Beluga Whale

The beluga whale is a medium-sized toothed whale found in the cold Arctic and sub-Arctic waters of the Northern Hemisphere, unmistakable for its all-white adult coloration, rounded melon-shaped head and complete absence of a dorsal fin, an adaptation for swimming beneath sea ice. Highly vocal, it produces an extraordinarily wide range of clicks, whistles and squeals that earned it the nickname sea canary among sailors, and it uses echolocation to navigate and hunt fish, squid and crustaceans in dark or ice-covered waters. Belugas are social animals that travel in pods and undertake seasonal migrations, moving into river estuaries in summer to molt their skin and give birth in relatively warmer, sheltered water. Unlike most whales, the neck vertebrae of a beluga are not fused, giving it an unusually flexible neck that allows a wide range of head movement. Several populations are hunted for subsistence by Arctic peoples and considered stable, while others, including some isolated estuary populations, are classified as endangered due to pollution, shipping noise and habitat disturbance.