Beluga Whale

The Beluga whale belongs to the order of Cetaces. This order is further divided into three suborders: the toothed whales, or Odontoceti, the baleen whales, or Mysticeti, and the Archaeoceti. The Beluga is a member of the Odontoceti. Its' family name is Monodontidae. Its genus name is Dephinapteres leucas, which means "dolphin without a fin." The species name leucas, means "white." The Beluga is derived from the Russian word Belukha.

Beluga or "white whales" are not born white. They are gray and get lighter until approximately age six, when they are completely white. This lightening is caused by a reduction of melanin in the skin. Adults are yellowish-white to creamy white. They attain their whiteness upon reaching sexual maturity. Males reach sexual maturity at 8 or 9 years, while females become sexually mature at from 4 to 7 years of age.

The male averages between 11.2 feet and 15.1 feet with a we

2. These clicks pass through the melon. It acts as an acoustical lens to focus these sounds waves into a beam, which then projected forward into the water in front of the whale,

Conservation is a must for the Beluga. It is listed in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources/World Conservation Union’s insufficiently known category. This means it is endangered, threatened, or vulnerable. The Fisheries Act, Canada Shipping Act and Canadian Environmental Protection Act are principal legislative instruments governing the release of toxic substances into aquatic habitats. No legislation limits marine traffic effects on marine mammals. The Canadian Wildlife Act authorizes the federal Minister of the Environment to create National Wildlife Areas, including marine protected areas out to the 200-mile limit. The Canada Oceans Act may also permit the creation of protected areas. An isolated population of Beluga whales in the St. Lawrence River has been legally protected since 1983. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 made it illegal to hunt or harass any marine mammal in U.S. waters. Its primary object is to maintain the health and stability of the marine ecosystem and to obtain and maintain an optimum sustainable population.

The Beluga whale lives in the arctic and sub-arctic northern waters around the globe. They are one of three types of whales who spend their entire lives in the arctic. They inhabit the Arctic Ocean and its seas including the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska, the Beaufort Sea, Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. During the summer months most Beluga’s inhabit the icy waters of the arctic and sub arctic. They swim among the icebergs and ice flows.

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