Beluga is a mammal that belongs to the family of dolphins and the suborder of toothed whales. In another way, we can say that this is a polar dolphin, because its habitats are only the seas of the Arctic Ocean. Also, this animal can freely live in the northern rivers that flow into large reservoirs. Yenisei, Lena, Ob are the most popular rivers where you can meet beluga whales. She swims into the mouths of these river systems tens of kilometers up, following the current. In any case, whales prefer the open sea most of all, because here they can find the right amount of food and vegetation.

Description and characteristics

1. In appearance, the whale is a large marine animal. The length of the body of the male reaches the mark of 6 meters, and the mass of some is equal to two tons. The average characteristic of the animal's weight is 1.5 tons. The females are much smaller in this respect. Their length indicator reaches 5 meters, and the weight varies from 11.5 tons. The body color of the northern beluga whale is presented mainly in white. Hence the name of the animal. Newborn babies of beluga whales have a dark blue or slate blue color..
2. Over time, the color fades and becomes gray, which eventually begins to give off a blue tint. Usually pronounced blueness begins to fade and disappears altogether at the age of 4–5 years. So, the color of a whale at this age acquires a permanent white tint, which remains with the animal until the end of its life.
3. The head of the beluga whale is rather small in relation to the whole body. It has a characteristic frontal protrusion that other dolphins have, but the beak, which is so common in dolphins, is not present in belugas. It is worth noting that the animal can move its head freely, while turning it in different directions up, down, and also sideways. This is due to the mobile cervical vertebrae of the beluga whale. So, the vertebrae of an animal are not fused together, but are separated by cartilaginous layers, unlike other mammals.
4. This polar dolphin also has well-developed muscles located on the face of the animal. So, the face of a whale can change its expression, sometimes you can notice joy, sadness, and sometimes complete indifference and renunciation. The pectoral fins of the beluga whale are quite wide and well developed, but seem small compared to the whole body. The tail of the northern dolphin is very well developed, the individual does not have a dorsal fin. This is mainly due to the habitat of the fish, because among the eternal glaciers such a device in the back area can only interfere and lead to unnecessary discomfort.

The animal has very thick skin which has good and comfortable thermal insulation. The thickness of this cover is two centimeters. Under the skin of the individual there is a rather thick fatty layer. The thickness of subcutaneous fat can reach up to 15 centimeters and reliably protect the organs and immunity of the animal from the effects of low temperatures and frosts. The animal is used to swimming at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour.

It can swim perfectly on its back and even backwards. Beluga is able to swim to a depth of 300 meters, like other varieties of dolphins. Under water, the animal is able to swim for about 15 minutes. During diving, it rises to the surface of the water for two minutes to take a breath of fresh air.

How does reproduction occur and how many years does it live?

Features of nutrition and the nature of the mammal

Beluga whales usually live in flocks.. At the same time, one such flock may include a large number of separate groups. A large number of females together with cubs are able to unite in such large groups, as a rule, the remaining males gather in the rest. In spring, the mammal tends to swim closer to the shores of the northern type. Here, in narrow bays near river mouths, animals live throughout the warm season.

At this time, a large number of fish swim in shallow water. The food of the animal mainly consists of capelin, polar cod, flounder, but it can also eat navaga or cod. The animal happily eats salmon and herring fish, does not disdain crustaceans, as well as mollusks. The beluga whale does not swallow its victims with its mouth, but sucks along with the flow of water.

In springtime, these animals begin actively shedding. The top layer of the skin, which has already begun to die off, is usually torn off by beluga whales on their own with the help of small stones, as well as pebbles. Animals scratch on them with their large bodies, and the old skin gradually slides into the water in large parts. It is considered unusual that this the animal is used to spending the warm seasons in the same places and so all my life. That is, after a winter migration, they again return to those areas where they were once born. Otherwise, these mammals do not act.

When cold and frosty weather sets in, the animals leave their coastal habitats and begin migrating to the edges of the everlasting ice fields. If the amount of food in a beluga whale is low, then the animal is used to swimming in an area with drifting ice. They can safely live in these areas, only occasionally sticking their muzzle out of the ice porridge.

