Beluga whales are about three to five meters long. They weigh an average of 3500 pounds. Beluga whales are grey when born, but they turn to a milky white color in their adult stage. A beluga whale has no dorsal fin, but a ridge along their back.

 

Beluga whales also have a melon-shaped head. Beluga whales are the only whales that are all white. Beluga whales live in saltwater, around icecaps and coastal waters. They do well in these areas because they can't be hunted for oil.

 

They have been seen in arctic and sub-arctic water along the coast of Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Norway, and the Soviet Union. There are an estimated 60,000-100,000 beluga whales. There are about 500 of them that live in the St. Lawrence River.

 

Beluga whales balance the food population by sucking in fish whole. They swim along the bottom of the ocean and suck in the fish like a vacuum. Polar bears and killer whales hunt for beluga whales. To escape polar bears, beluga whales maneuver around objects to confuse them.

 

Beluga whales escape killer whales by swimming by the ice surface because a killer whale's dorsal fin stops it from moving to close to the ice surface. One thing that stood out about the beluga whale is the fact that it is the only pure white whale. I learned interesting things about their appearance. For example, beluga whales have no dorsal fin, but a ridge along their back.

 

Author: Andrew W

Published: 02/2007

 

Sources:

"Delphinapterus leucas", 16 February; 2007 http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/ Delphinapterus_leucas.html. "Beluga Whales". 16 February; 2007 http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info-books/beluga/adaptations.html

 

Photo Credit:

Beluga, Weißwal (Delphinapterus leucas), Eva Hejda http://fotos.naturspot.de/