White Whales

Narwhal (Monodon monocerus)

The Narwhal is regularly found eastwards from the Canadian Arctic to central Russia, but occur infrequently or rarely in eastern Siberia, Aslaska, and the western Canadian Arctic. They mostly remain above the Arctic Circle year-round, but stragglers have been recorded aroung Newfoundland, Europe, and the eastern Mediterranean. They are rarely seen in winter due to poor light and weather conditions, and they migrate along with the advance and retreat of the sea ice.

Classification: Monodon monocerus means 'one tooth, one horn'. There are close similarities between this species, the Beluga and the Irrawaddy Dolphin, but it is accepted that the Narwhal belongs in its own family, Monodontidae.

Local Names: Kelleluak kakortok (Greenland); Quilalugaq (Canada); Narwhale.

Description:The Narwhal has a stocky body, with no dorsal fin and small flippers. The flukes are unlike any other cetcean's, with a more rounded, semi-circular appearance. Calves are grey or brownish-grey when born, and as they grow, the familiar mottled skin pattern appears. In turn, this mottled, marbled patterning of the skin grows lighter as the animal approaches old age, often turning into grey or off-white with occasional dark patches. A dark line may also be observed running down the back. There are only two teeth, both in the upper jaw, the left of which erupts in one-year-old males to form the familiar tusk, which can measure up to ten feet in length. This tusk appears solely in males, however, one in three females have been reported with a much smaller tusk of around four feet. Occasionally both teeth erupt to form a double tusk, the right of which is smaller than the left. It is the tusk that earnt this cetacean the name 'unicorn of the sea', and to find a tusk washed ashore is considered lucky. To kill a Narwhal for its tusk is considered, in old tradition, unlucky. Narwhals are around 4.7m (males) and 4.2m (females) in length, and weigh between 800kg and 1.6 tonnes.

Recognition at sea: The male Narwhal is impossible to confuse with other cetaceans, because of its tusk. When travelling, males will sometimes lift their tusks out of the water at different angles, or they will be visible at the surface. Female and young Narwhals may be confused with the Beluga, which is of similar shape, but only when conditions are poor. The blow is weak and inconpicuous.

Habitat: Narwhals occur rarely far from ice, mainly in Arctic and subarctic waters, and sometimes enter shallow bays in summer. They are, however, more likely to be found in deep fjords.

Food & Feeding:The Narwhal feeds on fish, squid (most commonly Gonatus fabricii) and shrimps. Commonly taken fish include Boreogadus (Arctic Cod), Arctogadus (Polar Cod) and Reinhardtius (Greenland Halibut).

Behaviour: Narwhals tend to travel in groups of between two and ten individuals, with very tight mother/calf associations. These groups are often segregated by sex, with pods of male 'batchelors' common. Narwhals and Belugas often travel and feed together, and amassed groups of hundreds or thousands have been reported. It is thought that the tusk is used in the same way as deer stags use their antlers - to fight rival males. They communicate via pulses and clicks.

Longevity: Approximately 50 years.

Estimated Current Population: 25,000-45,000 animals. Locally common.

The Influence of Man: Narwhals are are hunted from the ice, from boats and from kayaks in Canada and Greenland. The Inuit people prize them for their skin (known as mattak or muktuk), which is eaten in the traditional way - raw with a thin layer of fat. The tusk of the Narwhal is also prized, this time as a money-earner: tourists and collectors pay handsomely for the sea-unicorn's horn. Narwhals are either shot and then harpooned (which means that, since more animals are wounded than are killed, there are many losses), or harpooned and then shot. Around 3,000 were once caught per annum in Canada alone, and in the whaling season of 1914/15 some 2,000 animals were taken by Greenland. Nowadays, however, between 300-550 are caught in Canada, and around 560 in Greenland.

Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas)

The Beluga occurs seasonally in ice-free Arctic seas, concentrating in curcumpolar areas. They are one of the few toothed whales that follow a rigid migration pattern, waiting for the sea ice to break up in July before occupying their summer grounds. In winter they are forced to retreat to ice-free seas as the ice re-forms.

Classification: Delphinapterus leucas means 'white dolphin without wings', referring to this species' lack of a dorsal fin. First classified as a dolphin - Delphinus leucas - in the late Eighteenth Century by German naturalist Peter Pallas, there was no move to acknowledge the differences between the Beluga and the oceanic dolphin family until it was later placed in a new genus.

Local Names: Belukha (Russian); White Whale; White Beluga; Sea Canary.

Description:The Beluga is a small whale with a stocky frame and rounded head. The bulbous melon and lips, the unfused neck and the soft and flexible blubber around the head mean that this whale is able to change its facial expressions easily. A dorsal ridge - more noticable in males - replaces the dorsal fin, and in adult males the flippers curl upwards. In older individuals, the melon and lips become more pronounced and the skin, though muscular and supple, is quite rough. At birth, calves are grey in colour, steadily lightening to a clue-tinged white at around five years and then pure white when adult. Before the summer moult, the skin takes on a yellowish tinge. Males measure between 4-5.5m in length, with a body weight of between 1-1.5 tonnes; females are smaller (around 3-4.1m in length and weighing 0.4-1 tonne). The upper jaw holds nine pairs of teeth, the lower jaw, eight pairs.

