The sea canary
Belugas chirp, whistle, click and squeal so much that sailors called them sea canaries.
Polar seas
Beluga whale
Delphinapterus leucas
A pure white whale with a rounded forehead and no fin on its back.
- Size
- About 4 to 5m long
- Look for it
- June to September
- Where
- Arctic and sub-Arctic seas and river mouths
Swims after you, nodding its head. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Beluga
Good to know
Six things about the beluga
A squashy forehead
The bulge on its head is called a melon. The beluga changes its shape to aim its sounds.
It can nod
Unlike most whales, a beluga can turn and nod its head, because its neck bones are not joined together.
Born grey
Calves are born dark grey and slowly turn white over about eight years.
No back fin
It has a low ridge in place of a fin, so it can swim right up under the ice.
A summer scrub
In summer, belugas gather in shallow river mouths to rub off their old skin on the gravel.
The real thing
Photos of the beluga
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Churchill in Canada is famous for the thousands of belugas that come into the river mouth each July and August.
How to help
River mouths where belugas gather need to stay clean and quiet. Some groups, such as those in the St Lawrence in Canada, are endangered by pollution.
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