Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are toothed whales. They look like dolphins and belong to the same infraorder Cetacea, however, they belong to a different family Monodontidae.

It’s easy to recognize Beluga whales by their white-grayish coloring. Calves are usually born grey, and by the time they turn 1 month, they become dark-gray or grayish-blue. After, they gradually start to lose pigmentations until they get the distinctive white coloring at the age of 7 (in females) and at the age of 9 (in males).

Beluga whales live exclusively in Arctic waters, and their coloration is an adaptation to life in the Arctic. It allows beluga whales to camouflage themselves in polar ice caps to protect themselves from their main enemies: polar bears and killer whales.

Unlike other cetaceans, beluga whales have seasonal shedding of their skin. Their epidermis thickens in winter and the animal’s skin might become yellowish, mostly on the back and fins. In summer, when belugas migrate to estuaries, they rub their bodies on the gravel of the riverbeds to remove the cutaneous covering and get back their usual white coloring.

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