Beluga whole

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Beluga whole
Photo Information
Copyright: erlangga septama (septama) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 104 W: 0 N: 67] (320)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-07-14
Categories: Mammals
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-08-07 11:27
Viewed: 527
Points: 20
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The whole body of Beluga
I took this photo in Vancouver Aquarium, unfortunatelly there are some of white dot-like spot coming from the aquarium glass wall, and following is general info I grabbed from the net

this small whale can be up to 5 metres (16 ft) long, larger than all but the largest dolphins but smaller than most other toothed whales. Males are generally larger than the female - males can weigh 1,360 kg (3,000 pounds) and females about 900 kg (one ton).
This sea mammal is able to change the shape of its head by blowing air around its sinuses. Again unlike many dolphins and whales, the vertebrae in the neck are not fused together, allowing the animal flexibility to turn its head laterally.
The body of the Beluga is rotund, particularly when well-fed, and tapers smoothly to both the head and tail. The tail fin grows and becomes increasingly ornately curved as the animal ages. The flippers are broad and short - making them almost square-shaped.

Habitat
The beluga moves in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters ranging from 50° N to 80° N. There is also an isolated population which travels in the St. Lawrence River estuary and the Saguenay fjord, around the village of Tadoussac, Quebec. There is also an endangered population that lives in the Cook Inlet, Alaska. In the spring beluga move to their summer grounds, bays, estuaries and other shallow inlets. These summer sites are detached from one another and a mother will usually return to the same site year after year. As their summer homes become clogged with ice during autumn, beluga move away for winter. Most travel in the direction of the advancing ice-pack and stay close to the edge of it for the winter months. Others stay under the iced area - surviving by finding ice leads and polynyas (patches of open water in the ice) in which they can surface to breathe. Beluga may also find pockets of air trapped under the ice. The remarkable ability of the beluga to find the thin slivers of open water where the dense ice pack may cover more than 95% of the sea surface is still a source of mystery and great interest to scientists. It is clear that the echo-location capabilities of the Beluga are highly adapted to the peculiar acoustics of the sub-ice sea and it has been suggested that Beluga can sense open water through echo-location.

Behaviour
Beluga whales are highly sociable creatures. They move in pods which commonly contain animals of the same gender and age. Groups of males may number in the hundreds, but mothers with calves generally mix in slightly smaller groups. When pods aggregate in estuaries, they may number in the thousands. This can represent a significant proportion of the entire Beluga population and is the time when they are most vulnerable to hunting.
This creature are also known for being rather playful, as well as spitting at humans or other whales. It is not unusual for an aquarium handler to be sprayed down by one of his charges whilst tending a beluga tank. Some researchers believe that this skill may be utilized to blow away sand from crustaceans at the sea bottom.

Diet
Belugas are slow-swimming mammals which feed mainly on fish. They also eat cephalopods (squid and octopus) and crustaceans (crab and shrimp). Foraging on the seabed typically takes place at depths of up to 1,000 feet, but they can dive at least twice this depth. Generally a feeding dive will last 3-5 minutes, but belugas have been observed submerged for up to 20 minutes at a time.[2]

Vocalization
Beluga are amongst the loudest animals in the sea. They exhibit a wide range of vocalizations including clicks, squeaks, whistles, squarks and a bell-like clang. One noted researcher in the field likens a noisy beluga pod to the string section of an orchestra tuning up before a concert.[citation needed] Researchers have recorded 50 distinct sounds; most in the range of 0.1 to 12 kHz.

source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beluga
rousettus, nainnain, PaulH, eqshannon, ridvan, Evelynn, jmirah, mlines has marked this note useful
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ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To rousettus: Hi Ahmetseptama 1 08-07 12:02
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Erlangga,
Recently we didnt meet your photos. Welcome again to TN.
Nice shot of this lovely dolphin species. TFS
well done
Ahmet

hello
belle prise de vue, nette, couleurs agréables et bonnes explication, bon travail, amitiès et merci du partage
edith

  • Great 
  • PaulH Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 980 W: 17 N: 2559] (9440)
  • [2007-08-08 1:11]

Hi Erlangga,
An almost ethereal sight you've caught here...the panaoramic format and wonderful blue are stunning. The white spots aren't distracting at all in my opinion. This is a beautiful creature, very well done.
Paul

Great notations and the spots look as if they are supposed to be there..I might not have noticed had you not said anything. This is the most unusual whale I have ever seen anywhere..and I have seen a lot of whales...Great capture.

Bob

  • Great 
  • hester Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1497 W: 18 N: 2924] (10762)
  • [2007-08-15 12:18]

This is a lovely well composed shot with a gorgeous colour. Aquarium shots are not easy so well done

TFS

Karan

  • Great 
  • ridvan Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 591 W: 0 N: 1140] (5126)
  • [2007-08-18 11:22]

selam , excellent shot and very good composition nice pov and bg with splendid colours.
Well done !
Regards ridvan

This is an interesting shot Erlangga. It almost doesn't seem real. I've never tried to photograph through aquarium glass. I normally would think the crop a bit tight but in this case it just makes it seem more artistic and interesting. Nice work.

TFS
Evelynn ; )

Hi Erlangga,
I really like the capture of the entire whale. Very well presented. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,
Jim

  • Great 
  • mlines Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 493 W: 14 N: 528] (2378)
  • [2007-11-13 13:17]

Hi Erlangga,
A beautiful capture of this huge mammal. It is very clear and i like the blue tones. TFS. Murray.

PS We almost was the whales in Atlanta, GA, but ran out of time.

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2726 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2008-07-06 21:54]

Hello Erlangga

A super capture of this Beluga whale.
The colours are wonderful.
I like the crop and composition.
Veyr well focused with lovely detail.
TFS

Rob

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