(14-12-09) Polar ecosystems are quite far from our latitudes, but thanks to tech we can enjoy their inhabitants and overall one of them: belugas, in the Oceanographic in Valencia (Spain).

    Diving with cetaceans is special. Their behaviours and looks show us that we are much closer to them than to fish. So, if we add to this the possibility of enjoying such an interesting species, belugas, we are in a truly unique dive.

    One of the most spectacular novelties of the Oceanographic in Valencia was the creation of Polar ecosystems, with all the problems it causes. A big dome, which reminds of an immense igloo, was built to accommodate this facility. There us an area dedicated to the Antarctica, whose main stars are Humboldt penguins. There we can see animals walking on earth and swimming in water.

    Other area is dedicated to the Artic, with spectacular walrus and one of the icons of the park: belugas. White whales have a big tank that reminds of the icy landscapes where they live, with caves and corners and more than 3.5 million litters of water.

    Belugas (Delphinaterus leucas) are a species inside the suborder of Odontocetos, it is, whales with teeth and a “melon” (a shape in the forehead). The typical example is the Sperm-whale. It is part of the family Monodontidae, as well as the narwhal.

    Its name comes from the Russian word “byelukha”, “white”, as this is the characteristically colour of the species, as corresponds to an animal living on the ice. When they are born they are dark, then grey when they are young and white when adults.

THEY WEIGHTS ONE TONE OR TONE AND HALF

    They have small, short, and spatula-shaped pectoral fins, but very mobile. They have no dorsal fin, and have a small ridge, not very pronounced. Their tale is big and rounded, from where they receive the impulse to swim. Adults are around 5 m. long, and they can reach 7 m. They are about one tone or a tone and a half.

    They have small, short, and spatula-shaped pectoral fins, but very mobile. They have no dorsal fin, and have a small ridge, not very pronounced. Their tale is big and rounded, from where they receive the impulse to swim. Adults are around 5 m. long, and they can reach 7 m. They are about one tone or a tone and a half.

   They are very sociable animals that live in numerous groups, and they live in all Artic and Sub-artic waters, between latitude 50º and 80º N. There are five main populations: Bering Sea, northern Canada and Greenland, Hudson Bay, Svalbard area and the St. Lawrence River estuary. There is an estimated world population of between 50,000 and 70,000 individuals.

    Unlike other cetaceans, they can alter their facial expressions, changing the shape of their lips and forehead. They can also rotate their head. This is because their cervical vertebrae are not fused, allowing them to differentiate the neck area.

    But maybe their most striking characteristic is the wide range of sounds they have, after what they are also called “sea canaries.” They have a large repertoire of different sounds, clicks, shrieks, chirps, etc. perfectly audible in both the surface and underwater. It is possible they have the widest spectrum of sounds of all cetaceans. It is this one of the main issues of study of this species that is held in the Oceanographic.

The whales of the Oceanographic

    The Oceanographic of Valencia has two specimens of this species, a male, named Kairo and about 16 years old and a young female named Yulka 8 years old. Both specimens are from the aquarium Mar del Plata in Argentina. The male has a spectacular white livery, while the female still has a more greyish colour, according to its younger age.

    Besides the media impact of having this two specimens, these whales became a piece of news because of the pregnancy occurred naturally shortly after being here, which was the first recorded case in Europe. So Yulka gave birth to a baby weighing 90 kg and a 1.20 m. long. Despite the strenuous efforts of the technical equipment of the park (advised by several centres in Canada and U.S.), given the inexperience of the mother who never breastfeed the baby, it finally died between a popular regret.

    The character of both specimens is very different, not by their sex but by their age and “education”. In Yulka is very striking e her sociability and curiosity, perhaps fostered by having grown up surrounded by dolphins, while the male is more sullen.

A dreamy dive

    To write a series of articles about the Oceanographic, this team was lucky to be diving in the tank with the belugas. It was a real luxury, because doing so in their natural environment is always very difficult. Just when entering the facility by the technical side, we hear the cries of whales, especially of Yulka.

    They are really loud and cause us a point of embarrassment, since we are going to dive with animals longer than 5 m

    We are accompanied by their carers Felipe Cabildo and Ivan Soto, whom we thank the wonderful treatment and their help at all times. They begin to give us instructions, starting by moving the animals away from the shore from where we are going to enter.

    They do not scare us with dangerous or complex instructions, but inform us about the behaviour the animals are going to have. Te truth is that, knowing what we experience later, their knowledge is extremely precise. They control the animals perfectly well. We have the opportunity the deep relationship of respect and love that exists between the whales and their carers. It is, undoubtedly, something special. In short, they tell us that the female is going to be more with us, and that we have to treat her as if she was a little dog. It is surprising, but true.

Diving with the belugas

    We dive in the cold waters of the tank (although we are lucky because within the established time cycles, it is about “hot” 14º C) and quickly, after a few minutes of some anxiety, Yulka appears and no longer separates from our company during the whole dive. She is an extremely curious animal and in her some “boring” world, despite the efforts of the staff to remedy it, we are a new attraction, so to have fun with visitors.

    While Kairo swims in the swimming pool without paying attention to us, Yulka feels attraction for everything we have. Previously, we have left or keep all the unnecessary parts of the equipment, not to have something hanging. But what really attracts the attention of the beluga us her reflection on the cameras. She even touches them.

    Because of this, Iván warns us that we apart her with the hand, or even turn our heads in disdain. It seems incredible, but the “trick” works and Yulka goes to the other end of the tank, absolutely upset. We hear her screaming in protest. As it is usually said, if I do not see it, I can believe it.

    Overcome this mismatch she returns to our side, nudging us, playing and repeatedly touches our hair, as if she was our giant hairbrush. It seems incredible the close relationship that can be established with an animal like this one. This curiosity and eagerness to play show their great intelligence.

    The playing time is ending and nothing better than ending a sweet moment, like the ingestion of several sardines. We left the water, among many cries of Yulka, what happens? She is protesting because you are leaving, says Philip. We do not yell, but we are sad too because of leaving these beautiful and amazing animals, in what has been a dive truly to remember.