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Belugas are born brownish-gray in colour with fine dark spots, but they slowly lose this pigmentation as they age. Upon reaching maturity, they are yellowish to creamy white. A fully grown male ranges from 4 to 5 metres (13 to 16 feet) in length while a fully grown female ranges from 3 to 4 metres (9.8 feet to 13 feet). Adult male belugas weigh 1500 kg (3300 lbs.) and females weigh about 1350 kg (2970 lbs.).
Besides their colour, belugas have other unique physical characteristics. The melon (forehead region) of the beluga is pronounced and hangs out over the rostrum (snout). They can flex or mold the shape of their melon in order to better focus their echolocation click streams. Unlike other cetaceans, the seven neck vertebrae of beluga whales are not fused, and this allows the whale greater range of head and neck motion. Belugas do not have a dorsal fin. In its place, they have a long, stiff ridge. A dorsal fin would limit their ability to swim under the ice found in their arctic habitat. They even sometimes ram their backs upward against the surface ice in order to break through for a breath of air. A dorsal fin would make that impossible, while their stiff dorsal ridge is ideal.
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Beluga whales are found in arctic and sub-arctic waters and in the St. Lawrence River. Belugas are one of the most abundant type of whale in Canadian waters. Only those sub-populations found near southeast Baffin Island, Ungava Bay and the St. Lawrence are considered endangered.
As mentioned above, belugas swim among and under icebergs and ice floes in water that can reach temperatures as low as 0°C (32°F). Belugas tend to favor shallow coastal waters.
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Belugas use their 34, peg-shaped teeth to grasp their food, which consists of capelin, herring, salmon, cod, flounder, squid, shrimp, crabs, snails and worms.
They hunt schools of fish and forage under ice and on the ocean floor. Like most cetaceans, belugas do not chew their food - they swallow it whole.
At Marineland, the belugas are fed herring, capelin and squid. The amount eaten varies by whale depending on age, size, gender and time of year. The adult males will eat 16 to 27 kg (35-60 lbs.) per day and the females 11 to 20 kg (25-45 lbs.).
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Beluga whales are extremely vocal marine mammals. They produce a wide range of sounds that can be described as squeals, chirps, whistles, clicks and screeches. When the first arctic explorers heard these sounds coming through the hulls of their ships, they gave these whales the nickname, "sea canaries."
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The gestation period of the beluga is 14 to 15 months. Breeding takes place March through May. Calves are born April through September in bays and estuaries where the water is warmer than the open ocean. Deliveries can be either head or tail first. On average, calves are 1.6 metres (5 feet) in length and weigh about 80 kg (175 lbs.). Most calves nurse for 20 to 24 months. Once they have teeth, the calf will also eat small fish and shrimp.
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