Belugas are white whales of the arctic. They have stocky bodies and lack a dorsal fin.
Belugas are social, typically living in pods of about a dozen individuals. They communicate with a high pitched twitter. The pod is led by a dominant male.
Belugas are migratory, spending the winter in the open seas along or under the ice (using holes in the ice to breathe) and the summer near shore. They often enter estuaries or even swim up rivers. Belugas are slower swimmers than most other whales. They are the only whale known to swim backward.
Beluga eat fish and marine invertebrates, notably cod, salmon, halibut, herring, shrimp, crabs, squid, octopus, clams, and snails. They usually forage at relatively shallow depths of 20 meters or less, although they have been known to dive up to 700 meters. Beluga pods hunt cooperatively to take prey.