Recognition at sea: This species cannot normally be confused with other cetaceans, but at a distance an immature Beluga perhaps could be mistaken for a Narwhal. They are usually slow-swimming and remain in groups, spending a large proportion of time at or near the surface. Although the blow is low and indistinct, it can be heard for several hundred metres on a calm day.

Habitat: Belugas seek out shallow coastal waters in summer, and in winter remain near the ice edge. Except for a small population in the Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada, this species is exclusively a subarctic or Arctic inhabitant.

Food & Feeding:The Beluga feeds on fish, molluscs and other bottom-living invertebrates. Plankton is also taken. Due to the flexibility of the lips - a characteristic only shared by the Irrawaddy Dolphin - it has been theorised that this species may use a 'sucking' motion in order to draw prey into the mouth.

Behaviour: Belugas are very gregarious, tending to travel in groups of between two and fifteen 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 five hundred individuals. Amassed groups of thousands have also been reported. Though usually quiet at the surface, they can become quite noisy and playful in their shallow summer grounds, with lobtailing and flipper-slapping being observed. When the skin begins to moult, the Belugas rub themselves along the gravel or sand at the seabed, or even stranding themselves temporarily. They communicate through whistles, 'belches' and squeaks, and have been found to have an advanced echolocation system, producing broad-band pulses un a narrow beam aimed from the melon.

Longevity: Approximately 35 years.

Estimated Current Population: 50,000-70,000 animals. Locally common.

The Influence of Man: Belugas have been hunted without over-exploitation for over a thousand years by the Arctic people, but the arrival of commerical whaling expeditions soon meant that this was no longer to be. The hunting was intensive - between 1874 and 1911, Scotland slaughtered over 11,000 whales, with Russia taking 3,000-4,000 every year between 1900-60. Today, however, catches are lower in number: Russia took 420 whales in the 1970s, natives of Greenland take between 400-1,000 every year, with Canadian natives taking 600-1,000 and Alaskans 200-300 per annum. The Beluga population under the most threat is that of the Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada, which now numbers between 500-700 individuals. Oil exploration, hydroelectric plants, and shipping accidents are causing considerable disturbance, but they are not the main cause. The whales living in the Gulf are prone to chemical contamination - this industrial area uses the Gulf for the dumping of chemicals (such as DDT) and effulent. For some reason, these pollutants affect Belugas more than other species of cetacean, getting into their bloodstream and body tissue, and passing from mother to calf during gestation, often with the calf carrying more pollutant with either of its parents. Deformed calves have been recorded - some bent in an 'U' shape and unable to swim due to a poorly-developed spine. Due to the high concentrations of contamination, the members of the Gulf of St Lawrence population have to be treated as toxic waste when they die.

Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris)

Irrawaddy Dolphins inhabit the coasts and rivers of northern Australasia and southern Asia.

Classification: Sir Richard Owen first recognised this dolphin as a distinct species in the 1860s from a skull. While John Gray gave it the genus of Orcaella, Owen supplied the specific name, brevirostris ('short beak'). Although this species shows some characteristics of the dolphins, it looks more akin to the Beluga.

Local Names: Snubfin Dolphin; Pesut; Pesut Mahakam; Lumbalumba.

Description: The Irrawaddy Dolphin has a small, slightly curved dorsal fin and a tapered body. It has long flippers and its blowhole is set slightly to the left. The body colour is dark grey above, light grey below. There is no beak and the face can easily change expression. Like the Beluga, the head can move freely due to the fact that only two vertebrae are fused. The upper jaw has 17-20 pairs of teeth, the lower jaw, 15-18 pairs. Body length is between 2.15-2.75m, and weight is between 90-150kg.

Recognition at sea: The Irrawaddy Dolphin is slow-swimming and inconspicuous, likely to be confused only with the dugong or Finless Porpoise. In both cases, the fact that the Irrawaddy Dolphin has a dorsal fin should be enough for positive recognition.

Habitat: Irrawaddy Dolphins prefer warm, shallow coastal waters. Some have been found to inhabit freshwater rivers as far as 1300km from the sea.

Food & Feeding: Irrawaddy Dolphins seem to take fish dwelling in midwater and on the seabed. Squid and crustaceans may also be taken.

Behaviour: The typical family unit contains up to 6 individuals, but occasionally can number around 15. Irrawaddy Dolphins have been spotted leaping, spyhopping and tail slapping. Only one mass stranding of three animals has been reported. They can be quite tame, and take well to captivity.

Longevity: Approximately 30 years.

Estimated Current Population: Unknown, but considered 'locally common'.

The Influence of Man: Irrawaddy Dolphins, because of their habitat, come into contact with man regularly. They are killed for food in a small area, but in northern Australia they often become entrapped in fishing nets. They are deemed as sacred by fishermen in Vietnam and Kampuchea.

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