Animals are used to choosing large polynyas, next to which they gather in large groups. It often happens that there are several such holes in the ice. Sometimes they occur at a great distance from each other. If the polynya is suddenly covered with a crust of ice, then the animal will quickly be able to break it with the help of its powerful and large body. Sometimes it happens that the ice floes move towards each other, creeping due to the influence of strong currents and winds from the north. At this time, access to oxygen can be abruptly cut off, and in this case, a whole huge flock of white whales can die under water.

The main opponents of beluga whales

1. There are not so many main enemies of the beluga whale - only two. These include the polar bear and killer whale. At the same time, both of these predators are quite dangerous enemies: one sea, and the second land. polar bear just loves to eat these animals. He is especially attracted to their thick layer of fat. The bear waits until winter comes and then settles down near large thawed patches in the ice. While the polar dolphin emerges to the surface of the water to breathe in fresh air, the big paw of the bear falls on the animal. The bear drags the stunned body of a mammal to the earth's surface, and begins to eat on it.
2. killer whales also will not be able to refuse to feast on the white whale. They mercilessly attack belugas in the water itself. It is very difficult and almost impossible for a selected beluga whale to escape from such a ferocious and powerful predator. The killer whale is able to swim several times faster than the white whale, so the mammal almost always ends its life in the mouth of the enemy.

What do you need to know?

Compared with its relatives, this mammal has well-developed muscles on the muzzle, thanks to which the animal can freely express emotions, showing joy, sadness or anger. Some photographs show that the animal is able to rejoice, laugh and even show others special contempt or indifference.

From Latin, the name of this mammal can be translated as a dolphin without wings, because the animal does not have a fin in the back.

Also, it is very strange that beluga whale cubs are born with a distinctive color from an adult parent. Photos of the small offspring of the animal show that up to 1 year of age their body has a dark blue tint.

Now the real figure of the population of these mammals is not known to anyone. But experts and researchers argue that their number is slowly increasing after the events that happened to them in past centuries, when they were hunted by whalers.

Animals learn quickly and are quick to train, so they are often taken by artists in the dolphinarium. In addition, they are very friendly and calm: it has never happened that a dolphin attacked a person or seriously threatened his life.

Economic use of the beluga whale

This is an animal of limited trade (only its skin and subcutaneous fat are used). For the past thirty years, commercial hunting of beluga whales has been prohibited in Russia. At the same time, several dozen individuals are harvested per year in order to satisfy the needs of the northern peoples, send them to scientific laboratories or to the dolphinarium.

The beluga whale quickly adapts to the conditions of captivity and is quickly trained. The first time a mammal performed at Barnum's circus was in 1861. Also Beluga whales were able to master a number of specialties: delivery of additional equipment to divers, search for lost things, shooting with special equipment underwater. All these qualities of the beluga whale make it an invaluable assistant for a person who helps to fully explore the expanses of the Arctic.

Catching and hunting for beluga whales in the northern regions arose as early as the 5th century. After the October Revolution, she was caught with the help of nets, firearms and seines. Beluga whales were mostly caught in the regions of Sakhalin, in the White Sea, on the Cheshskaya Bay, Novaya Zemlya, in the Gulf of Ob, and also in the Yenisei Bay. Beluga fishing became most popular in the 1930s, at that time in the north of Russia and the Far East, about 500 units of this species of mammals were caught in one year.

Further, a new increase in the number of individuals caught occurred in the 50s, but at that time the production of belugas per year did not exceed 300 units. After that, fishing for beluga whales decreased significantly. Outside the territory of Russia, catching belugas has always received reduced attention.

Population protection

Since 1994, the beluga whale has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. According to the general state in May 1999, only 30 flocks of belugas could be counted in the world, the total number of which was 100-200 thousand heads (if Russia is not taken into account). Now the main threat to belugas comes from intensive fishing, as well as from the industrial development of the Arctic territories and air pollution with various pesticides from industrial waste.

