Looking around in the less populated areas of the world can be productive too. I had to study this area for a few minutes before it became apparent that what I was seeing was a large pod of belugas feeding on their summer grounds in the shallow waters of an Elwin Bay of Somerset Island. Below is a screen capture of the view you will see in the attachment. I used a grid and conservatively count 335 whales in the bay, and there must be some submerged deeply enough in the murky water to be missed. If you look at the attachment you can see how the water becomes muddy as the belugas stir up bottom sediments searching for worms and crustaceans.


Belugas feed in water up to 1000 feet deep in winter, but gather in large pods of up to 1000 or more on their summer feeding grounds.

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Belugas are very gregarious, tending to travel in groups of between 2-15

individuals, with very tight mother/calf associations. These groups are either

all cows/calves, or all bulls, the latter of which can extend into larger units of

around 500 individuals. Amassed groups of thousands have also been reported,

particularly during mating season. This fun-loving species is usually quiet at

the surface, but they can become quite noisy and playful in their shallow

summer grounds displaying lobtailing and flipper-slapping behaviors.

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Source


Source: National Geographic

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Distribution and Migration: Belugas are found mostly in Arctic and

subarctic waters as well as the St. Lawrence River. They congregate and

travel in groups from as few as 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.

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Source



On the north shore of the island at 74.1333° N, 93.8833° W lies Cunningham Inlet, a popular ecotourism destination for, among other things, watching Belugas.

Edited by Hill (11/29/08 12:29 PM)

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