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Delphinapterus leucas

(Pallas, 1776)

Beluga

G5Secure Found in 7 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
PSESA Status
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102539
Element CodeAMAGD01010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
CITESAppendix II
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassMammalia
OrderCetacea
FamilyMonodontidae
GenusDelphinapterus
USESAPS
COSEWICPS:E,T,SC,NAR
Other Common Names
Béluga (FR) White Whale (EN)
Concept Reference
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
Taxonomic Comments
Brennin et al. (1997) examined mtDNA variation in North American populations and detected two distinct groups, one occurring primarily from the St. Lawrence estuary and eastern Hudson Bay and the other primarily in western Hudson Bay, southern Baffin Island, western Greenland, the Canadian High Arctic, and the eastern Beaufort Sea
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-04
Change Date2016-04-04
Range Extent Comments
Arctic and sub-Arctic waters of North America and Eurasia. Southernmost regular range in the Western Hemisphere: St. Lawrence River estuary (isolated resident population), Gulf of Alaska, James Bay (Stewart and Stewart 1989). See Reeves and Mitchell (1989) for information on status in Ungava Bay and eastern Hudson Bay. See Richard (1993) for information on status in western and southern Hudson Bay. See Doidge and Finley (1993) for information on status of the Baffin Bay population. See also IUCN (1991) for further details regarding distribution.
Threat Impact Comments
Population decline in Gulf of St. Lawrence (from 5000 to 500) and elsewhere is attributed to loss of suitable habitat, pollution, and especially historic over-exploitation (Stewart and Stewart 1989, IUCN 1991, Dold 1993). This population shows a high rate of intestinal cancer, possibly related to water pollution (Farnsworth, NY Times, 22 August 1995). Lungworms may be an important cause of morbidity and mortality of young in the St. Lawrence estuary (Measures et al. 1995). The Southeast Baffin Island population is thought to be declining as a result of excessive harvest (Richard 1991). There is also concern that excessive harvest, especially in western Greenland, may be threatening the Baffin Bay population that summers around Somerset Island (Droidge and Finley 1992, 1993). Potentially threatened also by development of hydrocarbon resources and increased disturbance from ship traffic.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Inhabits the open ocean as well as shallow coastal waters, rivers, estuaries; shallow waters such as estuaries of large rivers are used in summer.

Ecology

Travels in small groups of 2-10, also forms summer congregations of hundreds or thousands. Mature males tend to travel together, as do females, calves, and immatures (Stewart and Stewart 1989).

Reproduction

Mates generally in spring. Gestation lasts 14-15 months. Single young (rarely 2); births peak in late March in western Greenland, late June in western Hudson Bay and Bering Sea, July in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Lactation lasts 20-24 months. Age of first pregnancy: 4-7 years (Stewart and Stewart 1989). Calving interval probably is 3 years for most adult females. Females live up to about 20 years, males to about 30 years.
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
AlaskaS4Yes
CanadaN5B,N4N
ProvinceRankNative
NunavutS3Yes
Yukon TerritorySUNYes
Northwest TerritoriesS4Yes
Island of NewfoundlandSNRYes
ManitobaS2Yes
QuebecSNRYes
OntarioS2Yes
LabradorSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial development——High (continuing)
1.2 - Commercial & industrial areas——High (continuing)
4 - Transportation & service corridors——High (continuing)
4.3 - Shipping lanes——High (continuing)
5 - Biological resource use——High (continuing)
5.4 - Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources——High (continuing)
7 - Natural system modifications——High (continuing)
7.2 - Dams & water management/use——High (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases——High (continuing)
8.2 - Problematic native species/diseases——High (continuing)
9 - Pollution——High (continuing)
9.1 - Domestic & urban waste water——High (continuing)
9.2 - Industrial & military effluents——High (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weather——Moderate - low
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alteration——Moderate - low

