Diet and Hunting Techniques of Beluga Whale

Belugas are fascinating Arctic or sub-Arctic marine mammals, and their diet varies seasonally. Their primary food consists of fish, squids, and crustaceans. In summer, they find crustaceans and fish in shallow water, which helps them build fat reserves for winter. In winter, they migrate to deeper waters and hunt squids, octopuses, and crustaceans using their flexible lips and necks to extract animals hidden in the ground. They also hunt using their echolocation power, which gives them a melon that produces sound waves, allowing them to detect the location of their prey. Due to this ability, they can travel easily in unclear water.

Diet and Hunting Techniques of Beluga Whale

Typical Diet: Fish, Squid, and Crustaceans

The diet of beluga whales depends on their seasonal migrations. Let’s take a look at what they eat during each season and what makes up their diet. 

Fish: The Primary Food of Belugas:

The primary diet of belugas consists of fish, which they often hunt and eat in shallow or coastal waters. Fish provide them with a high amount of protein, essential for survival in cold waters. It can be considered their staple food because it is easily available in most regions. 

Primary food of belugas

Winter Diet: Squid and Octopus in Deeper Waters:

In winter, when belugas migrate to deeper waters, they feed on species like squid and octopus. This food is their preference in deep waters as it gives them adequate supplies of energy to help survive the harsh conditions.

Crustaceans in Shallow Waters:

In shallow areas, belugas find and catch crustaceans with their lips. Crustaceans are small sea animals like shrimp, crabs, and others. This diet is another source of nutrition for them.

Belugas have the ability to dive as deep as 800 meters into the water, and they mostly use this skill during winter, especially when hunting octopuses or squids. They have the ability to hold their breath for extended periods helps them search for prey. It can also be said that their predators cannot reach such depths, and belugas use this ability to escape from their predators as well.

Seasonal Feeding Patterns:

As for their eating habits, belugas consume a lot of food during the summer. This is because prey is more abundant in this season, and they need to build up fat reserves for the colder months. In winter, they eat less, mainly small creatures, as they migrate to deeper waters where food availability decreases. The thick layer of blubber that belugas have not only helps them survive in the cold but also gives them the ability to preserve food. They utilize this advantage during winter and migrations because they are aware that if they do not find food during migrations, they have already reserved it beforehand to avoid any difficulties later.

Hunting Methods and Echolocation

Echolocation: A Powerful Hunting Tool:

The hunting technique of beluga whales depends on their most powerful tool, which is echolocation. This is their primary method of finding prey. Their melon, in the forehead, is a considerable part of the hunting process. They produce very high-frequency clicks through their melon to see where, how far away, and in which direction the prey is. This is a very effective technique and is considered the most powerful technique for success in hunting.

Group Hunting in Pods:

Beluga whales usually hunt in groups known as pods. They are grouped together for the purpose of hunting, and, usually, hunting in groups allows them to surround their prey, making it easier to catch. This cooperative strategy ensures they can hunt better and with minimal effort.

group hunting

Specialized Winter Hunting:

During winter, belugas migrate into deep waters and use their flexible necks as well as lips to hunt for those species buried in the seabed. It ensures them of targeting hidden prey such as shrimp, crabs, and other small creatures, ensuring they can still feed even in poor conditions.

In summer, it is easier for belugas to find and hunt prey because they are at the surface, and their prey is also near the surface. However, during winter migrations, they have to dive into deep water to hunt, which wastes a lot of their energy. If they do not do this, they can die due to a lack of food.

Adaptations for Finding Food in Arctic Waters

Acute Hearing Abilities:

The beluga whales, which are found in Arctic waters possess some peculiar characteristics to help hunt their food efficiently. One of their key skills is having an extremely acute hearing. Belugas have a hearing sensitivity range of 1.2 kHz to 120 kHz, with peak sensitivity between 10 kHz and 75 kHz. This is much more extensive than the human hearing range, which extends from 0.02 kHz to 20 kHz. This remarkable auditory capability enables belugas to detect the direction and location of their prey with ease. 

Scientists have found that this acute hearing is consistent even at great oceanic depths. In ice-covered regions, belugas depend on this advanced technique of hearing to locate food below the surface. Besides that, echolocation significantly contributes to the survival of belugas. Using echolocation, belugas emit high-frequency sounds that help them identify their prey’s position, even in the darkness of deep water. 

Flexible Necks and Mobile Mouths:

flexible neck

Their flexible necks and mobile mouths also assist in finding food in Arctic waters. These features enable them to target and extract species like shrimp, crabs, and other small creatures that are often buried in the seabed. 

Thick Blubber for Energy Storage:

Another important adaptation in belugas is their thick layer of blubber that helps them survive during freezing waters. Rather, it also helps them act as a fat reserve storage of energy. At times when prey can become scarce, this stored fat becomes an essential food source. These adaptations make belugas highly efficient hunters in the challenging Arctic environment.

FAQ’S

Beluga whale’s primary food sources include fish, squids, and crustaceans. Their diet as marine mammals depends on the availability of prey because they migrate throughout the year, so their food depends on the seasons. However, fish are their staple food because this food provides them with a high amount of protein to survive in cold waters.

Belugas migrate to deeper waters in winter and prefer to eat squids, octopuses, and crustaceans there. These species provide them with the energy that helps them survive in harsh conditions when there is a scarcity of food in shallow regions.

Hunting in groups, meaning in the form of pods, is very beneficial for belugas as it allows them to work cooperatively and capture prey. This helps increase their hunting efficiency strategy and reduces the effort required to catch food.

Beluga whales have impressive hearing sensitivity, with their hearing sensitivity range between 1.2 kHz and 120 kHz and peak sensitivity between 10 to 75 kHz. This type of accurate hearing ability helps them a lot in locating prey, whether in deep water, darker, or ice-covered water.

There are many features that help belugas hunt efficiently in harsh environments, such as their echolocation ability, which allows them to produce sound waves that help them locate prey in dark or muddy water. Their hearing ability informs them about the location of prey. Their flexible neck and mobile mouths help them catch animals hidden in the ground. Their thick layer of blubber helps them store food reserves, which saves their lives during food scarcity.

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