Beluga Whale Knees

Beluga or white whale is a type of cetacean found in the waters of the Arctic sea and surrounding areas. The beluga is one of two species of the family whale Monodontidae, along with the Narwhal, or horned whale. Know more about Beluga Whale Knees: And Are Beluga Whale Mermaid?

By listening to this article, you can find out about the Beluga whale’s facts, characteristics, and bone structure.

 

What does a Whale Look Like

Blue whales appear real blue in the water, but at the surface, their color is more scattered blue-gray. Their underbellies acquire an orange hue because of thousands of microscopic organisms taking into their skin. The blue whale is characterized by an elongated flat head and a broad, tapered body, which is capped by large triangular flukes.

 

Characteristics of Beluga Whales

Beluga Whale Size

Beluga whales have a moderate rate of sexual dimorphism because males are 25% longer than females and also stronger. Adult male beluga whales can measure 3.5 to 5.5 meters, while females measure 3 to 4.1 meters.

The weight of a male beluga whale is 1,100 to 1,600 kg and sometimes can also be up to 1,900 kg. As for the female weighs 700 to 1,200 kg. This beluga whale is included in a medium-sized species among other toothed whales. Female and male beluga whales can reach their maximum size when they are 10 years old.

The body shape of the beluga whale is steamy and cone-shaped with the tip facing backward or fusiform. Usually, this whale also has fat folds, especially along the surface of the abdomen. Between 40 and 50% of the beluga whale’s body weight is more fat than any other Arctic whale. The fat forms a layer that covers all the body except the head with a thickness of 15 cm.

The fat is useful as insulation in waters with temperatures between 0 to 18 degrees Celsius. In addition, the fat on the body of beluga whales is also useful as a backup during periods without food.

 

Beluga Whale Weight

The weight and length average of an adult varies between 1100-2500lbs. (499-1143 kg) and 11-15 feet (3.4-4.6 meters). The average birth weight of a calf is between 119 and 145 pounds. 54 until 66 kg and length is 4.5-5.1 feet 137 until 155 cm.

 

Color of Beluga Whales

Beluga whales have a white color or somewhat white ash. Beluga whales will generally be born with ash and will turn into dark ash or gray-blue when they are 1 month old. Later the pigmentation will disappear gradually until finally, it will be a very distinctive white color at the age of 7 years for females and 9 years for males.

The white color on the skin of beluga whales is an adaptation to life in the Arctic so that it can masquerade in polar ice sheets to protect itself from major predators such as killer whales as well as polar bears. Unlike other whales, beluga whales will release their skin seasonally.

In winter, the epidermis will thicken and beluga skin is yellowish, especially in the fins and back. When migrating to the estuary in the summer, the beluga whale will rub its body into the gravel of the riverbed to release the layers of its skin.

 

Head of Beluga Whale

The beluga whale is also nicknamed the head of the melon, this is due to the circle on its forehead! These circles are fatty organs that help the echolocation process, the process by which animals use echoes as a call to find and identify objects, according to the Mental Floss page.

The way it works is by reflecting sound waves into the water. This wave will bounce and return to the beluga in the form of echoes, the sea world website said. This wave has a fantastic speed, which is about 1.6 km per second! With this echolocation system, the beluga can determine the size, shape, speed, and distance of objects in the water. This is what helps them navigate and communicate.

 

Did Whales Have Legs, or “Do Whales have Legs”

In time, as they evolved to live in the ocean the front legs of their bodies became flippers. They also lost their hips and back legs however, the modern whales still retain vestiges of pelvises and throwbacks come into existence with remnants of hind legs.

 

Did Whales used to Have Legs

The earliest ancestors of the ocean’s largest creatures once walked on the land. Explore their incredible journey from the shore to the sea. Whales are master swimmers, they are perfectly adapted to living in the ocean they were once walking on four feet. Their land-dwelling predecessors lived approximately 50 million years back.