Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Wild Life

Hudson Bay in Manitoba is massive, pristine, and full of wildlife.

Approximately 50,000 beluga whales spend the summer here to feed and give birth.

The Hudson Bay beluga population comprises 35% of the world’s total wild beluga population.

Belugas are very vocal whales, hence their nickname, ‘canaries of the sea.’

They respond to human singing, so I have spent time singing, “Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea,” which they seem to love. They come like puppies when I sing, and sing back under water, so I do not care how ridiculous I know I appear.

The reason these belugas are curious, friendly, and approach human beings, is because they are not hunted in this area.

They swim upside down under the zodiac checking us out. They bump your hand if you trail it in the water. You can see this one approaching the back of the zodiac for a visit.

My son went snorkeling in a dry suit with them and they came immediately to him and played all around him.

Here is the zodiac we explore the bay in and our guide, Deb, who is the best guide we have ever had.

Cheers to you from the glorious and unspoiled Hudson Bay~

205 thoughts on “Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea~”

      1. That is amazing. I just read an article by MIT researchers (linguists) who study old primates’ languages (yes they do have) compare to human. They can only have at most two items linked in one sentence while we have much more.

        Reply

    1. Laughing…..Thank you. I have reached the point in life where I do not care how ridiculous I appear, except to the whales, and they love the heck out of the song baby beluga 🐬

      Reply

  18. What an amazing experience. That is fantastic that they are playful and love singing. My kind of creature. It is good to hear they are free in Hudson Bay and can play and sing as much as they want. I hope it never changes.

    Reply

    1. How completely wonderful! I am traveling to Oz early next year but not to Cairns darn-it. I will love to visit the minkes. The only time I have seen minke whales was in Antarctica as they come to the boat to check us out and were full of friendly curiosity, but they also were being hunted by Japanese whalers with explosive tipped harpoons.

      Reply

      1. Oh dear, no wonder the minkes are so happy and comfortable around Cairns where people just want to play with them. Exciting to know you will be in Australia next year.

        Reply

  27. What a fabulous experience. I’ve just been reading today scientists have discovered that not only do whales have a sing-a-long as they travel when they meet other whales they swap ‘songs’.

    Reply

    1. Thank you Peter. I like the old building too. Hudson Bay is one of the mostly starkly beautiful places I have seen. This isolated ruin has a story to tell about survival in this harsh habitat. I wonder what the story is.

      Reply

  35. They sound like delightful beings to sing, play, and make friends. It’s nice to know they are appreciated and not hunted in Hudson Bay. I would love to experience them close up like that. Thanks for sharing the joy Cindy!

    Reply

  37. What a fabulous post, Cindy! The Belugas are amazing and you’ve captured them beautifully.
    SING, SING!!!!

    I know it seems unspoiled up there in Hudson Bay, but there are many pollution issues. There are also encroaching global issues. As the polar ice melts, other countries seek the northwest passage.
    They would love a slice of our north, and constantly challenge our sovereignty. So far flag planting by Norway, Denmark, Russia (planted one under the water) & I’m not sure who else, have had their challenges rejected by the UN.
    No one gave a hoot until climate change. Now, everyone has their eyes on the raw resources: animal, vegetable and mineral.
    They who plunder the planet for profit continue their evil for $$$$$$$$$

    Reply

  38. How precious that you sing to these whales and they come right to you, singing along with you! I think I’d simply love that! And your son is so fortunate to have been able to swim right alongside them. What wonderful creatures — and I’m thrilled no one’s hurting them!

    Reply

    1. The whole history of this place, it’s wild animals, and wild people, who live here all the time, and survive, is just utterly unique. The Hudson Bay and it’s wild creatures are doing better than they have since historical hunting was ridiculous and uncontrolled.

      Reply

  48. Goodness. I want you to be my travel planner. This whale expedition looks really stupendous. I can’t imagine seeing all the whales and hearing them. It’s also just a beautiful landscape.

    Reply

    1. So nice of you! Thank you. I love planning trips almost as much as I love taking them. So much to think about before you go, and then you are there, and it is always interesting.

      Reply

    1. Yep. Seemed that way to me too. There were people living here, who live here all season, and have done so all their lives. I envied them. Their life is so different from mine and possibly, actually, better.

      Reply

    1. Whale hunting seems like a big problem to me. If it is an aspect of your historical culture, and you practice it for subsistence, in the arctic regions, more power to you. If you are an advanced society, who won’t give it up because you like the taste of whale, and justify it based on thousands of years of cultural tradition, then I would just say, evolution is supposed to be a forward path to improvement, humans are expected to evolve and change too.

      Reply

      1. That’s a very good way to explain it as a need to improve and evolution. My trip to the Azores showed that with the whale watching and then visits to the whale museum where they landed the giant bodies of these incredible creatures and hacked them to death. The factory ship is an abomination and I was hoping there would be more ‘noise’ to oppose beginning whaling again.

        Reply

        1. Factory ships are abominations. The butchery disgusting. The Azores are so incredible. We saw so many Blue Whales there with their massive spouts. So many whales in those waters and such a thrill to see them. Hunting them makes me feel unwell.

          Reply

  53. So AMAZING, Cindy! I LOVE … “They come like puppies when I sing, and sing back under water, so I do not care how ridiculous I know I appear.” <3

    Reply

    1. Thank you for loving this. <3 This is pretty me in a heartbeat. Put me in front of any wild creature, and everything else goes away, in an instant, except them, and how intently I will watch them. And if I can sing, sound like a moron, and have belugas come to touch my hand, then unfortunately, you are going to hear me sing.