Mammal roar

In Russian, you can even come across an expression - the phraseological unit "roar of the beluga whale", which means the reproduction of loud sounds emanating from the beluga itself. Usually this phraseological unit is used when a person cries and sobs too loudly. In the 19th century, there were two spellings of the name of this animal: white whale and beluga. Now in Russian the word beluga mainly means beluga fish, but the expression beluga is also used to define a mammal.

Beluga is a polar dolphin belonging to the family of dolphins of the suborder of toothed whales. Beluga whales are mammals, that is, they feed their babies with milk. Their habitat is the waters of the Arctic Ocean, but belugas are also found in large northern reservoirs and rivers.

In such rivers as the Lena, Ob and Yenisei, these polar dolphins swim for tens of kilometers, but still they prefer the sea surface, since there are much more fish in the seas.

Appearance

Beluga whales are large mammals. Males reach a length of up to 6 meters, and can weigh up to 2 tons. The average weight of a male is 1.5 tons. Females are slightly smaller than males, their body length does not exceed 5 meters, and their weight is about 1.5 tons. Adults have a white color, thanks to which they got their name. And the cubs of polar dolphins have a dark blue skin, but over time it begins to turn pale and gray, and then begins to give blue. By the age of 4-5, the blue hue completely disappears, and the beluga whale becomes white, the animal retains this color for life.

The head is small compared to the rest of the body. The protrusion on the head is clearly visible, which all dolphins have, but this species does not have a beak. The beluga whale can rotate its head in different directions - down, up and sideways, this ability is due to the movable cervical vertebrae. In many relatives of beluga whales, the cervical vertebrae are fused together, while in polar dolphins they are separated by cartilaginous layers. In addition, these mammals have well-developed muzzle muscles, thanks to which beluga whales can change their expression, reflecting sadness, joy, anger or indifference. The pectoral fins of belugas are wide and small in comparison with the body, there is no dorsal fin at all. The tail is powerful.

The skin up to 2 centimeters thick is characterized by high strength and excellent thermal insulation. Under the skin is a thick fatty layer, up to 15 centimeters thick. This layer of fat saves the internal organs of the beluga whale from hypothermia in icy waters.

Polar dolphins swim at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour, but in times of danger, for example, escaping killer whales, the speed increases to 25 kilometers per hour. Beluga whales can swim well backwards and on their backs. Like all dolphins, beluga whales can dive to a depth of 300 meters, while retaining air for 15 minutes. While swimming, polar dolphins emerge to the surface every 2 minutes for a breath of air.

Reproduction and lifespan

The process of mating and childbirth in belugas occurs in coastal areas, in places with warmer water. As a rule, these are places near the mouths of rivers. This is where polar dolphin babies are born between spring and autumn. These mammals give birth to one cub 1.4-1.6 meters long and weighing up to 70 kilograms. The process of breastfeeding lasts 1.5 years. And females mate within a week after giving birth.

To attract the attention of females, males arrange fights. The pregnancy process lasts 14 months. Puberty in females occurs by 4-7 years, and by the age of 20 they lose the ability to become pregnant. Puberty in males occurs by 7-9 years. The average life expectancy of beluga whales is 35-40 years, and in captivity, polar dolphins live up to 45 years.

Behavior and nutrition

Beluga whales prefer a collective life, their flocks consist of a large number of groups - males unite in one group, and females with their cubs in others. In spring, mammals go to the northern cold shores, where they spend the warm season in small bays and estuaries. In shallow water during this period, a real abundance of fish.

The diet of polar dolphins consists of capelin, polar cod, flounder, cod, saffron cod. Beluga whales also love salmon, herring, mollusks and crustaceans. Dolphins do not grab their prey, but suck it in with water. In spring, the beluga whales begin the molting season, animals get rid of the dead skin layer, shaking on pebbles and small stones, as a result of which the old skin exfoliates in large patches.

Beluga whales always spend summer time in the same places, that is, after winter they always return to the places where they were born, another development of events is excluded. When severe frosts come, polar dolphins leave the coastal zones and swim closer to the edge of the ice fields. If beluga whales do not have enough fish for food, they swim in areas of drifting ice. In these places, ice porridge is formed from water and ice. Dolphins congregate near large polynyas and occasionally stick their heads out to breathe.

