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The disappearing Beluga whale

  1. jefftego
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Russia's territorial aspirations and desire to control the Arctic's bounty of oil and gas is compromising the Beluga's future.

Increased traffic from shipping and exploration for energy supplies is upsetting the creatures’ delicate balance of life.

As well as encroachment into their habitat, the Beluga has been over hunted over the past few decades.

Climate change and the consequent increase in sea temperatures may also be responsible for a fall in the population.

Scientists say the animals are vitally important, as they are a sentinel species - if the population of Belugas is thriving it is likely the rest of their environment is healthy as well.

It is believed to be the most intelligent animal in the sea and can live for up to fifty years.

Using underwater cameras and microphones they are learning more and more about the whales' language: an elaborate dialogue of clicks and squeaks.

One of the senior scientists, Vladimir Baranov, says his team has detected a distinct logic amongst the sounds. "We know Beluga whales have an alphabet consisting of thirty sounds and our task is to work out their vocabulary."

jefftego

34 responses // The disappearing Beluga whale

  •  

    Greed. Yet again.

    onechance
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    Ohh, I love Beluga whales, they can blow bubbles underwater. Much cuter than dolphins, SAVE THE BELUGA!

    Nuevarine
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    An excellent example of the cost of oil. And we thought we just paid at the pump.

    recommended by huntre
    bluestranger
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    This is so upsetting. It's one species adter another after another... plus we're killing ourselves!

    aswift1
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    There should just be one news article circulated throughout the world titled "Humans Screw Up Everything About The Environment." It would save on print.

    islek
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    What are we doing to our planet? Why can't we just leave it as it is?

    thekingbeyond
  •  

    Ignorance!

    millions of years ago a T-rex became extinct, how has that affected us today?

    It hasn't!

    get over yourselves!
    god bless big oil
    god bless america

    mrburns
  •  

    wow. Some people are so far behind they actually think they're in the lead.

    jefftego
  •  

    Maybe humans are the T-rex's of tomorrow!?

    The arrogance of humans to think that it's all about us. Beluga's are important, no humans required.

    The extinction event that took out the dinosaurs was natural, this is not.

    recommended by huntre
    covelogibbs
  •  

    Give me one good reason why I should save the Beluga. How is it dying off going to affect me? More fish in the world? Don't we have a fish shortage?

    Dmitri_Molotov
  •  
    watch this comment being used here, here, here, here and here

    Beluga's are also a main food staple for the Polar Bear which is also declining at a rapid rate. They usually sit by holes in the ice waiting for the whatles to come up for air to grab them, but now the bears are having more and more trouble find ice to even stand on.

    recommended by huntre
    huffamoose2k
  •  

    I've always loved the word "beluga" and hope it stays around for a long time.

    AceHardchester
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    Our, & our future generation's environment is being stolen and/or sold to the highest bidder. Adverse environmental changes are considered business opportunities to some & should be nightmares to the rest of us. All of these individual tragedies will some day be enough to tip the ecological balance beyond the point of no return. "Save the whales" isn't an outdated slogan; in fact, it couldn't be more appropriate now. There’s a quickly growing list of “Save the ______(fill in the blank). Where’s the sense of urgency at righting these wrongs or just plain outrage? Have we become so jaded that tragic reports like this no longer elicit the former outcries of concerned citizens?

    I'm surprised more people aren't worried about the serious circumstances we've put ourselves in, yet continue to act as if the planet can keep absorbing these examples of destabilization at an accelerated rate without the Earth suffering serious consequences. Remember, 2012 is looming right around the corner & each day CURRENT, and many other reliable news sources, brings us more troubling news that supports the possibility of major worldwide upheaval. We all have the power to make a difference with positive changes in our lifestyles, whether large or small. Anything is better than nothing-because if we don’t pick up the pace, that’s all that will be left of the only world we have-nothing.

    darkhorsejim
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    I'm disappointed to read comments that say the extinction of an animal isn't going to affect us. The truth is, the loss of diversity in an ecosystem can upset the balance. Every organism has its own niche in the environmental cycle and once its gone, there's no other organism to replace it.

    Of course, extinction has been occurring naturally for millions of years, but the rate at which it's happening now is too fast and doesn't give the organisms a chance to evolve and adapt properly.

    Run_Rabbit
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    That is just ignorance talking, the people don't understand that we are all connected and everything that happens in this planet affect all of us in the same way there is a chain that join us to the same system.

    The people who think in that way are the one who should disappear from the planet.

    If animals can keep and work with the balance of nature why cant we?, are animals wiser than us?

    mundosanto
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    baby beluga in the deep blue sea

    RudyRudell
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    Did you know that belugas can wiggle their necks and change their facial expressions? No other cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) can do that.

    Cool eh?

    recommended by jade_azul16
    LindseyIndigo

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