Beluga Whales by Lauren Maverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe By Lauren Maverick en-us 2017-09-14 23:14:44 UTC 2026-01-18 07:28:37 UTC hello@padlet.com 1 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187781919 There are a lot of whales in the world, but one of the most well known is the beluga whale. Beluga whales are mostly known for the unmistakeable shape of their head; it looks like a melon. These whales are also called white whales because they are white, or sea canaries because the comunicate in clicks and whistles that sound like bird calls. They live the arctic regions of the world. 

]]> 2017-09-14 23:41:35 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187781919 2 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187781944  Beluga whales live up to 30-50 years long. They are large mammals . Males can weigh up to 3,000 lbs (National Geographic Kids 2015)  and a female can weigh up to 2,000 lbs ( National Geographic Kids 2015).  That's as heavy as a small car.  Belugas are very long. When calve are born they are 5 feet long.  Females can be 9-13 feet long and males 11-15 feet long when full grown.   This is roughly the length of the free throw line from the basket on a basketball court.

]]> 2017-09-14 23:41:51 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187781944 3 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782009 One common characteristic of  the beluga whale is their head. The thing that makes the head so oddly shaped is a fatty organ called the melon (Wikipedia nd) . The melon is used for echolocation (Wikipedia nd). Echolocation is a series of noises sent off by an animal or thing that helps it locate stuff and get around hence the name echolocation. It’s like underwater radar.  Another cool thing about the beluga whale is the neck. The vertebrates in the neck aren't fused together, allowing the whale to rotate its head to the side without moving its body (Wikipedia nd). 

]]> 2017-09-14 23:42:30 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782009 4 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782110 Beluga whales are carnivores (National Geographic Kids 2015). They have a wide variety of things in their diet. They like to eat crustaceans such as shrimp, and fish such as arctic cod, rosefish, pacific salmon, and capelin. They also eat some invertebrates such as squid . The belugas have teeth (roughly 36-40) , but they aren’t used for chewing, but are used for grabbing 
prey (Wikipedia nd). Not only do the beluga whales eat a lot, but they also get eaten. The main predators of the beluga whales are killer whales and polar bears . 

]]> 2017-09-14 23:43:29 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782110 5 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782219 The beluga whales status is near threatened. In 2006 the IUCN listed the belugas as critically endangered but in 2008 were brought back down to near threatened. Because of belugas hunting large amounts of fish in the waters surrounding Canada, in 1928 the Government of Quebec offered $15 for each dead whale (Wikipedia nd). To give you an idea of how much money it was back then, a loaf of bread was  5¢ and a brand new car was $300 (Answers.com nd) Another threat to belugas is high level of PCB and toxins along the St. Lawrence River (Seaworld nd) . These end up in the river polluting the water. 

]]> 2017-09-14 23:44:18 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782219 6 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782264 Some cool facts about belugas are that they are related to the unicorns of the sea or the narwhal. The name beluga comes from the Russian word belukha which means “white”. Caves or baby belugas are actually born gray. Belugas can swim backwards as well as forwards . They also lack a dorsal fin but have a low dorsal ridge instead (Seaworld nd) and travel in groups called pods(National Geographic Kids 2015). 

]]> 2017-09-14 23:44:44 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782264 7 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782362 Beluga whales are really cool animals. They have unique physical features, they can do cool things (like swim backwards), and live in places that are really, really, cold. They even change colors! They have an advanced  form of communicating, socializing, and getting around. In all beluga whales are amazing animals that can do some awesome things.]]> 2017-09-14 23:45:43 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782362 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782807 2017-09-14 23:48:45 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187782807 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187785931 2017-09-15 00:11:53 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187785931 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187785988 2017-09-15 00:12:26 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187785988 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187786087 2017-09-15 00:13:15 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187786087 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187786422 2017-09-15 00:15:54 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187786422 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187786729 2017-09-15 00:18:27 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/187786729 References https://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-bytes/mammals/beluga-whale/ http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/beluga-whale/#ap-beluga-map.jpghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beluga_whale https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=A0LEViiL6rlZFfYAAo0PxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTBybGY3bmpvBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--?qid=20081107191035AAGQNKk&p=what%20did%20a%20car%20cost%20in%201928 lmaverick https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/188146107 2017-09-16 12:54:34 UTC https://padlet.com/lmaverick/mwuasv22cebe/wish/188146107