Glittery white, ice-dwelling beluga whales log hours of chattering from their melons as they navigate their frosty world. These canaries of the sea are also among some of the most charismatic summer visitors to Canada’s Hudson Bay, where they arrive with their babies in tow to feast on fish and kick back.
Now, viewers from around the world can catch a glimpse of these blubbery cetaceans via Polar Bears International (PBI) and explore.org’s Beluga Whale Live Cam. The camera is scheduled to launch on Arctic Sea Ice Day (July 15).
“This is a very cool beluga population. It consists of a third of the belugas in the entire world,” PBI director of conservation outreach and biologist Alysa McCall tells Popular Science. “The belugas themselves usually live up in the Arctic for most of the year. Their lack of dorsal fin allows them to live amongst the sea ice.”
Beluga summer vacation
The belugas are gathering near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada along Hudson Bay. The area is better known for its polar bears, but is quite ecologically diverse. Species from various ecosystems–marine, tundra, and boreal–all come together here. It is a migration hotspot for birds traveling to and from the Arctic, who bring nutrients along the way. Due to the coastline’s shape and Churchill River’s freshwater, the area gets ice fairly early in the fall, when polar bears use the sea ice to hunt.
During the summer months, belugas whales will come down to these warmer waters to evade predators. Humans are their biggest threats, but they can also be eaten by polar bears. Additionally, melting sea ice has allowed orca whales to creep northward. While rare, orcas can prey on belugas.
[Related: For polar bears contending with climate change, it’s ‘survival of the fattest’.]
“It just keeps some of them safer when they’re in the Churchill River,” says McCall. “They can get into pretty shallow water that orcas can’t get into.”
Through late August, a team of scientists will take out a boat for about four hours Monday through Friday (weather permitting) and record the belugas in action. The area is a beluga nursery, giant cafeteria, and vacation spot all at once. The scientists will also drop in a hydrophone to eavesdrop on their whale’s ample vocalizations.
“You’ll see all these family pods swimming amongst each other. Moms are taking care of babies and in these maternal lineages,” sys McCall. “They like to follow the boat in the wake. We go super slow and the belugas will just kind of tag along and they like to go in front of a camera. They bring their babies up to the camera and they just talk all day.”
The Earth’s air conditioner
The project coincides with a day to commemorate the importance of Arctic sea ice, which the belugas and countless other organisms depend on. Nicknamed the planet’s air conditioner, sea ice helps keep the planet cool. However, through a process called Arctic amplification, melting sea ice exposes darker-colored ocean water. This causes less heat to be reflected away from Earth and can disrupt global climates. The Arctic may see ice-free summers by the early 2030, according to some of the latest climate models. This ice forms the base of the entire Arctic ecosystem and losing it will have drastic effects.
“Beluga whales are part of this Arctic ecosystem. The Arctic sea ice is so much more than just like frozen water,” says McCall. “Algae and the plants are growing inside the ice and that forms this food chain in the north. This includes polar cod and other fish that the seals and belugas feed on, who then feed the polar bears, and so on.”
[Related: Toothed whales traded chewing for echolocation to evolve.]
Without the sea ice, these food chains could be lost. Underwater predators like orcas have already been introduced to do changes in the sea ice.
“Belugas used to these cold waters as a cold adapted species. They follow the ice and they’re linked to it,” says McCall. “They’re white and they camouflage as this northern species, and now we’re changing the look of the north and what it is, really.”
Speaking up for chatty whales
One way to help is through the Beluga Bits Citizen Science Project. This project to advance beluga research seeks the public’s help in classifying individual belugas. Viewers are asked to examine underwater photos of the belugas to help scientists identify their age, sex, and group size. They also need Eagle-eyed viewers to scan for any distinguishing marks like scars to help to recognize whales that return to Hudson Bay every year.
“I think anytime we can get people more involved in research, but also have a connection to nature and wildlife, and give people more of a buy-in to the process of science and animal research, it’s always a good thing,” says McCall.
[Related: New series offers an intimate look into how climate change impacts the lives of wildlife.]
Hudson Bay had record low levels of sea ice this spring, and Polar Bears International is encouraging people to talk about climate change and get involved in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“We’re asking people just to use their voices and tell people about the beluga cam, how cool these animals are, and talk about how or why you care about them,” says McCall. “Then consider voting for people that care about them. If you want to make a difference, that’s the best thing you can do.”
Catch the Beluga Whale Live Cam here.
