Beluga whale

1. Beluga whale
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5.  Scientific name: Delphinapterus leucas                        

      Diet : Carnivorous  

      Average life span in the wild: 35 to 50 years

      Size:

13 to 20 ft (4 to 6.1 m)

                                                                                                       

Introduction:

The beluga whale (also known as the white whale) is one of the smallest whales within the cetaceanspecies.

Calves are born gray or even brown and only fade to white as they become sexually mature around five years of age.White whales are smallish, ranging from 13 to 20 feet (4 to 6.1 meters) in length. They have rounded foreheads and no dorsal fin.

Adult beluga whales are easily distinguished by their often pure white skin, their small size and their lack of dorsal fin. Belugas have a broad, rounded head and a large forehead. They are well adapted to their arctic and sub-arctic environment, with a five-inch-thick layer of blubber and a tough dorsal ridge that helps them travel through sea ice waters. Belugas are toothed whales. They have broad, paddle-like flippers and notched tails.

Physical Characteristics :

When fully grown beluga whales on average weigh between 2,000 – 3,500 pounds and grow to an average length of 10 – 17 ft. long, however large males may occasionally exceed 18 ft. in length during adulthood.

As with other toothed whale species female beluga whales generally grow to be slightly smaller than their male counterparts.

oth sexes reach their maximum size by the time they are 10 years old. The beluga's body shape is stocky and fusiform (cone-shaped with the point facing backwards), and they frequently have folds of fat, particularly along the ventral surface.Between 40% and 50% of their body weight is fat, which is a higher proportion than for cetaceans that do not inhabit the Arctic, where fat only represents 30% of body weight.The fat forms a layer that covers all of the body except the head, and it can be up to 15 cm (5.9 in) thick. It acts as insulation in waters with temperatures between 0 and 18 °C, as well as being an important reserve during periods without food.

Diet:

Beluga whales are opportunistic feeders. They feed on salmon, eulachon, tomcod, smelt, char, rainbow sole, whitefish, saffron and arctic cod, herring, shrimp, mussels, octopus, crabs, clams, mussels, snails and sandworms.

Habitat:

Belugas swim among icebergs and ice floes in the icy waters of the arctic and subarctic, where water temperatures may be as low as 0°C (32°F).

Belugas are generally found in shallow coastal waters, often in water barely deep enough to cover their bodies. They may also frequent deeper waters.
In the summer many populations are found in warm-water estuaries and river basins.
Belugas seem to be well adapted to both a cold ocean habitat and a warmer freshwater habitat.

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