
This helps them to maneuver easily and catch prey, using their
34 to 40 teeth, not for chewing, but for grabbing and tearing
their prey, which is then swallowed whole. Belugas use sound
to find their prey. They also use sound to communicate and
navigate by producing a variety of clicks, chirps and whistles.
Belugas
grow as long as 4.5 m and weigh up to 1500kg. Calves are born
in the summer and remain with their mothers for about 24 months.
They are slate gray to pinkish brown at birth but become completely
white by the time they are adults
Habitat
The
tendency of belugas to consistently use shallow, estuarine
locations during summer months has contributed to their overexploitation
by hunting.
Location
or Region Found
Beluga
whales are found in seasonally ice-covered waters throughout
arctic and sub arctic regions. With the exception of those
in Cook Inlet and adjacent waters of the northern Gulf of
Alaska, most beluga whales in U.S. waters are thought to winter
in the Bering Sea and Atlantic Ocean in open leads and polynyas
in the pack ice. In spring and summer, they are found in coastal
areas or the offshore pack ice.
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