The Beluga Whale
By Rebecca
Go Back to the Home Page Belugas are amazing creatures that are able to survive in freezing waters.
Diet Predators Reproduction Habitat Description
Their main diet consists of squid, fish, octapus, crabs, clams, shrimp, capelin, cod, smelt, and flounder. Belugas do not chew their food but swallow it hole. They usually forage for food near the bottom of shallow waters but they will also hunt schooling fish.
The most common predators of the beluga whale are humans. Another of its predators is none other than the polar bear and sometimes, the walrus.
Shallow bays are the usual place for breeding for the belugas between the months of March to May. A dominant male might mate with several females. The male belugas is not sexually mature until they are about eight to nine years old; and females are mature betwee four and seven years. A female beluga's gestation time is about fourteen or fifteen months, and calves are most commonly born between May and July. Females may give birth every 2-3 years. When calves are born they are about 1.6 meters (about five feet) long and weigh 80 kilograms (about 175 pounds). Like all other baby whales they are born with the ability to swim.
Belugas are found near the Arctic coasts of North America and the Soviet Union.
Belugas are large white creatures of the sea with a thick layer of blubber to protect them from the cold. Their titanic mass is lifted by the water, therefore making them seem lighter. Near the top of their head is a small hole called the blowhole, which allows them to breathe fresh air, since they are mammals.