      Reply

    1. Oh sweet lady, I do understand why. The north is just, well, there are no words…. special is overused, but I think in this situation, accurate. Really special and really unique and incredibly wonderful. But obviously so harsh, so stark, so beautiful. It is everything, right there, un-messed up. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be you who grew up there. I think it might be a true gift.

      Reply

    1. I don’t really live a charmed life at all. I just focus on the good stuff. It keeps us all feeling better about the uncharmed aspects of life which we all experience. Love to you Eliza. <3

      Reply

  56. Would love to experience what you did when you sang to the whales and captured them beautifully in photographs. But I might have had to stay on the boat and just watch. They’re mesmerizing, for sure. Love this post!

    Reply

    1. On a zodiac it’s not like being on a boat. You are up close and personal, the whales will come to you, but you are dry and warm-ish. It is the arctic afterall. I think you would love it. I hope you go, and I hope you post about it.

      Reply

  59. I would be belting out the song, too! “Swim so wild and you swim so free. Heaven above and the sea below…”. A child this week told me her grandmother taught her the song over the summer. I MUST show her your photos today. They are almost magical. Thank you, Cindy!

    Reply

    1. Laughing….You know the song!!!! I love it sooo much. My niece belted it out to me when we went to a shark petting pool when she was around 3. She saw the shark and broke into song. It charmed the heck out of me and the memory still does! <3 🐋

      Reply

      1. I’m glad this made you smile and laugh. What a wonderful memory, Cindy! Of course you had to belt out the song when you saw real belugas. Wish I’d been there with you. 😍

        Reply

  63. What a wonderful essay & pictures, Cindy! Particularly liked –

    “They respond to human singing, so I have spent time singing, “Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea,” which they seem to love. They come like puppies when I sing, and sing back under water, so I do not care how ridiculous I know I appear.”

    There’s no ridiculousness there, Cindy – just pure love ❤️

    Reply

  67. Oh, Cindy, that must have been the experience of a lifetime to be so close to these magnificent creatures and have them approach you unafraid. I was so happy to hear that they are not hunted–although there was the implication that they’re hunted in other areas?

    Reply

    1. Hi Liz. Yes this has been an amazing experience and these creatures are so wonderful to interact with. It has left a powerful impression upon all of us who experience it. Wiki gives the best description of the hunting status of beluga whales. Parts of The Hudson Bay population are critically endangered. Check out:
      “The native peoples of North America and Russia have hunted belugas for many centuries. They were also hunted by non-natives during the 19th century and part of the 20th century. Hunting of belugas is not controlled by the International Whaling Commission, and each country has developed its own regulations in different years. Currently some Inuit in Canada and Greenland, Alaska Native groups and Russians are allowed to hunt belugas to consume and sell; aboriginal whaling is excluded from the International Whaling Commission 1986 moratorium on hunting. The numbers have dropped substantially in Russia and Greenland, but not in Alaska and Canada. Other threats include natural predators (polar bears and killer whales), contamination of rivers (as with Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) which bioaccumulate up the food chain) and infectious diseases. The beluga was placed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List in 2008 as being “near threatened”; the subpopulation from the Cook Inlet in Alaska, however, is considered critically endangered and is under the protection of the United States’ Endangered Species Act. Of seven Canadian beluga populations, those inhabiting eastern Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay and the St. Lawrence River are listed as endangered.”

      Reply

  68. Amazing. How wonderful you sang to them. As a child I used to sing to the seals, they love music too and often would follow boats which played music between the islands. xxx

    Reply

  73. This was fascinating Cindy! Where we go in winter to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, there are whales we can see from our beach daily. Apparently that part of the bay in the Pacific is where they come to birth in winter where they are safe. So beautiful. <3

    Reply

      1. Oh yes! Lots of tail flapping! I can’t wait to see them again this coming winter. Sadly, I just couldn’t get them in photos from my beach view, they were too quick for me. lol 😉

        Reply

  74. Bonjour ou bonsoir mon Ami, Amie CINDY
    https://i.postimg.cc/jSLcv716/journ-e-ensoleill.gif

    Je regarde souvent
    En ouvrant une fenêtre, que ce soit au lever ou au coucher du soleil
    Si le matin afin si une belle journée s’annonce
    Et Le soir en admirant le ciel étoilé
    Mais tiens ce matin
    J’ai une petite pensée pour vous tous

    Ceux qui peuvent lire mon petit message
    Je leur dédies une belle semaine ensoleillé
    Pour le soir une belle nuit de sommeil
    Prenez bien soin de vous

    Bisous. Bernard

    Reply

  76. I was out of the blog for a while and I had lost your magnificent photos. It is a pleasure to enjoy the trip through your blog. Your adventure is very interesting and without a doubt makes us live it with your chronicle and your photographs.

    Reply

  77. Bet that is music to their ears to hear you sing along with them. Incredible experience for you I’m sure to see them in their own habitat environment.

    Reply

  79. I agree that it’s adorable that when you sing to them, they answer. If I sang to them, they would leave the country, 🙂 Many people don’t realize that everything has feelings, everything. Even plants respond to our loving words to them. I am intrigued by these whales that I knew nothing about. Thank you so much for the beautiful photos and all the information. That’s why I keep blogging, I come here to learn as well as to try and entertain a bit. 😉

    Reply

  80. Incredible, Cindy.
    Cheers to you from Columbia, South Carolina – where we have neither whales nor polar bears!! The Hudson Bay looks like we haven’t had enough time to spoil the wildlife yet, thank goodness.

    Reply

Leave a Reply