CELPIP Reading Part 3 Practice Test: Belugas: The Canaries of the Sea

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The beluga is one of the most easily recognized whales in the world, mainly because of its colour. Adults are almost pure white, which helps them blend in among floating ice, but calves are born grey and gradually lighten as they grow, a process that can take several years. Belugas are fairly small for whales; most adults measure between three and five metres long. They are also unusual in having no dorsal fin, the tall fin found on the backs of many whales and dolphins, and scientists believe this may help them swim just beneath sheets of ice. Unlike most whales, belugas can turn their heads from side to side, because the bones in their necks are not joined together.

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Belugas are among the most vocal of all whales. They produce a remarkable range of whistles, clicks, chirps and squeals, and sailors who heard these sounds through the wooden hulls of their ships gave them the nickname “canaries of the sea.” Much of this noise is used to communicate within the group, but belugas also rely on echolocation. They send out clicks and listen for the echoes that bounce back, which allows them to find fish in dark or cloudy water and to locate openings in the ice where they can surface to breathe. The rounded bulge on a beluga’s forehead, called the melon, can change shape, and it is thought to help the animal direct these sounds.

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Each summer, as the sea ice breaks up, thousands of belugas move into the shallow estuaries of rivers that flow into western Hudson Bay, including the Churchill, Seal and Nelson rivers in northern Manitoba. This western Hudson Bay group, estimated at more than 50,000 animals, is believed to be the largest beluga population anywhere. Scientists are still studying why the whales gather in river mouths. The warmer water may help them shed their outer layer of skin, and the shallows may offer some protection from predators such as killer whales. The summer gathering near Churchill has become a popular attraction, and visitors watch the whales from boats and kayaks, which belugas often approach with apparent curiosity.

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Not all belugas are doing as well. A much smaller population lives year-round in the St. Lawrence Estuary in Quebec, far to the south of any other group. These whales were heavily hunted in the past, and although hunting them has long been banned, their numbers have not recovered as experts had hoped. In 2014, the St. Lawrence population was listed as endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. Researchers point to several threats, including pollution, shortages of food and underwater noise from ships, which can interfere with the sounds belugas depend on. In parts of the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park, ships are now asked to slow down to reduce noise and the risk of collisions.