Belugas are small, white, toothed whales that inhabit the Arctic and sub-Arctic waters of North America and Siberia. Gregarious, they prefer shallow, coastal regions and are usually found in pods of 10-25 individuals; at times (especially during migrations) they congregate by the hundreds or thousands in favored bays or estuaries. Though they can submerge for twenty minutes and dive to 2000 feet, belugas generally feed in shallow waters, consuming a variety of fish, crustaceans, squid and octopi; small pods have even been known to follow migrating salmon for hundreds of miles up large, Arctic Rivers. Closely related to narwhals, they often travel and feed with those aquatic unicorns.
Since they hunt along and beneath the Arctic pack ice, belugas are adept at finding cracks or open "polynyas" through which they surface to breath; such behavior may have led to their loss of a dorsal fin (through natural selection) which would impair their maneuverability among the pack ice. Breeding occurs in late winter or early spring and, after a gestation period of 14 months, the calf is born in late spring or summer of the following year. The newborn, gray-brown in color, will remain with its mother and nurse for up to two years.
Some 75 to 100 thousand belugas are thought to remain in the wild; their lifespan, somewhat longer in males, is up to 40 years. Major natural threats include parasitic disease, killer whales, polar bears and sudden shifts in the ice, which close off their breathing holes. While commercial whaling was "halted" in 1970, native tribes are still permitted to hunt the belugas and water pollution is a threat to the species in some areas. And, as many of us have seen, their "cute" appearance, perpetual smile, diverse vocalizations and playful manner have, unfortunately, made the beluga an ideal exhibit species for many of our large aquariums.