Such holes in the ice can be several kilometers apart. If the polynya is completely covered with ice, then polar dolphins break through it with their strong bodies. During powerful northern winds, ice floes can crawl on top of each other, completely blocking the air flock. This situation is extremely dangerous for beluga whales, as it can lead to the fact that a whole flock of hundreds of representatives will die.

For a long time it was believed that the white whale is the fruit of the imagination of superstitious sailors who endowed this animal with supernatural abilities and deceit.

In fact, the beluga whale, as the white whale is also called, is not a fish, but a mammal living in the seas and oceans. What does it look like, what does it eat and where does it live? We will try to answer all these questions.

Biological characteristic

The white whale, the photo of which you see, belongs to the Navralov family, the suborder of Toothed whales, the order of Cetaceans.

Beluga whale, as its Latin name Delphinapterus leucas (wingless dolphin) implies, is a dolphin called a whale because of its five-meter size. Among the white whales, the following three subspecies are distinguished:

1. Belomorsky.
2. Far East.
3. Kara.

On average, white whales live for about 45 years, while they finish growing only at 10-11 years old. Sexual maturity in females of this species occurs at the age of 3-5 years, but the "boys" mature at 5-8. Pregnancy lasts from 11 to 12 months, after which a calf weighing about 50 kg and 1.5 meters long is born, which the mother feeds with breast milk for a year.

Throughout her life, a female beluga whale can give birth to 3 to 12 cubs.

What color are they?

The adult white whale really has white skin. However, the calves are born in the same deep dark blue color as regular black and white whales. As they grow, their color changes and they become first gray, then bluish-gray. And only having matured, by about 5 years, they become snow-white.

These mammals have a small, relative to the size of the body, lobed head, but are deprived of such obligatory attributes of dolphins as a beak and dorsal fin. In addition, the white whale, unlike other representatives of this order, can turn its head, since its cervical vertebrae are separated by cartilaginous layers and are mobile. The body of the beluga whale is almost round, and the front flippers are wide and square.

It is impossible to say for sure how much a white whale weighs, since the smallest White Sea beluga whales weigh up to 1500 kg, and males of other species can grow up to 2 tons with a length of 6 meters.

The skin of the arctic dolphin is strong, up to 2 cm thick. Under it is a 15 cm thick fat layer, which serves as a heat insulator and protects the internal organs of the animal from hypothermia. The white whale can dive to a depth of 300 meters, swim on its back and even backwards. Without air, it can last up to 15 minutes, but while moving, it emerges for breathing every 2 minutes. The average speed of a beluga whale is 9-10 km/h, but fleeing from danger, it can accelerate up to 25 km/h.

The white whale, the photo of which you see, confirms that these animals have well-developed facial muscles of the muzzle.

Sadness or contempt, joy or indifference can show you an arctic dolphin.

What do they eat?

Adult beluga whales eat 15-17 kg of food per day, sucking it up with a stream of water like whales. These are mainly schooling species of fish: navaga, herring, polar cod, cod, capelin, flounder, various representatives of salmon and whitefish. In addition to fish, white whales can eat cephalopods and various crustaceans.

Where do they live?

The white whale prefers arctic waters and can be found off the coast of Russia, Greenland, Alaska and Canada. It can swim in the Baltic and Okhotsk Seas, and also in search of food, climb the Amur, Ob, Lena and Yenisei rivers for hundreds of kilometers upstream.

These animals are characterized by seasonal migrations: in spring to the mouths of northern rivers and shallow fjords and bays, and in summer closer to the coast. In winter, beluga whales adhere to the boundaries of ice fields, but with heavy icing, they go to more southern regions that are not covered in ice.

How do sea canaries communicate?

White whales are very sociable and communicate using facial expressions, gestures, tail movements, as well as a wide variety of sounds, including those inaudible to humans: chirps, squeals, whistles of different heights, iridescent trills. For some time, there were reports in the press that in one of the US dolphinariums, a cub of an Arctic dolphin imitated human speech.

