Beluga (dolphin): description, photo

This species of whales is considered a mysterious and mysterious marine creature, and before talking about it, it is necessary to find out what kind of mammal it is, since in some sources it is referred to different families. But it turns out, everything is very simple: the beluga is an arctic dolphin from the suborder of toothed whales. These animals are also sometimes called sea canaries because of the sound signals that these creatures are communicating with each other.

Appearance

A fairly large mammal is the beluga (dolphin). How much does this marine inhabitant, can not be said for sure, since the mass of his body depends on sex. The male can reach a length of up to six meters, and the weight thus reach 2 tons. The females are slightly smaller: their mass varies within 1.5 tons. Compared to other cetaceans, these animals are smaller, they are considered average.

The beluga (dolphin) has a small head in relation to the size of its body. This marine inhabitant has a large globular forehead, characteristic of all members of his family, but this beak is not inherent in these mammals.

A distinctive property of the Arctic dolphin from other relatives is that it can turn its head in completely different directions. This skill is associated with the mobility of the cervical vertebrae, since in this mammal they are not fused, but separated by cartilaginous layers, unlike its closest relatives.

The color of these animals is pure white, so they got their name. The body is covered with very thick skin, which has excellent thermal insulation. This species of mammals is endowed with small, but wide pectoral fins and a powerful tail, thanks to which the beluga (dolphin) can swim quickly. The description of these animals suggests that they are very attractive externally and, like all their relatives, are sociable, cheerful, and also socially highly organized and friendly towards people.

Habitat

These mammals are distributed mainly in the zones of the Arctic Ocean. The beluga (dolphin) can also inhabit the waters of the Japanese, Okhotsk, Bering, Barents, White and Kara and Chukchi seas. In addition, this animal can be found in the waters of Northern Norway, as well as Spitsbergen, Iceland, Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

These mammals also live in large northern rivers, such as the Ob or Yenisei. But in any case, for them, the sea is more preferable, where more fish live, which is the main part of the diet of beluga whales.

Lifestyle

The beluga (dolphin) prefers to live in packs, which, in turn, are formed by several small groups, numbering from ten to one hundred animals. In the spring, mammals swim to the cold northern shores, where they spend all the warm seasons, since at this time of year many different fish are found in shallow water.

In the same time interval dolphins begin to molt, during which the upper dead skin layer slides off them with entire grafts.

When severe cold temperatures occur in the Arctic, the beluga (dolphin) leaves the coastal areas and sails to places where a lot of drifting glaciers accumulate.

Underwater, this mammal without air can be a maximum of half an hour, but mostly they emerge every two minutes. Oriented with the help of well-developed hearing or the organs of chemical and sensory perception, located on the surface of the tongue. They can hear the oars of the oars about the water coming from afar, the surge of waves on the ice and many other sounds that warn them of the impending danger.

Food

The beluga (dolphin) is an animal that obtains food by means of hunting, on which these mammals come out in small groups. Their prey is mainly saika, capelin, worms, flounder, cephalopod mollusks, navaga, crustaceans, cod and other varieties of small and medium-sized fish.

During their fishing, the dolphins conduct negotiations among themselves, during which they drive their prey to shallow water. Their food they do not grab, but suck it into the mouth entirely together with the water flow and hold it there with the help of teeth.

Reproduction

The beluga whales are mated exclusively in coastal zones with warm water, where they also nurse their cubs. Therefore, their offspring are mostly born in the autumn-spring period. Pregnancy in the female lasts an average of fourteen months, after which she has a baby, reaching a length of up to 1.5 m and weighing up to 75 kg. The lactation period in the beluga lasts about one and a half years, during which it feeds its cub with milk.

These animals reach sexual maturity by about five years, and lose the ability to procreate in twenty years. At the same time, they live somewhere up to the age of forty.

Danger

The enemies of these dolphins are polar bear and killer whale, which are the most powerful predators. In winter, the land hunter settles near large thawed holes in the middle of the ice in anticipation of the moment when his prey will come out to swallow air. As soon as the beluga sticks out his head, at the same time a powerful and clawed paw stuns her with a strong blow. After that, the bear takes an unconscious body onto the ice and eats it.

The second enemy of these animals is also not against eating their thick fat layer. Therefore killer whales do not miss an opportunity to attack dolphins under water. To escape the beluga from such a hunter is not possible, since it swims twice as slowly as this predator.

Interesting to know

Unlike other relatives, this animal is very well developed muscles on the muzzle, so it can show its emotions beluga (dolphin). Pictures depicting these mammals captured how they can laugh, rejoice, and even show their appearance of contempt or indifference.

From Latin, the name of these animals is translated as "dolphin without wings", since they do not have a fin on their backs.

Also interesting is that it is born with a completely different body color of the beluga (dolphin). Photos of her cubs show that up to a year-old age they are dark blue.

At present, the number of the mammalian population is unknown. But scientists and researchers believe that their number is increasing, albeit at a slow pace after the losses that this species suffered in the last centuries due to the hunting of whalers.

The beluga whales are excellent for training, so they are often used as artists in dolphinariums. In addition, they are safe: there has not yet been a single attack of these dolphins on humans.