Churchill beluga whale watching operators breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Department of Fisheries and Oceans ruled that the recently proposed minimum distance regulations for observing belugas on the Churchill River and Hudson Bay would not be enforced for the coming summer season. A proposed 50 meter restriction was to apply to all vessels observing whales on the water. DFO was citing research recently conducted with results showing minimal contact with whales would be beneficial to them in their feeding and calving behavior.
Researchers have obviously not spent much time observing the whales interacting with tour operators vessels in Churchill. Having spent over 10 seasons with groups of travelers out on the Churchill River and Hudson Bay, I have seen the behavior in just about every situation many times over. Beluga whales are curious beings and when they are not feeding or tending to their calves they love to approach and follow boats of all sizes. Zodiacs in particular are favorites for the whales with their low throttle. The whales seem happy settling into the slipstream created by the outboard motor and often approach close enough without prompting for one to reach in the water and touch the melon of a beluga.
So, without hesitation, I can firmly state that beluga whales are safe around whale watching boats in Churchill. They are adept enough to avoid a boat traveling at fairly high speed though this practice is quite unusual for anyone out to view the whales. The video below highlights the behavior that beluga whales exhibit with no fear. Good job DFO!
I still remember the most amazing and intriguing sounds of Churchill’s Arctic summer were the sounds captured from the hydrophone we would drop into the Churchill River when out on the water with the beluga whales. Those clicks, shrieks and shrills coming from the depths of the chilly water mesmerized travelers and myself often for hours. Belugas are in fact nicknamed the “canaries of the sea” because of the incredible cacophony of sounds they produce.
Belugas at the back of the zodiac. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
These sounds are the mammal’s main form of communication and a key to their survival. At least half of the year belugas are navigating in the dark…quite literally. Under the sea ice in dark waters far north, these whales rely on sound from echolocation off the ice as well as communicating with each other. Sound without sight is their world a good part of their lives.
Biologists have begun to decipher the complex system of communication placing behavioral actions to the different and quite distinct clinks and squeals. hydrophones with recording ability are helping extensive research away from the beluga’s natural habitat in the Arctic.
However communication isn’t the only reason for belugas emitting sound through their nasal sacs near their blowhole. They have no vocal chords.These whales also use rapid strings of clicks to echolocate surfaces and food in their environment. The clicks bounce back to them and absorbed in their bulbous melons of their foreheads to form shapes and identify the prey. They also can wiggle the melon somewhat in order to specifically aim these sounds in different directions. Their unique ability to interpret returning sound wave lengths works just like our eyes work for humans.
Beluga whales echolocate using the melon on their foreheads. Steve Selden photo.
Evidence that beluga communication develops when calves are born stems from the evidence that a community of whales acting as sisters, aunts, cousins and grandmothers care for the calves as “allmothers”. They even produce milk when babies from other mothers are born regardless if they have a nursing calf or not. This early exposure to a language sets the base for more to come as the calves develop and interact with the pod.
Controlling the human – made noise in waters inhabited by belugas is of paramount importance to preserve their language and ability to communicate.
The beluga is a small toothed whale, weighing between 1,100 and 3,300 fifteen feet in length; males of this species are larger than the females. The beluga’s body is stout and has a small, blunt head with a small beak, tiny eyes, and a thick layer of blubber. It also has a rounded melon on its head, which is thought by some to focus echolocation tones. The melon can also be used as an indicator of health (poorly nourished belugas have low, flat melons, while well fed individuals have round melons) and of emotional state – aggressive individuals raise their melons forward.
Beluga up close and personal with snorkelers in the Churchill River. Alex De Vries – Magnifico photo.
The beluga has one blowhole, does not have a dorsal fin, and its tail is strongly forked. In its mouth, 38 spoon-shaped teeth are present. In addition, unlike most other cetaceans, the beluga’s seven neck vertebrae are not fused, giving it a flexible, well-defined neck. Belugas are well insulated, which allows them to stay warm in the icy Arctic waters – they have an insulating layer of blubber that is usually four to six inches thick, which varies with the season and the water temperature.
The most striking characteristic of the beluga whale is its ghost-white coloring. In fact, the name beluga comes from the Russian word bieluii, which means ‘white.’ While belugas are also commonly called the ‘white whales,’ they are not the same animal as the white whale described by Herman Melville in Moby Dick (that was an albino sperm whale). As a newborn, the beluga is not white at all – it is grayish-brown in color. As it grows older, it turns mottled and yellowish, and then a pure white.
A beluga whale popping out from the Churchill River near the mouth where visibility is amazing. Steve Selden photo.