While moving, the white whale roars abruptly, the sound it makes is similar to the simultaneous grunting of a walrus and the roar of a bull. In the northern regions, the beluga whale is called the beluga, and it is from here that the expression "beluga roar" came from. In fact, she is silent, and you will not expect audible sounds from her.

social behavior

The white whale is a social creature and lives in a flock. As a rule, it is divided into two groups: the first consists of one or more females with cubs of different ages, and the second consists of eight to 16 adult males. The head of the “family” of belugas is the female, but during long transitions to the shore, the males begin to manage the flock, and the “matrons” with children and adolescents follow them. In pursuit of food, chasing shoals of fish, belugas can stray into flocks of many thousands.

Observers note that white whales not only take care of food for 16 hours a day, but also find time to play and socialize.

Beluga whale breeding

From April to June, mature male white whales use a variety of noise effects to attract females. Having found a couple, they swim and caress each other until the female sinks under the male's belly. After that, mating takes place.

Pregnancy lasts 11-12 months, after which one, extremely rarely two, cubs are born. They are born tail first and should immediately rise to the surface for their first breath. The skin of a newborn calf is reddish-green, and only after a couple of years it becomes grayish-blue. Usually the female feeds the cub with milk for a year or two.

In the northern seas you can find an unusual mammal called " white whale". This animal is a middle link between a dolphin and a whale. External forms have a strong resemblance to a dolphin, but in size it resembles a whale. In everyday life it is called " polar dolphin».

Beluga whale features and habitat

Beluga whale (from lat. Delphinapterus leucas) is a large mammal, the narwhal family, subspecies - toothed whales. considered because of the habitat - the seas of the Northern Ocean and polar reservoirs.

The distribution is circumpolar (50-80 degrees north latitude). Beluga whale lives in such seas: Bering, White, Okhotsk, sometimes enters the Baltic Sea. During floods it can reach the rivers: Ob, Yenisei, Lena. According to some reports, there is a separate population of beluga whales within the St. Lawrence River.

It has a large size: the male reaches a length of 6 meters, the female - up to 5 meters. Body weight ranges from 1.5 to 2 tons. A distinctive feature of the beluga dolphin is its head, which does not allow it to be confused with anyone else.

He can also turn his head, which is not typical for him. This is facilitated by fused cervical vertebrae. The fins on the chest are oval, small in size. The beluga whale, unlike dolphins, lacks a fin on its back, which is why it is also called the "wingless dolphin".

Color white whale dolphin vary and depend on age. Only born cubs have a blue and dark blue tint. Individuals that have reached the year turn pale, acquire a gray or light gray color. Sometimes the color turns into a soft bluish color. Representatives of the population aged 3-5 years are pure white.

The nature and lifestyle of the beluga whale

Beluga whales tend to gather in flocks. Groups are arranged approximately like this: a female with cubs or several dozen males. The way of life consists in systematic seasonal migrations.

In winter, they try to keep to the edges of icy water areas. Often during the winter flock white whales shackled by thick ice and for many it ends tragically. Often groups migrate to the south, when the covers have a very thick icing edge.

In spring, flocks gradually move to shallow water, to estuaries, bays, fjords. This behavior is due to the annual molt. They peel off the upper dead layer by rubbing against pebbles or hard shores.

Migration is always carried out along the same route. The fact is that white whale dolphin remembers the place of his birth and strives to return there every year. Beluga can be considered a full-fledged social creature in the group. Because they have actively developed communication: with the help of sounds, body language and facial expressions.

Scientists have counted up to 50 different sounds that this animal can make. Sailors call beluga whale"canary of the sea." The nature of the animal is good-natured, this explains its main similarity with the dolphin. It lends itself perfectly to training, you can often see fascinating circus performances with their participation. Known cases of human rescue polar dolphin.

Beluga whale food

Beluga whalemammal feeds mainly on fish. Food is taken not by capturing the carcass, but by suction along with water. An adult, on average, eats up to 15 kg of fish per day.

Rarely feeds on crustaceans and plankton. She loves salmon representatives very much, she is ready to migrate after them through many thousands of kilometers. Because of this, it often swims into full-flowing rivers and huge bays.

