beluga whales

On the lookout for Cook Inlet’s belugas

On the lookout for Cook Inlet’s belugas

Cook Inlet’s belugas will be the target of a different kind of hunt this weekend. On Saturday, communities on the Cook Inlet will be on… Continue reading

 

Beluga food sources shifted from marine to freshwater over past 50 years

Over the past fifty years Cook Inlet’s endangered beluga whales have changed their feeding habits, eating less prey that originates in marine waters and more… Continue reading

 

Beluga researcher Kim Ovitz (center, with sunglasses) and a group of volunteer whale-watchers look for belugas in the Kenai River on April 14, 2018 at Cunningham Park in Kenai, Alaska. 11 signed-up volunteers and several more casual ones helped Ovitz with her observations, which began March 15 and will continue until May 31. Her preliminary results suggest that a large portion of Cook Inlet’s estimated 328 belugas travel the Kenai River with the tides in early spring. (Photo courtesy of Rickard Sjoeberg).

Researcher finds many Cook Inlet belugas visit Kenai in spring

Editor's note: This story has been changed to clarify numbers that apply to beluga sightings, rather than individual whales. New monitoring of belugas in the… Continue reading

 

Researcher Kim Ovitz observes a group of Cook Inlet beluga whales milling in a bend of the Kenai River by Cunningham Park on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Ovitz, a fellow in the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Sea Grant program, will be counting and recording beluga activity from public locations along the Kenai River until April 31, and is also seeking to talk with local residents about their own observations of marine mammals in the Kenai. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion) 

Researcher looks at beluga use of Kenai River

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the end date of Ovitz's observation project. Early this week Stevie Shackelford saw his first beluga… Continue reading

Researcher Kim Ovitz observes a group of Cook Inlet beluga whales milling in a bend of the Kenai River by Cunningham Park on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. Ovitz, a fellow in the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Sea Grant program, will be counting and recording beluga activity from public locations along the Kenai River until April 31, and is also seeking to talk with local residents about their own observations of marine mammals in the Kenai. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion) 

Tyonek the beluga moved to Texas

Tyonek, the six-month old Cook Inlet beluga whale calf rescued from a mudflat in Sept. 2017, was transported from Seward’s Alaska SeaLife Center to his… Continue reading

AOOS map syncs up agencies’ beluga research

There’s a lot of research happening on Cook Inlet beluga whales at any given time. Unfortunately, a lot of the data has stayed isolated, held… Continue reading

Tyonek the Texan: Beluga whale will be moved to SeaWorld San Antonio

Tyonek is going to Texas. The rescued Cook Inlet beluga whale will soon call SeaWorld San Antonio home, according to a release from NOAA Fisheries.… Continue reading

Volunteers at the Alaska SeaLife Center feed a milk and electrolyte mix to a beluga calf, rescued on Sept. 30 after being stranded in Trading Bay, by holding a tube to its lips (a method they’ve found works better than bottle-feeding) on Friday, Oct. 6 in Seward, Alaska. The calf is the first Cook Inlet beluga under human care. Activities in this picture have been authorized by NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program under the Marine Mammal Protection Act/Endangered Species Act

Stranded beluga calf recovering in Seward

A male beluga calf, estimated between two and four weeks old, became the first member of Cook Inlet’s endangered beluga population under human care after… Continue reading

Volunteers at the Alaska SeaLife Center feed a milk and electrolyte mix to a beluga calf, rescued on Sept. 30 after being stranded in Trading Bay, by holding a tube to its lips (a method they’ve found works better than bottle-feeding) on Friday, Oct. 6 in Seward, Alaska. The calf is the first Cook Inlet beluga under human care. Activities in this picture have been authorized by NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program under the Marine Mammal Protection Act/Endangered Species Act
This map from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game shows the winter and summer habitats of beluga whales in the state. (Courtesy the Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

Beluga research looks at failure to rebound

Two research efforts are taking new approaches to the question of why Cook Inlet’s endangered beluga whales haven’t recovered since hunting restrictions were placed on… Continue reading

This map from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game shows the winter and summer habitats of beluga whales in the state. (Courtesy the Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

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