Beluga Whale
· Beluga Whale Habitat
· Beluga Whale Food
· Beluga Whale Behaviour
· Conservation Status
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· Beluga Whale Facts

Beluga Whale Behaviour

Beluga whale behavior: socializing

The Beluga whale is a highly social animal and a lot of the known beluga whale behavior is linked to various social activities. It is known to interact in a playful way with other whales as well as with humans. In aquariums, spraying the aquarium handler with water is quite a common Beluga whale behavior. Beluga whales like to move in pods consisting of animals of the same sex and of roughly the same age. The calf stays close to its mother and nursing can go on for up to two years. Females with calves normally form small groups, while adult males can move in ponds consisting of several hundred individuals. Numerous pods sometimes congregate at popular estuaries, and during such periods several thousand Beluga whales can live together. Unlike many other animals, Beluga whales do not form strict packs and it is quite easy for a Beluga whale to move from one pod to another. During its life time, a Beluga whale will normally be a member of many different pods.  

Beluga whale behaviour: raring of offspring

The bond between a Beluga whale mother and her calf is very strong. Beluga whales normally only give birth to one calf at the time, and the calf can nurse for up to two years. It might be possible for Beluga whales to ovulate when they are still nursing. Even fully adult Beluga whales recurrently meet their mothers, because they like to return to the same summer estuary that their mother brought them to when they were still calves.
 

Beluga whale behavior: feeding

Witnessing Beluga whale behavior related to feeding can be truly amazing. They sometimes force large schools of fish up from the deep before devouring them in the shallows, or herd them into compact groups before catching them. In addition to fish, they like to eat squid and octopus, as well as crab, shrimps and other forms of crustaceans. Stones and mud found in the stomach of Beluga whales indicate that they often feed from the seabed. 

Beluga whale behavior: sounds

One example of interesting Beluga whale behavior is there ability to produce a multitude of sounds. Exactly why and how these sounds are produced is still not know, but we do know that they are capable of echolocation. The plethora of Beluga whale sounds includes whistles, clicks, squeaks and squarks. They can also emit a fascinating bell-like clang. A majority of the sounds are in the 0.1-12 kHz range and marine biologists have recorded 50 different sounds so far.