Beluga reproduction and lifespan

The period of love comforts for belugas begins in the spring-summer range. To do this, they choose calmer coasts. Here they mate and produce offspring. Often, males adequately fight for the attention of a female. Sexual maturity in males occurs at the age of 7-9 years, and in females - at 4-7 years.

Female polar beluga dolphin bears a cub for 14 months. The addition is carried out once every two to three years. The female gives birth in warm water, closer to the shore.

Feeds the baby with milk for 12-24 months. The cub at birth reaches a length of about 1.5 meters. Twins are rare. Beluga whales stop giving birth in their second decade of life. The average age that a mammal reaches is in the range of 30 to 40 years. The main advantage of the beluga whale is its incredible agility and evasiveness.

The usual speed of an adult reaches 3-9 km / h, when scared - up to 22 km / h. The ability to stay underwater without air for approximately 15 minutes. Every one and a half minutes they masterfully emerge in order to breathe.

Beluga whales have low vision, so they receive information about nearby objects using echo location. They emit click-shaped ultrasounds (there are special air sacs). A separate part of the brain reads all the data about nearby objects. This involves an acoustic lens on the forehead.

most dangerous time for polar dolphin- this is winter. In addition to the fact that flocks can fall into ice captivity, they have natural enemies. The most dangerous is this. It is difficult to hide from her and often the pursuit ends badly. Therefore, belugas try not to swim far into the ocean.

Another dangerous predator who loves to eat the white whale is this. During the wintering of mammals, he watches for them near the water's edge and immobilizes the animal with a strong blow of his clawed paw.

Recently, another bad factor has appeared that reduces the population of these animals - environmental. A large amount of toxic waste from the plant is dumped into the ocean waters, which causes flocks to migrate to very remote cold places. It is they who often become a trap for a large number of individuals, the beluga whale simply freezes in the sea.

white whale- a favorite of spectators in huge aquariums. The animal willingly makes contact, poses and allows itself to be photographed. Feels great in captivity and is an excellent neighbor for other exotic inhabitants of the aquarium.

You can often see beluga whales performing in the circus, they do an excellent job with the tasks, they are easy to train. On photo of a beluga whale they turn out almost snow-white, like angels descending on the water.

The world ocean strikes with a variety of living organisms not only the inhabitants, but also seasoned researchers. According to ichthyologists, only 10% of marine life is known and more or less studied by modern scientists. This is due to the difficulties faced by researchers of the sea: great depth, lack of daylight, pressure of water masses, the threat from underwater predators. But still, some of them have been studied quite well. For example, the beluga whale is a mammal from the suborder of toothed whales, belonging to a small family of narwhals.

Appearance

To understand what a white whale looks like, you need to imagine a huge dolphin with a small head without a beak ("nose"). A characteristic feature of the animal is the presence of a large convex forehead on the head, which is why the beluga whale is often called "lobasta". Their cervical vertebrae are not fused, so these representatives of cetaceans, unlike most of their relatives, can turn their heads in different directions.

Beluga whales have small oval pectoral fins and a powerful tail, but no dorsal fin.

Adult animals (over three years old) have a solid white skin, hence their name. Babies are born blue or even dark blue, but after a year their skin brightens and acquires a delicate bluish-gray tint.

Beluga is a mammal of impressive size: males reach 5-6 meters in length and weigh at least 1.5-2 tons, females are smaller.

habitats

These marine inhabitants have chosen the waters of the Arctic Ocean - the Kara, Barents, Chukchi Seas. In the White Sea, they are often found near. The most densely settled belugas are between 50 ° and 80 ° north latitude. They inhabit the marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean - the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Sea of ​​Japan and the Bering Sea, and also enter the Baltic Sea (the Atlantic Ocean basin).

The beluga whale is a marine mammal, but in pursuit of prey it often enters the large northern rivers - the Amur, Ob, Lena, Yenisei, swimming hundreds of kilometers upstream.

Nutrition

The basis of the diet of belugas is schooling fish - capelin, herring, polar cod, cod, Pacific saffron cod. They like to eat flounder, whitefish or salmon, less often they hunt crustaceans and cephalopods.

