What Is a Beluga Whale Called When Its a Baby
Facts Nigh Beluga Whales
Beluga whales, too chosen white whales, take white skin that is adjusted to its habitat in the Arctic. The discussion "beluga" comes from the Russian give-and-take for "white." They aren't the same kind of white whale in "Moby-Dick," however. That was a white sperm whale. They as well are not related to the sturgeon of the aforementioned name, which is the source of a type of caviar.
Belugas are related to another type of white whale — the "unicorn" whale known as the narwhal. However, instead of a large horn on its forehead, like the narwhal has, the beluga has a circular bump called a melon. The melon is used to brand many different communication sounds and facial expressions. It too aids in echolocation.
Size
Beluga whales are amongst the smallest species of whales. Adult males range from 13 to 20 anxiety (4 to 6.1 meters) in length and weigh ii,000 to iii,000 lbs. (907 to 1,361 kilograms), co-ordinate to National Geographic. Females are slightly smaller. Around 40 percent of the white whale's body weight is blubber, which keeps them warm and stores free energy, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA).
Belugas have thick, muscular bodies that taper at both ends. Their round heads take a pocket-sized beak, and their necks are narrower than other whales. Unlike other whales, their neck vertebrae are not fused, assuasive them to motility their heads up and downwardly and from side to side, according to the American Cetacean Society. They don't have a back (dorsal) fin. This allows them to swim under ice with ease. Their flippers are short and resemble paddles.
Habitat
These whales like it cold and are generally found in the Arctic Ocean. They tin live in water that beluga whales live in can be as cold as 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius).When the ocean starts to freeze, many migrate southward to slightly warmer waters, according to National Geographic.
Habits
White whales are very social. Groups are called pods, which may have hundreds to thousands of whales, according to the Animal Diversity Web (ADW). They communicate with i another with sounds like clicks, moos, whistles and clangs. They tin can besides mimic the sounds they hear around them, including man speech. Belugas are known every bit the "canaries of the sea" because the vast range of sounds they produce, according to the NOAA.
Diet
Beluga whales are carnivores, which means they eat meat. Typically, your boilerplate beluga whale isn't a picky eater, according to the American Cetacean Order. They make meals of snails, salmon, eulachon, crabs, shrimp, clams, octopus, squid, mussels, sandworms, cod and flounder.
They also eat a lot — l to 60 lbs. (22.7 to 27 kg) of food a day. All of this food is swallowed whole. Their teeth are simply used for grabbing and holding prey, according to the American Cetacean Guild.
Offspring
Beluga whales usually mate when the water is warmer, in March or April. After a gestation of 14 to fifteen months, females give birth to babies called calves. Calves are born gray, but will plough white equally they mature. They are 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 one thousand) long and weigh 110 to 130 lbs. (50 to 60 kg).
When they get their teeth, at 12 to 18 months, calves will start eating small sea creatures. Calves volition proceed to nurse, though, and aren't weaned until they are a yr- to year-and-a-half-old.
Female belugas become mature at effectually iv to seven years and males become mature at seven to nine years.
Scientists are unsure of how long beluga whales live. Some call back they may live 35 to 50 years. Others believe they live threescore to seventy years based on how many teeth they lose per year, according to the NOAA.
Classification/taxonomy
Here is the classification of beluga whales, co-ordinate to the Integrated Taxonomic Information Organization (ITIS):
Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Bilateria Infrakingdom: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Superclass: Tetrapoda Class: Mammalia Bracket: Theria Infraclass: Eutheria Social club: Cetacea Suborder: Odontoceti (toothed whales) Family: Monodontidae (white whales) Genus: Delphinapterus Species: Delphinapterus leucas
Conservation condition
Co-ordinate to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, beluga whales are listed equally almost threatened. The population worldwide is more than than 150,000 and their population is well distributed in nigh places. All the same, they are hunted by indigenous people in the Arctic and by commercial fisheries. This has led to population declines in those areas, such as West Greenland, where surveys institute that beluga numbers had decreased by 62 percent between 1981 and 1994.
The population in Melt Inlet in Alaska is protected by the U.Southward. Endangered Species Act. The NOAA estimates that this isolated group has been severely reduced over the by several decades, from as many as 1,300 individuals in the 1970s to about 340 in 2014.
Additional resources
- BBC: The Mysterious Squeaks and Whistles of Beluga Whales
- Smithsonian: The Story of 1 Whale Who Tried to Bridge the Linguistic Divide Betwixt Animals and Humans
- World Wildlife Federation: Belugas
Alina Bradford is a contributing writer for Live Science. Over the past xvi years, Alina has covered everything from Ebola to androids while writing health, science and tech articles for major publications. She has multiple wellness, safety and lifesaving certifications from Oklahoma State Academy. Alina's goal in life is to try as many experiences as possible. To date, she has been a volunteer firefighter, a dispatcher, substitute instructor, artist, janitor, children's book author, pizza maker, consequence coordinator and much more.
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