– Habitat
There is only one species of the beluga. It is circumpolar in distribution and lives among the icebergs and floating ice of the Arctic regions. In July, it ascends some of the northern rivers to pursue salmon that are on their way to the spawning grounds. The beluga travels in schools of a few individuals up to the thousands; the large schools, however, are seldom seen today. The pods we will see off of the port of Churchill can number in the hundreds.
The beluga is widely, though not uniformly, distributed throughout the seasonally ice-covered Arctic and sub-Arctic waters off the coasts of North America, Asia, Europe, Svalbard, and Greenland. Belugas are usually found in water temperatures below 59°F, but stragglers may wander further afield. Southernmost sightings of the species have been in New Jersey and Puget Sound, on the east and west coasts of the U.S., and off the coast of Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. These animals may winter on the front of the seasonal ice pack or in polynyas – shifting areas of open water within the ice.
– Feeding Habits
Belugas eat a wide variety of prey, more diverse than most cetaceans. Many fish species, such as herring, cod, and salmon, as well as invertebrates, such as octopus, squid, crab, and snails, are taken. In addition, the stomachs of belugas have been found to contain bottom-dwelling organisms.
An adult beluga will eat about two to three percent of its body weight (about 50 pounds) per day. It is thought that belugas use echolocation to aid in the search for food. Their feeding dives last anywhere from three to five minutes, although one individual was seen remaining underwater for twenty minutes and diving to a depth of 2,123 feet.
– Beluga Behavior
Beluga whales are very social animals, and most parts of the year, they congregate in social units, or pods, of about 10 individuals led by a single large male. A pod will hunt and migrate as a group, and during migration or periods of great food abundance, groups of up to 10,000 belugas have been reported. Wintering sites can be either north or south of summering sites, and either closer to or farther from shore. Prey distribution and pack ice are two factors in determining seasonal movements.
Belugas are relatively slow swimmers, with speeds of about two to six miles per hour. However, they are capable of short bursts of speed up to fourteen miles per hour for about 15 minutes. In the spring, as leads form in the pack ice and the ice retreats from the coast, some belugas migrate to relatively warm estuarine waters. The beluga is well adapted to living close to shore; it can swim in very shallow water and maneuver in depths barely covering its body. If stranded, it can often survive until the next high tide.
The beluga is one of the most vocal of the toothed whales. It has a large repertoire of clicks, moos, squeaks, trills, and twitters, which can be heard above and below the surface. Many of the noises made by the beluga are audible to humans. In fact, the beluga was nicknamed the ‘sea canary’ by the whalers of old, who could hear its squeaks and cries through the wooden hulls of their boats.
They are also able to show a wide array of facial expressions with the aid of their flexible melon and mouth; they may appear to smile, frown, or whistle. There appears to be a high level of communication between pod members, and while facial expressions may be a form of communication, they are mainly related to sound production. Belugas may also have the most versatile and sophisticated sonar system of any cetacean.
– Reproduction
One young per birth is the rule for the beluga; females typically give birth every two to three years. Gestation lasts about one year. Calving occurs between April and September, and the young weigh about 154 pounds at birth.
A baby calf beluga swimming in his mother’s slipstream to stay close. Steve Selden photo.
One young per birth is the rule for the beluga; females typically give birth every two to three years. Gestation lasts about one year. Calving occurs between April and September, and the young weigh about 154 pounds at birth.
When born, the calves are dark brown or black in color. They reach a blue stage between one and two years of age, and then exist in a lighter yellow phase until they reach sexual maturity, when the white color typical of this species is achieved. Calves are born with less than an inch of blubber, but they gain weight quickly while nursing on rich milk, ranging from 15 to 40 percent in fat content. Beluga young are weaned between one and a half and two years of age.
This is a video I’ve posted before but I thought with Churchill’s Arctic summer on the horizon I’d send it your way again. This should get everyone traveling to Churchill this summer excited for the amazing and curious belugas!
Lets not forget all the other natural wonders the summer season has to offer. Birds, bears, tundra wildflowers and the phenomenal geology of the region. Summer in Churchill truly is the most diverse season for taking in a comprehensive feel for the sub-Arctic region.
Enjoy this underwater look at snorkeling with thousands of beluga whales!
Check out this cool video of beluga whales swimming in the Churchill River in Churchill,Manitoba. Although summer is coming down the stretch here in Churchill, the whales are still hanging in the shallows of the river and Hudson Bay. A beautiful time of year in Churchill when time seems to come to a standstill. Enjoy this fantastic video! Have the urge to get up close and personal with these exotic creatures? Check out the 2015 summer season at Natural Habitat’s website!
