{"id":583149,"date":"2021-02-04T15:55:10","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T20:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/?p=583149"},"modified":"2021-02-08T16:47:03","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T21:47:03","slug":"will-you-be-a-beluga-buddy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/bbtw_updates\/will-you-be-a-beluga-buddy\/","title":{"rendered":"Will you be a beluga buddy?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Beluga whales are instantly recognizable by their bright white skin and melon-shaped heads. Adults measure about 5 m in length and can weigh up to 1,600 kg (3,528 lbs). That might seem huge to you, but compared to the blue whale (which is the world\u2019s largest whale, weighing up to 181,000 kg), it\u2019s easy to see that belugas are on the smaller side! Despite their size they still carry around a large amount of blubber on their bodies to keep warm in the chilly Arctic waters where they live. This blubber may account for up to 40% of the belugas\u2019 total body mass!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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La la la la la\nlaaaa\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like most whales and dolphins, belugas use sound to\ncommunicate with other members of their group, to explore their surroundings,\nand to find food. These whales are particularly talented vocalists, capable of\nmaking a wide number of sounds and calls, earning them the nickname \u201ccanaries\nof the sea\u201d. The secret lies in the bump on their foreheads. Inside the bump is\na special structure called a \u201cmelon\u201d which helps to direct sound waves. These\nsound waves bounce off objects in the water and get sent back to the beluga as\nechoes, which help them find things in their environment. Echolocation comes in\nvery handy when the belugas are hunting for fish or invertebrates like crabs in\nvery deep or murky water, and for finding breathing holes in ice sheets or\ndetecting predators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who you callin’ melonhead?!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

They need our help!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These cold-adapted creatures are facing a new problem.\nWarming waters due to climate change are affecting not only their habitats, but\nalso their ability to find food. Fish like the Arctic char have a hard time\nsurviving as temperatures rise in their usually chilly aquatic homes, and\nwithout the ability to find enough food, the beluga is in big trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you adopt a beluga whale, you\u2019ll be helping University\nof New Brunswick researcher Matthew Gilbert learn more about how belugas might\nbe affected as their fish feast changes thanks to climate change. He\u2019s working\non a project that will test how warmer water temperatures affect Arctic char,\nlooking to answer important questions about how their movements might be\naffected, or if they\u2019ll be able to survive. Once we know more about how the\nbeluga buffet could change as waters continue to warm, we\u2019ll know more about\nhow to protect these wonderful white whales for years to come!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Beluga whales are instantly recognizable by their bright white skin and melon-shaped heads. Adults measure about 5 m in length and can weigh up to 1,600 kg (3,528 lbs). That might seem huge to you, but compared to the blue whale (which is the world\u2019s largest whale, weighing up to 181,000 kg), it\u2019s easy to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[425,931],"tags":[50,520,1319,950],"class_list":{"0":"post-583149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bbtw_updates","8":"category-all","9":"tag-arctic","10":"tag-beluga","11":"tag-marine-mammal","12":"tag-whale"},"pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}