21st century skills library 4 The Sea Canary chapter 1 What toothed animal has no voice box but earned the nickname sea canary because of the beautiful music it makes The beluga whale Scientists believe the sea canary sends messages with at least 11 different sounds These include mooing chirping whistling and even making a sound like a bell Its songs can be heard above and below the ocean These sounds are used to communicate with other whales The name beluga comes from the Russian word bielo which means white The name is appropriate because
exploring our oceans 5 unlike other whales beluga whales are very pale in color They actually look white The beluga whale is small and has a trait unlike other whales Its seven backbones are not fused together That means this whale can move its neck from side to side Scientists think this special ability helps the beluga see and capture its prey more easily than other whales This ocean creature has another unique trait It can even smile and frown This beluga whale could be communicating with other whales
21st century skills library 6 look again Look closely at this photograph How are beluga whales similar to and different from other whales you have seen Do you notice things about this whale that make you think of other ocean creatures
The beluga whale lives only in the Northern Hemisphere and prefers the shallow waters of the Arctic and subarctic A visit to the coasts of Alaska Canada Greenland or Russia might provide you with a glimpse of these gentle animals A population of beluga whales also lives in the St Lawrence River in Canada Many beluga whales stay in the same area all year But the Arctic belugas migrate south in large herds when the ocean waters freeze Beluga whales are social animals and travel in pods Pods can be as small as five whales or as large as 500 Belugas aren’t choosy about staying in one pod Sometimes beluga whales will move from one pod to another or swim with their closest relative the narwhal With many interesting features the beluga is an animal worth investigating exploring our oceans 7
