A Break from Doom - A Pod of Beluga Whales Sighted in Turnagain Arm, Alaska

TY for sending this up Bro-- A VERY WELCOME SIGN

Pinned for importance and a breath of fresh air!

Thanks Bodiless!


Of all the years I have traveled the Seward Hwy, I can count on one hand the number of times I have spotted the Beluga Whales there.....
The traffic was almost at a stand-still, people pulling over, taking pictures, racing up to the next wayside pull off, to get in front of the whales as they made their trek, chasing the salmon to Bird Creek.

A welcome sight for sure!

That's lovely, tyvm

Oh wonderful, thanks OP!

Such beautiful creatures, I've been in places where they are known to appear but never been lucky enough to see them myself

What's the big deal?

We have those in Atlanta all the time.

AWESOME! Thanks for posting.

And when did you film this? We drove along Turnagain Arm yesterday heading to the airport.

I saw them a few years back. It was much better than seeing them in the Atlanta aquarium.

That's nice! Thank you OP

The Beluga Whale is my totem animal. I love them. Thanks.

That must have been a great sight to see! Thanks for sharing with us, and taking us away from the doom for a bit.

This was recorded last night (Saturday 8/15) on the incoming tide, about 9:00(ish).

A bit dated, but relevant:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — In the 1970s, there used to be about 1,300 beluga whales in Cook Inlet, delighting locals and tourists alike in the body of water around Anchorage. Last year (2006), the number was estimated at just 278.
[link to www.nbcnews.com]

Local belugas are one of the smallest distinct populations of marine mammals on the planet. They have crashed by more than 70% during the past three decades in a decline made worse by overhunting in the early 1990s. Despite a near-shutdown in harvests, the whales continue to slip about 4% per year, and now number only about 300. A status review gives them a one in four chance of going extinct within 100 years.

[link to www.alaskareport.com]

Beautiful. I hope these waters stay free from radiation somehow.

[link to www.adfg.alaska.gov]

Beluga Point
Wildlife Viewing

I had the same thought while viewing them, it would be a shame to have these go extinct, which has been a concern for years!

Beluga Whales
Description
Photo of a beluga whale Belugas are white (as adults), medium-sized (about 12 ft in length) toothed whales that tend to travel in groups. They are somewhat more robust-bodied than their relatives, porpoises and dolphins, due to the presence of a blubber layer, which can be as much as 5 inches (12 cm) thick. The dorsal fin, characteristic of most whales, is reduced to a low ridge along the midline of the back. The head, which is characterized by a small “beak” and large bulging “melon,” is quite mobile in comparison to other whales. In fact, the beluga is the only whale that can bend its neck. These features appear to be adaptations to maneuvering and catching prey in muddy or ice-covered areas.

Known as “sea canaries” due to their extensive repertoire of whistles, grunts and clicks, belugas are also adept at using echolocation, or sonar, to navigate under the ice, find prey in murky waters, and communicate across watery distances.

Bering Sea belugas travel more than 1,500 miles to spend their summers in Eastern Canada. Some belugas also travel up rivers to feast on migrating fish.
[link to www.adfg.alaska.gov]

[link to www.whale-watching-alaska.com]
Cook Inlet belugas eat mostly hooligan or candlefish in the spring and switch to eating mostly salmon in the summer months. They also enjoy eating squid, shrimp, flounder, octopus, clams, mussels, snails, sandworms, pollock and ling cod. They have 32 – 40 teeth but swallow their food whole. They hunt in the shallow water near the coasts allowing for great viewing opportunities by local whale watchers and tourists alike.
Average adults belugas are 12-14 feet long and weight about 3,000 pounds. They have blunt noses, stout bodies with a bump on top of their head. They are slow swimmers and move at about 5 MPH most of the time reaching top speeds of 11 MPH. They live in groups anywhere from 5 to a hundred.

They make whistling sounds that are like the song of a bird. They whistle through their blowhole while underwater but the sounds are loud enough to be heard above the water.

[link to www.adn.com]

The federal estimate of the number of beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet increased slightly in 2014, but researchers conclude the population remains in danger of extinction.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists announced Monday the 2014 estimate is 340 animals, up from 312 animals in 2012.

The change was not scientifically significant, according to NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

RELATED:
New business offers MRIs for pets, even beluga whales
Cook Inlet beluga whale population has slight uptick on long road to recovery
"To determine whether a population is recovering or declining the, small changes from survey to survey don't tell us as much as the trend over a period of 10 to 20 years," population biologist Rod Hobbs said in the announcement. "Estimates can vary from year to year based on weather, oceanographic conditions, changes in beluga behavior or distribution, and statistical variability in the data."

Cook Inlet belugas are one of five beluga populations in U.S. waters.

yw

at the Aquarium? or in the wild?

I used to count these guys back in college. Haven't seen them in a couple years, but just happened to catch the bore tide last time I drove down...

I’ve been down that road a couple dozen times and haven’t had the luck to see them yet. But then I’m a relatively new arrival. 16 years.

Me too!

I'm so happy to see them!
There are still some Alive!
Thank God!

Such a Happy Sight!

Thank you O.P.

:roses:

Your welcome

Nicely done Chugiak!

Another beautiful day in the Big Village on the Cook Inlet.

from a neighbor in Palmer