BELUGA WHALE [White whale] [On suggestion by Mrs. Padmapriya Devanathan]

 BELUGA WHALE [White whale]

[On suggestion by Mrs. Padmapriya Devanathan]

ZOOLOGICAL NAME:  Delphinapterus leucas

The name reveals that it is a marine animal [a cetacean] found in Arctic / Sub Arctic oceans. In view of their snow-rich surroundings, these whales appear fully white, though at birth they are grayish and progressively changing shade, to ultimately turn ‘snow white’. The oneness with the surrounding by skin colour is a natural protection from hunters, polar bears and predator whales.  Even in such uninhabited zone, animals camouflage themselves for fear of being hunted. Time taken for maturity is about 7 years for females and 9 years for males before they   attain white / whitish gray. Reports on life expectancy of of  Belugas vary; some suggest 30 years and some 70- 80 years or more.  Belugas do not have a dorsal fin [a wing like extension from upper surface]  as it can obstruct moving through columns of frozen water during winter.  These whales are kept in Dolphinarium / similar arrangements and are held in captivity. Like Dolphins, these animals are human- friendly. There are also claims that these whales are friendly with humans than even Dolphins.

Belugas have an excellent ‘hearing’ capacity and have well-developed  special structure [the auditory cortex] to perceive sound in the frequency of 1.2 to 120 KHZ as against that of humans [0.02 to 20 KHZ] Such a capacity of hearing through water / ice layers in winter is a notable facility. The sound waves generated by these whales travel through water/ ice [at 1.6 km per second [4 times that of speed in air] and reflect as Echo. Using the echo, these whales detect distance, nature of the object for its size, shape / internal structure. This unique capacity for reading/ interpreting different features from Echo is named Echolocation. Echolocation offers the instant advantage of locating unfrozen water / air pockets or air holes for breathing through water in arctic winter. Such wild life parks nurture these animals in North America/ Europe.

Their ability to make sound waves has further been observed to ‘whistle’ squeak and squeal making noise. So, the whale is called ‘Sea Canary’. A report of a research from a Japanese observer suggests that the Belugas can communicate by sound; a whale in captivity could ‘speak’ imitating human voice.  It shows that these animals observe, remember and repeat sounds heard from humans.  These whales are highly sociable [among themselves] and playful withsome whales blowing off bubbles and others playing with those bubbles. These whales move in groups called ‘Pods’. Each pod can be of 3- 30 members or more.

Studies have shown that the pod groups can be classified into 3 categories.  1. Nurseries [mothers and young ones], 2. Bachelor pods only male members and 3 Mixed pods   male/ female members.  Several pods congregate near river estuaries during summer; these are vulnerable to hunting.  Even in captivity, Belugas keep interacting among themselves; they show interest in interacting with humans. They swim alongside boats which explore the area. All underwater explorers in cabins find the Belugas peeping in through windows. Belugas can dive down to 600 m below sea level and can swim backwards

As early as 1861, Beluga whales have been held in captivity in USA. Just to keep them healthy and responsive, Belugas are trained to perform ‘entertaining’ play for visitors. That they are amenable to training implies intelligence and grasp as innate abilities of the animal.

Interesting [though unconfirmed] reports suggest that ‘Trained Beluga whales’ helping Russian Navy guard the fleet of Russian submarines; no intrusion /interception of the Russian naval submarines is possible because of these whales. They are too well trained to spot, stop and send off signals to HQ of the impending intrusion. Observers believe that the Russian Navy is a feared outfit in view of such infallible defenders under water.

Another interesting case was that of HVLADAMIR, a male Beluga whale.

On 26-04-2019, the whale appeared north of Hammerfest, with a tight-fitting camera harness labeled 'equipment St. Petersburg'; the animal was keen to get rid of the attached strings. Even after the whale was freed off the shackles of the camera harness, it kept seeking human help for food; the implication is it is a trained animal and has lost the habit of hunting preys. Careful upkeep of the whale restored health and activity for the animal. On 4^th May 2019, one of the visitors accidentally dropped her I-Phone in to water; the whale simply dived in and brought the phone to surface.

The belief that the Beluga whale was a trained one with a camera strapped on, prompted the natives of Hammerfest to name it  HVLADIMIR; H= Norwegian Hyal [whale] and Vladimir a veiled reference to Vladimir Putin.[ The presumption being that it was trained by Russian Navy

In another instance of human–friendly  attitudes of Beluga whale, during  a Chinese game show a woman diver plunged into water afflicted by stroke; the Game show Beluga  sensing the plight dived  into deep water and picked the diver up by clasping her feet in mouth and quickly put her ashore saving the diver from the clutches of death.

Man –animal interactions are items that need critical observation, emotional binding   for persistent relationship/ interaction. It would be nice if some animal scientist makes a detailed presentation for us to learn.

Prof. K. Raman