Beluga Whale

Beluga Whale, or white whale ( Delphinapterus leucas ), grows to a maximum length of about 6 m and is widely distributed in the Arctic, with a few populations in subarctic areas. Most N American populations are migratory and are identified by their summer grounds, eg, Cook Inlet (Alaska), Bristol Bay, Beaufort Sea, Lancaster Sound, Barrow Strait, Prince Regent Inlet, Cumberland Sound, E and W Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay and St Lawrence R. Belugas are often found near ice.

Description Adults are distinctively white except for margins of flippers and tail flukes. There is no dorsal fin. The high, rounded forehead ends in a short, broad beak. Like the closely related NARWHAL, their neck vertebrae are not fused and they can turn their heads from side to side. Calves and juveniles are grey to blue, but otherwise resemble adults. Belugas have a remarkably varied vocal repertoire and have been called sea canaries. Their biosonar system, used for echolocation in navigation and hunting, is among the most sophisticated found in nature.

Biological Importance The beluga whale has long been hunted by northern aboriginals for meat and oil, and by commercial whalers for hides and oil . Belugas prey on various marine organisms and some fishermen have considered them serious competitors for SALMON and COD. During the 1930s an extermination program carried out in the St Lawrence R by the Québec government included payment of a bounty for each marsouin blanc (beluga) killed. Today, the St Lawrence population is severely depleted, as are those in Cumberland Sound, Ungava Bay and SE Hudson Bay.

Author: R. REEVES AND E.D. MITCHELL

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