Beluga Whales

Beluga whales are small toothed whales.

The Beluga is grey at birth but turns completely white when it is about five years old.

It has a rounded head, a short snout , called a 'beak', and well-defined teeth. Belugas are found in the Arctic, usually in groups of five to ten. They sometimes travel long distances up large rivers.

The Beluga feeds on crabs, cuttlefish and fish, but it often hunts at depths for fish found on the bottom of the ocean, such as flounder and halibut.

Threats
Because they live near coasts and swim up river mouths, Beluga whales are very vulnerable to water pollution. Poisonous substances collect in their blubber and in their milk. The Belugas of the St. Lawrence Seaway in Canada are badly affected by pollution.

Read more about Beluga whales
http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/beluga.html

There are only two species of whale in this family of toothed whales: the Beluga and the Narwhal.

 Narwhal have only two teeth in the upper jaw, one of which develops into a spiral tusk in most males and some females.

Narwhals

 Back to Toothed Whales

If you use any part of this, acknowledge it in your bibliography like this:
Whales (2002). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au

Baleen whales .. Blue whale .. Humpback whale... Orca ..
Whale Strandings...Threats to Marine Mammals...Dolphins and Porpoises

Back to Animals .. Back to Antarctic Animals .. Back to People & Places
Updated October 2007