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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing belugas. These animals are also known as the white whale for their white color, though they aren’t born this way. Baby belugas are grey and don’t become white until they reach reproductive maturity at around five years of age.

Beluga babies are born in shallow water estuaries and rivers where temperatures are warmer than the Arctic ocean. Belugas are covered in blubber that can be up to 4 inches (10cm) thick as adults, but they’re more susceptible to cold temperatures when they’re young. Mother belugas average 12 feet (3.7m) long and weigh up to 3,000 pounds (1,350kg). That’s about the same weight as a female hippopotamus! The mother beluga gives birth to a single 5 foot (1.5m) long calf after a fourteen month gestation period.

When they gather together to mate, belugas can form groups numbering in the hundreds, however, outside of breeding, they form smaller pods of up to fifteen members. Females remain with their calves who drink milk for up to two years, and males form bachelor groups. Once a year they also gather to shed their outer layer of skin, kind of like a reptile or arthropod, but belugas are mammals and most closely related to the narwhal.

Beluga whales are found exclusively in cold waters of the northern hemisphere with populations occurring almost entirely in arctic and sub-arctic regions. They are considered coastal animals but have been known to venture over 400 miles (650km) out to sea and dive up to 1,000 feet (300m) below the waves. Belugas dive for food along the bottom of the ocean. These dives typically last three to five minutes but can go as long as twenty.

They find food using echolocation. We discussed this process in our bat episode, but to briefly recap: echolocation is a type of sonar in which certain animals produce high pitched sounds that bounce off objects and return to the animal. In belugas, this is completed using their large, round head which is called a melon.

Their diet includes fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods and is more varied than the diet of other cetaceans. When compared to other whales, belugas lack a distinct dorsal fin and, like river dolphins, have a flexible neck. Their faces are also flexible which allows them to make facial expressions that they may use to communicate. People often comment on their iconic smile.

Belugas also communicate through sound. They are so vocal they’ve earned the common name “sea canary”. While this name doesn’t have anything to do with canaries in coal mines, belugas are susceptible to pollutants in the water. As top predators, and likely due to their varied diet, they consume toxins that build up in their system over time. They’re also at risk of habitat destruction, such as the estuaries where they give birth to their young, and run ins with boats.

Natural predators to belugas include killer whales and polar bears who wait at breathing holes to grab belugas while they take in air. If they can avoid these threats, belugas may live to be 30 or older in the wild. Male belugas, who are slightly larger than females, are believed to live longer and females, who only give birth every two to three years stop breeding once they reach their early twenties and spend the rest of their lives in a post-menopausal state. Like dolphins, belugas are toothed whales.

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