A pair of beluga viewing cameras have been set up at the mouth of the Kenai River by the Alaska Wildlife Alliance and Kenai Peninsula College, in collaboration with the City of Kenai.
Cook Inlet belugas, per previous Clarion reporting, are one of five genetically distinct populations of beluga whales in Alaska. They’re also the only of those populations registered as endangered. Around 300 are estimated to remain in the inlet.
According to a release from the alliance, the cameras are intended to “increase public awareness and knowledge about the belugas’ use of the Kenai River.” The streams, hosted at “Alaska Wildlife Alliance” on YouTube, offer views from the Kenai River’s mouth and from the Kenai City Dock — and accompanying ambient music.
Belugas are often seen at the Kenai River mouth in the spring and fall, the release says. The alliance and the college participate in the annual Belugas Count! event put on by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which similarly is intended to educate locals about the endangered species in their own backyards.
The alliance also operates a text alert service for beluga sightings, which can be joined by texting “beluga” to 833-541-0408. “At least 15” belugas were sighted on Friday, and there have been multiple other alerts in recent weeks. The release suggests keeping an eye out for text alerts to know when to tune into the stream.
“We are so grateful for this collaboration with the City of Kenai, who has been an invaluable partner in getting these cameras established,” says Nicole Schmitt, executive director of Alaska Wildlife Alliance. “These cameras will help folks connect to the belugas in their backyard, right here in the Kenai River. We’re excited to expand the ways people can build relationships with these whales and understand how we all share the river.”
For more information about the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, visit akwildlife.org. To view the beluga cam streams, find “Alaska Wildlife Alliance on YouTube.”
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
