Beluga whales, who live on the sparkling white ice, can chat away for hours from their melons as they navigate their frozen world. Sea Canary They are also one of the most attractive tourists to summer in Canada’s Hudson Bay, coming with their babies to fish and relax.
Currently, audiences around the world can join Polar Bears International (PBI) and explore.org Beluga Live CameraThis camera is Arctic Sea Ice Day (July 15th).
“This is an incredible population of beluga whales, one-third of the beluga whales in the world,” said Dr. Alisa McCall tell Popular Science“The beluga whale itself typically spends most of the year in the Arctic. It doesn’t have a dorsal fin, which allows it to live among the sea ice.”
Beluga’s Summer Vacation
Beluga whales are gathering Near Churchill, ManitobaLocated on the Hudson Bay coast in Canada, the area is famous for its polar bears, but is also ecologically very diverse, with species from many different ecosystems congregating here, including marine, tundra, and subarctic. Bird migration hotspots Polar bears travel to and from the Arctic, bringing with them nutrients along the way. The shape of the coastline and the freshwater of the Churchill River mean that the area freezes over fairly early in the fall, and polar bears use the sea ice to hunt.
During the summer, Beluga To escape predators, they descend into warmer waters. Humans are their biggest threat, but polar bears can also eat them. In addition, melting sea ice has allowed killer whales to migrate north. Although rare, Killer whales can prey on beluga whales.
[Related: For polar bears contending with climate change, it’s ‘survival of the fattest’.]
“Some of the orcas feel safer when they’re in the Churchill River,” McCall said. “They can go into shallow waters that orcas can’t get into.”
Through late August, a team of scientists will be out on the water Monday through Friday (weather permitting) for about four hours to document the whales’ behavior in the area that doubles as a nursery, giant cafeteria, and vacation spot for the whales. The scientists will also be bringing along hydrophones to eavesdrop on the whales’ rich songs.
“You see them swimming as a family, with mothers taking care of their babies, it’s a matrilineal lineage,” McCall said. “They like to follow the boat’s wake. We go really slow and the belugas just follow. They love being in front of the camera. They bring their babies in front of the camera and they chatter away all day.”
Earth Air Conditioner
The project coincides with a day celebrating the importance of Arctic sea ice on which beluga whales and countless other creatures depend. Planetary Air ConditioningSea ice helps keep the Earth cool. But a process called Arctic amplification is causing sea ice to melt and expose darker waters. This reduces the heat reflected away from the Earth, which could disrupt the Earth’s climate. In the Arctic, Ice-free summer According to the latest climate models, this ice will disappear by the early 2030s. This ice forms the basis of the entire Arctic ecosystem, so its loss would have devastating effects.
“Beluga whales are part of the Arctic ecosystem. Arctic sea ice is not just frozen water,” McCall says. “Algae and plants grow in the ice and form a food chain in the Arctic. This includes polar cod and other fish that are eaten by polar bears and seals, which in turn become food for the polar bears.”
[Related: Toothed whales traded chewing for echolocation to evolve.]
Without sea ice, these food chains could be lost. Marine predators like killer whales have already been introduced, altering the sea ice.
“Beluga whales are a cold-adapted species, so they’re used to these cold waters. They move along the ice and they’re connected to the ice,” McCall said. “They’re white, they’re mimicking these northern species, and now we’re changing the north, changing the very essence of the north.”
Speak up for the talkative whale
One way to help is Beluga Bits Citizen Science ProjectThis beluga whale research project asks the public to help classify individual whales by examining underwater photos of the whales to help scientists identify their age, sex and pod size. Eagle-eyed observers are also needed to keep an eye out for scars and other distinctive marks to help identify the whales as they return to Hudson Bay each year.
“I think anytime we can get people more involved in the research and at the same time connect with nature and wildlife and get people more involved in the science and animal research process, that’s always a good thing,” McCall says.
[Related: New series offers an intimate look into how climate change impacts the lives of wildlife.]
In Hudson Bay Sea ice levels this spring are at record lowsPolar Bears International encourages people to talk about climate change and join efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“We’re asking people to use their voices and talk about beluga cams, how amazing these animals are, and why they care about them,” McCall said, “and consider voting for someone who cares about belugas. If you want to make a change, that’s the best thing you can do.”
