Beluga whales have stout bodies, well-defined necks and a disproportionately small head. They have thick skins, short but broad paddle-shaped flippers, and sharp teeth. Unlike other whales, the beluga doesn’t have a dorsal fin. Belugas average 3 to 5 metres in length and weigh between 500 and 1,500 kilograms. Male whales have a marked upward curve at the top of their flippers.
(Please note — these photos are unverified images submitted by members of the CWF Photo Club.)
Diet: Belugas eat octopus, squid, crabs, shrimp, clams, mussels, snails, sandworms, and fishes. To navigate and catch prey, belugas use a series of clicking sounds that bounce off fish and other objects in the water. This is called echo-location. The resulting echoes enable the belugas to build an accurate picture of what’s around them.
Males reach sexual maturity at 12 to 14 years, while females become sexually mature from 8 to 14 years of age. Belugas breed about every three years, between April and June. A female gives birth to one calf (about 1.5 m long) around July or August, after a gestation period of 14.5 months.More on this Species:
Hinterland Who's Who
This content is from Hinterland Who's Who, a joint program between the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Environment and Climate Change Canada. For more species fact sheets, videos and sound clips, please visit hww.ca