Cook Inlet Beluga Whale - Delphinapterus leucas - Facts

Sound

Adult beluga whales are easily distinguished by their pure white skin, their small size and their lack of dorsal fin. The beluga has a broad and rounded head and a large forehead. Belugas are toothed whales. They have broad, paddle-like flippers and notched tails. The Cook Inlet beluga whale is a small, isolated subspecies of the beluga whale currently facing critical threats.

Fast Facts

Length: 15 feet (males); up to 14 feet (females).
Weight: Adult males 3000 lbs; females 2000 lbs.
Lifespan: 30+ years.

Adopt a Beluga Whale and Help Save Beluga Whales

Diet

Beluga whales eat whatever fish species are most common including salmon, eulachon, tomcod, smelt, char, rainbow sole, whitefish, saffron cod and arctic cod, herring, shrimp, mussels and octopus.

Population

Though the global population of belugas is around 100,000, the Cook Inlet population consists of just over 300 animals.

Range

Globally, belugas are found mostly in Arctic and sub arctic waters, as well as in the Cook Inlet and the St. Lawrence River. See a beluga whale range map >>

Behavior

Belugas forage for food on the seabed. This typically takes place at depths of up to 1,000 feet, but they can dive to at least twice this depth. Belugas congregate and travel in groups from 2-3 to as many as several hundred. Some are migratory within their limited range while others remain residents of a particular area. They are found close to shore or in the open sea. During the summer months in some areas they gather in the estuaries of rivers to feed and calve.

Did You Know?

Beluga whales exhibit a wide range of vocalizations including clicks, squeaks, whistles, squawks and a bell-like clang.

Reproduction
Mating Season: Late winter-early spring.
Gestation: 15 months.
Number of offspring: 1 calf.
Young Belugas are uniformly dark grey in colour. The grey steadily lightens as they grow up - reaching their distinctive pure white color by the age of seven for females and nine for males. Calves nurse for about two years.

Global Warming and Other Threats

Unregulated hunting has been in the main cause of their decline. Despite stringent hunting controls implemented in 1998, the Cook Inlet beluga whale population has not rebounded as expected.

Because beluga congregate in river estuaries, human caused pollution is proving to be another significant danger to their health. Other threats include strandings, disease, contaminants, shipping vessel traffic, noise (including seismic testing), prey declines, predators (such as the killer whale) and human-induced habitat changes.

Reasons For Hope

Defenders at Work

Defenders of Wildlife members were included in over 180,000 comments from concerned Americans the most public comments that it has received for any prior proposed action, the National Marine Fisheries Service reported.

In October 2008, Cook Inlet beluga whales were thrown a life line by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), who announced that beluga whales will receive protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Learn more >>

Legal Status/Protection

IUCN Red List: In April, 2006, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, (IUCN) added the Cook Inlet beluga to its Red List, classifying it as critically endangered. The IUCN says that "The beluga whale is unquestionably a conservation-dependent species."
CITES: Beluga whales are listed in CITES Appendix II.
In May 2000 NMFS listed the Cook Inlet beluga whale as a depleted species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Learn more about legal status and protection of beluga whales >>

How You Can Help

Help belugas and other wildlife by adopting a beluga at our Wildlife Adoption Center.
Take Action for Wildlife at our Wildlife Action Center.
Live in Alaska? We're looking for volunteers for the Coastal Beluga Survey.

For additional information

WILDLIFEeNEWS

More Fact Sheets

Diet
Population
Range
Behavior
Global Warming & Threats
Reasons For Hope
Legal Status/Protection
How You Can Help
Additional Information

Range Map

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Threat Status

Endangered Species Act

IUCN Red List

+ Learn More

Endangered Species Act - Categories

Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Cook Inlet beluga whales are listed as endangered, which means they in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of their range.¹

IUCN Red List :: Status

IUCN Red List: Beluga whales are listed as near threatened, meaning it is is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future. Cook Inlet belugas, however, are listed as critically endangered, meaning they are facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild, and the calculated probability of extinction during the next 10 years is greater than 50%.²

CITES: Appendix Status

Beluga whales are listed under CITES Appendix II.³

U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act

In May 2000 NMFS listed the Cook Inlet beluga whale as a depleted species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.⁴

¹The Endangered Species Act requires the US federal government to identify species threatened with extinction, identify habitat they need to survive, and help protect both. In doing so, the Act works to ensure the basic health of our natural ecosystems and protect the legacy of conservation we leave to our children and grandchildren.

² The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ provides taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on plants and animals that have been globally evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. The IUCN Species Programme working with the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) has for more than four decades been assessing the conservation status of species, subspecies, varieties, and even selected subpopulations on a global scale in order to highlight taxa threatened with extinction, and therefore promote their conservation.

Jefferson, T.A., Karczmarski, L., Laidre, K., O’Corry-Crowe, G., Reeves, R.R., Rojas-Bracho, L., Secchi, E.R., Slooten, E., Smith, B.D., Wang, J.Y. & Zhou, K. 2008. Delphinapterus leucas. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 05 November 2009.

³Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international treaty with 172 member countries. Appendix I species cannot be traded commercially. Appendix II species can be traded commercially only if it does not harm their survival.

⁴ The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits, with certain exceptions, the killing or harassment of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens on the high seas. It also prohibits the importation of marine mammals and marine mammal products into the U.S.