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Beluga Whales. Animalia. Chordata. Mammalia. Cetartiodactyla. Monodontidae. Delphinapeterus. Leucas. Beluga Whales:. are white when adults & are blue to brownish-red when young. are robust & stocky. sometimes have thick folds of blubber.
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Beluga Whales • Animalia • Chordata Mammalia Cetartiodactyla Monodontidae Delphinapeterus Leucas
Beluga Whales: • are white when adults & are blue to brownish-red when young • are robust & stocky • sometimes have thick folds of blubber • the average adult size is 3 meters in length • have 34 teeth
Sadly, the population of Alaska’s Cook Inlet Beluga Whales has been
Sadly, the population of Alaska’s Cook Inlet Beluga Whales has been decreasing.
Reasons why Alaska’s Cook Inlet Beluga Whales are Endangered: Pollution Whale Hunting Predators
Pollution • Oil drilling • Vessel-traffic pressures from thriving cargo-shipping & commercial fishing activities • Sewage & storm water runoff from densely populated regions
Whale Hunting A spree of whaling between 1994 and 1998 almost wiped out the population of Alaska’s Cook Inlet Beluga Whales.
Predators Even though there were only 21 belugas killed by killer whales between 1985 and 2002, because the population is at a very low size, normal variations in prey availability and predation may affect it’s ability to recover.
What has been done to help the beluga whales? A law was passed to stop the hunting of belugas in 1999. However, the population of Cook Inlet beluga whales has failed to show signs of recovery. Beluga whales now receive protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). That gives them much more protection than they had before.
These Beluga Whales Need to be Saved! If the population of the Cook Inlet beluga whales became extinct, it would mess up the whole ecosystem! • The population of snails, herring, mussels, clams, flounder, and lingcod will go up. • The population of cod and salmon will go down. • The population of squid and octopi will also go. • The population of shrimp will go down. • The population of plankton, kelp, and algae will decrease.
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