GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The beluga whale is a small, toothed whale that is white as an adult. The beluga's body is stout and has a small, blunt head with a small beak, tiny eyes, thick layers of blubber, and a rounded melon. They have one blowhole. Beluga means "white one" in Russian. Its genus, Delphinapterus, means "whale without fins", and the species, leucas, means white. The beluga is also called the white whale, the white porpoise, the sea canary (because of its songs), and the squid hound (due to its diet). Unlike most other cetaceans, the beluga's seven neck vertebrae are not fused, giving it a flexible, well-defined neck.

SKIN, SHAPE AND FINS
The beluga whale is white as an adult and molts seasonally. The beluga's body is stout and has a small, blunt head with a beak, a well-defined neck, and a rounded melon. It has no dorsal fin, which makes swimming under Arctic ice sheets easier. The flippers are short, rounded, and wide. The flukes (tail) are wide and deeply notched.

SOCIAL GROUPS
Beluga whales are very social animals and congregate in pods (social groups) of 2-25 whales, with an average pod size of 10 whales (consisting of both males and females or mothers and calves). A pod will hunt and migrate as a group. The bond between mothers and calves is the strongest. During migrations, several pods may join together, forming groups of 200-10,000 belugas.

DIVING
Belugas usually dive for about 3-15 minutes while hunting for food. They can travel for about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) during a dive and commonly dive to a depth of 66 feet (20 m) to hunt. They can dive to a depth of about 1,300-2,100 feet (400-650 m) at times.

SPOUTING - BREATHING
To open its single blowhole, a beluga contracts the muscular flap that covers it. The beluga's blowhole is relaxed in a closed position. The spout is about 3 feet (90 cm).

SPEED
Beluga are relatively slow swimmers. They swim about 2-6 mph (3 to 9 kph) . They are capable of short bursts of speed up to 14 mph (22 kph) for about 15 minutes.

REPRODUCTION
The gestation period of the beluga is about 14-15 months and the calf is born tail or head first and near the surface in warm, shallow waters. They breed in warm, shallow waters or estuaries (where rivers meet seas). The newborn instinctively swims to the surface within 10 seconds for its first breath; it is helped by its mother, using her flippers. The newborn calf is about 4-5 feet (1.2-1.5 m) long and weighs over 100-140 lbs (45-64 kg). Single births are the norm; twins are very rare. Calves are not white like the adults; they are blue to brownish-red for the first year of life. During the second year they are gray to blue. Their pigment (melanin) fades slowly, and by 6 years old, they are white. The baby is nurtured with its mother's fat-laden milk (it is 28% fat) and is weaned in about 12-24 months. Beluga whales reach maturity at 7-9 years.

LIFE SPAN
Beluga whales have a life expectancy of 25-30 years.

POPULATION COUNT
It is estimated that there are about 40,000 to 80,000 beluga whales world wide. St. Lawrence, Cook Inlet, and Alaskan belugas are classified as endangered. Other pods are also threatened. Belugas are threatened by pollution (DDT, PCB's, etc.) in estuary waters that they frequent and breed in.

CLASSIFICATION
Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas ) are toothed whales (Suborder Odontoceti). They are one of 76 cetacean species, and are marine mammals.

Kingdom Animalia (animals) Phylum Chordata (vertebrates) Class Mammalia (mammals) Order Cetacea (whales and dolphins) Suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales) Family Monodontidae (white whales with no dorsal fins and blunt heads) Genus Delphinapterus Species leucas