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Roadless Areas (7)
Alaska (7)
AreaForestAcres
Boston BarChugach National Forest53,617
Johnson PassChugach National Forest152,508
Kenai LakeChugach National Forest213,172
Kenai MountainsChugach National Forest306,600
ResurrectionChugach National Forest224,615
Roaded DonutChugach National Forest968
Twenty MileChugach National Forest198,775
References (26)
  1. American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). 2025. Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.13) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10595931. Online. Available: https://www.mammaldiversity.org/
  2. Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. 438 pp.
  3. Bradley, R.D., L.K. Ammerman, R.J. Baker, L.C. Bradley, J.A. Cook. R.C. Dowler, C. Jones, D.J. Schmidly, F.B. Stangl Jr., R.A. Van den Bussche and B. Würsig. 2014. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 2014. Museum of Texas Tech University Occasional Papers 327:1-28. Available at: http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/publications/opapers/ops/OP327.pdf
  4. Brennin, R., B. W. Murray, M. K. Friesen, L. D. Maiers, J. W. Clayton, and B. N. White. 1997. Population genetic structure of beluga whales (<i>Delphinapterus leucas</i>): mitochondrial DNA sequence variation within and among North American populations. Canadian Journal of Zoology 75:795-802.
  5. Doidge, D. W., and K. J. Finley. 1992. Status report on the beluga (white whale) (eastern high arctic\Baffin Bay population) <i>Delphinapterus leucas</i> in Canada. Committe on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. 35 pp + 7 unnumbered pp.
  6. Doidge, D. W. and K. J. Finley. 1993. Status of the Baffin Bay population of beluga, <i>Delphinapterus leucas</i>. Can. Field-Nat. 107:533-546.
  7. Dold, C. 1993. The great white whales. Wildlife Conservation July/August 1993, pp. 44-53.
  8. Finley, K. J. 1982. The estuarine habitat of the beluga or white whale, <i>Delphinapterus leucas</i>. Cetus 4:4-5.
  9. Folkens, P. 1984. The whale watcher's handbook. Doubleday Co., Inc., Garden City, NY 208 pp.
  10. Godin, A. J. 1977. Wild mammals of New England. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 304 pp.
  11. Hall, E. R. 1981a. The Mammals of North America, second edition. Vols. I &amp; II. John Wiley &amp; Sons, New York, New York. 1181 pp.
  12. Hebda, A.J. 2011. List of mammals of Nova Scotia (including synonyms used in the literature relating to Nova Scotia) (revision 2) 24 July 2011. Nova Scotia Museum Collections Unit, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 24 pp. Online. Available: https://naturalhistory.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/inline/images/names_and_synonyms_ver3.pdf
  13. IUCN (World Conservation Union). 1991. Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales of the World: the IUCN Red Data Book. M. Klinowska (compiler). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, United Kingdom. viii + 429 pp.
  14. Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23.
  15. Katona, S. K., V. Rough, and D. T. Richardson. 1983. A Field guide to the whales, porpoises, and seals of the gulf of Maine and eastern Canada. Cape Cod to Newfoundland. Charles Scribner's Sons, N.Y. 255 pp.
  16. Kingsley, M.C.S. 1998. Population index estimates for the St. Lawrence belugas, 1973-1995. Marine Mammal Science 14:508-530.
  17. Leatherwood, S., and R. R. Reeves. 1983. The Sierra Club handbook of whales and dolphins. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco. 302 pp.
  18. Measures, L. N., P. Beland, D. Martineau, and S. De Guise. 1995. Helminths of an endangered population of belugas, <i>Delphinapterus leucas</i>, in the St. Lawrence estuary, Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology 73:1402-1409.
  19. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 19 October 1999. Designation of the Cook Inlet, Alaska, stock of beluga whale as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and response to petitions. Federal Register 64(201):56298-56304.
  20. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 2008. Endangered and threatened species; endangered status for the Cook Inlet beluga whale; final rule. Federal Register 73(205):62919-62930.
  21. Reeves, R. R., and E. Mitchell. 1989. Status of white whales, <i>Delphinapterus leucas</i>, in Ungava Bay and eastern Hudson Bay. Can. Field.-Nat. 103:220-239.
  22. Richard, P. R. 1991. Status of the belugas, <i>Delphinapterus leucas</i>, of Southeast Baffin Island, Northwest Territories. Canadian Field-Naturalist 105:206-214.
  23. Richard, P. R. 1993. Status of the Beluga, <i>Delphinapterus leucas</i> [sic], in western and southern Hudson Bay. Can. Field-Nat. 107:524-532.
  24. Ridgway, S. H., and R. J. Harrison. 1989. Handbook of marine mammals. Vol. 4. River dolphins and the larger toothed whales. Academic Press, New York. 442 pp.
  25. Stewart, B. E., and R. E. A. Stewart. 1989. <i>Delphinapterus leucas</i>. Am. Soc. Mamm., Mammalian Species No. 336:1-8.
  26. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.