General Characteristics

Head to Body Length : 4 -5.5 m ( 13-18 feet )

Tail Length : 5.5 m ( 2.17 feet )

Height : 2 m ( 79 feet )

Weight :   1500 kg (3,300 lbs )

Description : 

 Beluga or "white whales" are not born white. They are gray at birth and get lighter and lighter until at about age six they are completely white. Belugas are one of the three whales that spend all their lives in arctic waters. The other two are the bowhead and the narwhal. Beluga are special among all whales because they can turn their heads. Maybe this is so that they can communicate with each other better! Beluga are very social and make a wide variety of sounds. A group of beluga can be loud! They have been nick-named "sea canaries." Beluga use sound to help them find their prey. They send out a sound which bounces off things in the water and allows them to hear how far away something is. This is called "echolocation." Beluga will work together using this and other techniques to herd fish into shallow water. It has also been reported by native people that beluga whales help each other give birth! They use many subtle forms of communication including a wide variety of facial expressions. Unlike some other whales, beluga have good vision. What they don't have is a dorsal fin.

Range - Beluga's live in the northern hemisphere centered mainly between 50 degrees north and 80 degrees north.

Habitat - They live in shallow river mouths, and in deep submarine trenches.

Diet -   It eats a great variety of organisms: fish ( from salmon to arctic cod to herring and capelin, cephalopods such as squid,  and octopuses, shrimps, crabs, marine worms, and even large zooplankton also

What type of animal is it - It is a Carnivore.

Why it is a rare animal - This whale is unique because it has a white color on its body, where as others don't.

Gestation : 14-15 months

Longevity : 35-50 years

Beluga Whale  at San Diego Sea World