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Welcome to our research pages! Explore the different features of this page and learn more about the beluga whales, the challenges they face and the research organisations that are trying to give the belugas a brighter future.
Captive Beluga Whale Spyhopping Robyn Angliss, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Mammal Laboratory
Beluga whales are maybe best known through their characteristic, white colour. But there are also many other things that makes the beluga a very unique whale. For example, no other whale makes more diverse and frequent sounds than the beluga. This has given them the nick-name “the canaries of the sea”.
This social and friendly species often gathers in large groups to breed, often in areas close to river mouths and estuaries. Unfortunately, these landscape features are typically heavily polluted.
One of these areas is the St. Lawrence River in Canada. Here and in the adjacent waters the beluga whales live all year round. Because of the pollution, many beluga whales in this area suffer from cancer and other diseases. Some carcasses of beluga whales have such high levels of dangerous chemicals in their body that they have to be treated like toxic waste.
We have chosen to concentrate on supporting research conducted on beluga whales in the area of the St. Lawrence River. When you purchase a membership, 20% of the membership fee goes to our work on supporting and informing about beluga whale research, of which 15% goes directly to research organisations pursuing research on beluga whales in the St Lawrence river area and the remaining 5% is used for the maintenance and development of these pages.
Facts on the beluga whale
The belugas in St Lawrence
Beluga research in St Lawrence
International research on beluga whales
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