Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea~

Sep4

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~

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

    • 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.

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      • 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.

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    • Thank you for loving this. ❤ 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.

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    • 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.

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  9. 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!

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  13. 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 ❤️

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  17. 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?

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    • 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.”

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  23. 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. ❤

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  24. Bonjour ou bonsoir mon Ami, Amie CINDY

    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

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  26. 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.

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  29. 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. 😉

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