The Beluga is a very interesting animal. Beluga is one of the different types of whales you can swim with. Belugas live in groups called groups, a group is a cohesive social unit. A group can be composed of 2 to 25 individuals; the average pod size is about 10. A pod usually consists of males and females. A single large male usually leads a pod. Some small groups sometimes come together to form larger groups of 200 to 10,000 individuals. This sometimes happens during migrations. The scientific name for a beluga Delphinapterus leucas (bing). Belugas are classified as follows: Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Cetacea, Family Monodontidae, Genus Delphinapterus, Species Leucas. )Belugas are one of the prettiest whales scientists have ever seen. One thing most people don't know about beluga whales is that they eat 2.5 to 3 percent of their own body weight. Belugas feed mainly on octopus, squid, crabs, snails, sandworms and fish such as capelin, cod, herring, smelt and flounder. Belugas are slow swimmers. They swim between 1.9 and 5.6 mph. They can maintain a high speed of 22 km/h for 15 minutes. Belugas are adapted to be very maneuverable rather than high-speed swimmers. Belugas can swim forward and backward. Belugas can swim in very shallow water that barely covers their bodies. Beluga whales don't dive very deep, they only dive up to 66 feet. Although they are not deep-diving mammals, beluga whales can dive very deeply (Seaworld). In one experiment, a trained beluga whale dived up to 1,312 feet. , and one even dove to a depth of 2,123 feet. A dive usually lasts less than ten minutes, but belugas can stay underwater longer...... middle of paper ... and sometimes travel in packs. The color of their skin is also an important factor in protection as they blend in with the snow and icebergs around their habitat (NOAA). Beluga whales' enemies are killer whales, polar bears and humans. Belugas have been hunted for centuries for food by indigenous people who live near the Arctic, as well as for their blubber and skin. The beluga is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (NOAA). Unlike other bottom-dwellers, beluga whales can move their heads up and down and side to side because their cervical vertebrae are not fused. This is an adaptation to facilitate maneuvering and capturing prey in muddy or ice-covered areas (NOAA). What's interesting about beluga whales is that they are known as the "canaries of the sea" because they make a wide range of sounds, including whistles, squawks, moos, chirps, and clicks (NOAA).