They go fishing in large flocks. "Speaking" among themselves and acting together, they drive the fish into shallow water, where it is more convenient to catch it.

The white whale sucks its prey and swallows it whole. An adult individual consumes at least 15 kg of fish per day.

Lifestyle, habits and economic importance

Keith or This will be discussed below. Now let's talk about the habits of these marine inhabitants. They surf the expanses of water in small flocks - 10-15 individuals each, and males swim separately from females with cubs. The average speed of movement is 10-12 km / h, but in case of danger they can accelerate to 25 km / h.

Like an ordinary dolphin, a beluga whale can dive to a depth of 300 m, but every 5 minutes it emerges to the surface to take a breath of fresh air. If necessary, it can continuously be under water for 15-20 minutes, but no more. This explains why beluga whales avoid glaciation zones in winter - the surface of the water covered with ice blocks their access to oxygen.

The natural enemies of the animal are killer whales and polar bears. If a killer whale chases a beluga whale under water, then it will have no chance of salvation. The polar bear tracks down the "white whales" near polynyas and suffocates them with its paw when they emerge to the surface, so that they can then be pulled out of the water and eaten.

Every spring, mammals molt in the truest sense of the word, that is, shed their old dead skin, for which they rub their backs and sides against pebbles in shallow water.

The beluga whale is a sociable and cheerful animal, it is friendly towards people, makes contact with pleasure and lends itself well to training. There has not yet been a single case of a "white whale" attack on a person. Therefore, these mammals often perform in dolphinariums, help divers, scouts, and explorers of the deep sea.

In nature, these cetaceans live up to 35-40 years, in captivity - up to 50 years.

reproduction

Puberty in beluga whales comes late: in females at the age of 4-5 years, and in males not earlier than 7-9 years. Before mating, which falls on April-June, males conduct spectacular but peaceful tournament fights, during which they do not cause damage to each other. The winner retires with the female to a secluded place for mating.

Pregnancy lasts more than a year - approximately 14 months. Before giving birth, the female swims in the mouths of the rivers, where the water is warmer. As a rule, only one cub up to one and a half meters long is born, twins are an extremely rare occurrence. Beluga is a mammal, that is, the female feeds her baby with milk. Feeding lasts up to two years, often at this time the beluga is already pregnant again. The ability to bear children is lost at the age of 20 years.

Babies stay near their mothers until sexually mature, that is, they leave their native flock at the age of 4-6 years, after which the young are going to a new group.

population status

Beluga whale is a protected mammal. The population of "white whales" was greatly reduced in the 18th and 19th centuries, when they became a coveted prey for whalers due to their high quality fat, tasty tender meat and thick, strong skin. Later, the capture of belugas began to be controlled, and at present the number of these animals is, according to approximate estimates, 200,000 individuals. Therefore, there is no clear threat of extinction of beluga whales, although they suffer greatly due to the intensive human development of the Arctic and the pollution of the waters of the Arctic Ocean.

Beluga whales have very developed muscles of the muzzle, so they are able to change the expression of the "face", that is, to demonstrate sadness or anger, joy or boredom. Such an amazing ability is not inherent in all underwater inhabitants.

Beluga whales swim in northern latitudes, their natural thermal insulation is provided by strong skin up to two centimeters thick and a powerful layer of fat up to 15 cm thick. This protects animals from hypothermia.

Beluga whales are called "polar canaries" or "singing whales" because they make up to 50 different sounds, as well as ultrasonic clicks, through which they communicate with each other. It is from the ability of "white whales" to make loud sounds that the Russian phraseological unit "roar like a beluga" came from.

Beluga whale or dolphin?

Now you know everything about this marine life. But the question of whether the beluga whale is a whale or a dolphin remains open. The people call it none other than the polar or white dolphin. This name arose due to the appearance and habitat of the animal. But in the biological sense, the beluga whale belongs to the order of whales, and the dolphin can be called its cousin. The evolutionary paths of their ancestors diverged several million years ago. Therefore, it is more correct to say that the beluga whale is not a dolphin.