Monday, August 13, 2012

BELUGAS ARE SO BEAUTIFUL

More photos from our trip to the Georgia (Atlanta) Aquarium last week!  My favorite marine animal is the Beluga whale.  I first saw them at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago many years ago and fell in love at first sight.

























They seem to watching us as much as we are watching them.












They are as aware and as playful as dolphins.  The Georgia Aquarium has put toys in the tank for them so they have something fun to do besides people watch.








This one was putting the white "toy" on its head and pushing it towards the viewing area.  It also blew bubble rings and swam through them.  I think it was showing off - or perhaps wanting us to come in and play?

The water is 55F so too cold for most humans even in a wetsuit.

I've read that there are less than 1,000 Belugas left in our world.  It would be a disaster if these gentle, beautiful mammals disappeared.

Check out a little bit of info on the Beluga at NatGeo here:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/beluga-whale/









7 comments:

Studio at the Farm said...

They are beautiful, Rhonda. I am saddened to hear there are so few left on Earth.

Sadami said...

Hi, Rhonda,
Wow, thank you for sharing these beautiful photos and the nice post! Really, we, humans must take action to protect this beautiful earth.
Kind regards, Sadami

Sharon Whitley said...

I love belugas too and they are my daughter's favourite animal, she asked me to paint a picture of one last year which was a bit of a challenge!! We saw one at an aquarium in Valencia and it did similar things to the one you saw, blowing bubbles and seemingly interacting with the people viewing them - just gorgeous!

Jeanette Jobson said...

Belugas are unique and appealing.

Most years, one or two turn up in harbours here. A couple of years ago hundreds of them were seen off the northern tip of the island, very unusual.

They stay around for weeks, interacting with people and following boats as they come and go, then they leave again, mysteriously as they arrived.

This year, one turned up in Labrador and enchanted everyone it met.

Jan Yates, SCA, Canada said...

Sorry but none of these creatures should be kept like this-
too many have lived and died in these unnatural surroundings
-often in deplorable conditions!
-please help them by staying away from aquariums and zoos
-let them live in their natural world
-please don't encourage capture and captivity!!

Autumn Leaves said...

They are just so beautiful and I love reading of their personality too. I hope and pray that they never die out.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Kathryn, Sadami, Sharon and Jeanette, for your comments. Jeanette, you were so lucky to see one in your area!

Jan, I have felt torn about this, too. However, I think - would I ever have even seen a Beluga whale if I hadn't gone to an aquarium and seen one? No. Did I then learn more about them? Yes. Will I do more to help protect them (mainly from oil drilling in their arctic waters) now? Yes. Education about sea life is what good aquariums are all about. Interactions with something you would never see in your lifetime is what good aquariums are all about. I think the Georgia aquarium does a good job with education and creating more interest - if you followed the link you saw it's a .org organization not a .com one = all their money from people coming goes right back into the exhibits and for maintaining the animals there. Thanks to a 200 million gift from the creator of Home Depot (who is still the CEO of the aquarium and has his say about how things are done).

Thanks, Sherry :)