Where Are the Tiny Baby Belugas Being Born?

A third install from Matt Villano looks at the mysterious origins of baby belugas. Scientists suspect that many are being born right in the Hudson Bay estuary where we stream the Beluga Whale Live Cam.

Based upon the number of tiny baby belugas they spot each year, scientists know that female belugas birth calves while they’re in Hudson Bay and the Churchill River estuary. But the human experts rarely witness their cetacean subjects doing it. Pierre Richard, a marine biologist who has studied animals in the area for 30 years, suggests that most of the births probably take place up the estuary, out of sight of potential predators—and humans. “Belugas try to be very secretive when they’re giving birth,” he says. “The last thing they want is for someone, especially a Killer whale or a Polar bear, to know there they are and what they’re doing.”

Did You Know? A beluga calf weighs a couple hundred pounds at birth, but will gain a dozen pounds a week as it grows!