This species of cetaceans is considered a mysterious and mysterious marine inhabitant, and before telling about it, you should find out what kind of mammal it is, since in some sources it belongs to different families. But it turns out that everything is very simple: a beluga whale is an Arctic dolphin from a toothed whale suborder. These animals are sometimes called sea canaries because of the sound signals that these creatures emit when communicating with each other.
Appearance
A fairly large mammal is the beluga whale (dolphin). It is impossible to say exactly how much this marine inhabitant weighs, since his body weight depends on gender. The male can reach a length of up to six meters, and the weight can reach up to 2 tons. Females are slightly smaller: their weight varies within 1.5 tons. Compared to other cetaceans, these animals are smaller, they are considered average size.
Beluga whale (dolphin) has a small head relative to the size of its body. This marine inhabitant has a large spherical forehead, characteristic of all representatives of his family, but this species does not have a beak inherent in these mammals.
A distinctive feature of the Arctic dolphin from other relatives is that it can turn its head in completely different directions. This skill is associated with mobility of the cervical vertebrae, since in this mammal they are not fused, but are separated by cartilaginous layers, unlike its closest relatives.
The color of these animals is pure white, due to which they got their name. The body is covered with very thick skin with excellent thermal insulation. This species of mammals is endowed with small but wide pectoral fins and a powerful tail, due to which beluga whale (dolphin) can swim quickly. The description of these animals suggests that they are very attractive in appearance and, like all their relatives, sociable, cheerful, as well as socially highly organized and friendly to people.
Habitat
These mammals are distributed mainly in the areas of the Arctic Ocean. Beluga whale (dolphin) can also inhabit the waters of the Japanese, Okhotsk, Bering, Barents, White and Kara and Chukchi seas. In addition, this animal can be found in the waters of Northern Norway, as well as Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland and the Canadian Arctic archipelago.
These mammals also live in large northern rivers, such as the Ob or the Yenisei. But in any case, it is preferable for them to open spaces of the sea, where a greater number of fish live, which makes up the bulk of the diet of beluga whales.
Lifestyle
Beluga whale (dolphin) prefers to live in packs, which, in turn, are formed by several small groups, numbering from ten to one hundred animals. In the spring, mammals swim to the cold northern shores, where they spend all the warm seasons, because at this time of the year there are many different fish in shallow water.
In the same time period, molting begins at the dolphins, during which the upper dead skin layer slides off with whole rags.
When severe cold, characteristic of the Arctic, sets in, the beluga whale (dolphin) leaves the coastal areas and sets sail to places where many drifting glaciers accumulate.
Underwater, these mammals without air can be a maximum of half an hour, but mostly they emerge every two minutes. They are guided with the help of well-developed hearing or organs of chemical and sensory perception located on the surface of the tongue. They can hear the oars hitting the water, heard from afar, the splash of waves on the ice and many other sounds that warn them of imminent danger.
Food
Beluga whale (dolphin) is an animal that obtains food through hunting, which these mammals go in small groups. Their prey is mainly cod, capelin, worms, flounder, cephalopods, navaga, crustaceans, cod and other varieties of small and medium-sized fish.
During their fishing, dolphins negotiate among themselves, during which they drive their prey in shallow water. They do not grab their food, but suck it into the mouth entirely with the water stream and hold it there with the help of teeth.
Breeding
Belugas mate exclusively in coastal areas with warm water, where they also bear their cubs. Therefore, their offspring is mainly born in the autumn-spring period. Pregnancy in a female lasts an average of fourteen months, after which she has one baby, reaching sizes up to 1.5 m in length and weighing up to 75 kg. The lactation period in beluga whales lasts about a year and a half, during which she feeds her cub with milk.
These animals reach puberty by about five years, and lose the ability to procreate at twenty years old. At the same time, they live somewhere up to the age of forty.
Danger
The enemies of these dolphins are the polar bear and killer whale, which are powerful predators. In winter, a land hunter settles down near large thawed areas in the middle of ice in anticipation of the moment when his prey emerges to swallow air. As soon as the beluga protrudes its head, at the same time a powerful and clawed paw stuns her with a strong blow. After that, the bear takes an insensitive body onto the ice and eats it.
The second enemy of these animals is also not opposed to feast on their thick fat layer. Therefore, killer whales do not miss the opportunity to attack dolphins under water. It is not possible to escape the beluga whale from such a hunter, as it swims twice as slowly as this predator.
