Feeding Behavior. Beluga whales are opportunistic feeders, and are known to prey on a wide variety of animals. They eat octopus, squid, crabs, shrimp, clams, mussels, snails, sandworms, and fish such as capelin, cod, herring, smelt, xxxxxxxx, xxxx, xxxxxxx, xxxxxxx, and xxxxxx (Xxxxx, 1990; Xxxxx, 1986; Xxxxxxxxx, 1966). Cook Inlet Natives also report that CI beluga whales feed on freshwater fish; lingcod, trout, whitefish, northern pike, and grayling (Huntington, 1999), and on tomcod during the spring (Xxx et al., 1984). Xxxxxxx (1989) reported recovering 13 fish tags from the stomach of an adult beluga whale found dead in Turnagain Arm. These salmon had been tagged in the Susitna River, as much as 80 miles upriver of Cook Inlet. In captivity, beluga whales may consume 2.5-3 percent of their body weight daily, or 40-60 pounds. Wild beluga populations, faced with an irregular supply of food, may easily exceed these amounts while feeding on concentrations of eulachon and salmon. Cook Inlet beluga hunters report one whale having nineteen adult king salmon in its stomach (Huntington, 1999). The smelt-like eulachon (also named hooligan and candle fish) is undoubtedly a very important food source for beluga whales in Cook Inlet. Eulachon may contain as much as 21% oil (total lipids) (Xxxxx et al., 1999). These fish enter the upper Inlet in May. Two major spawning migrations of eulachon occur in the Susitna River, in May and July. The early run is estimated at several hundred thousand fish and the later run at several millions (Xxxxxxx, 1989). Stomachs of beluga whales harvested from the Susitna area in spring have been filled with eulachon. Salmon smolt are also an important prey item, as large numbers leave these river systems in spring and summer and are available to the belugas. Pink and chum salmon are most numerous during June and July, and all five species of Pacific salmon are present in the upper Inlet. Interestingly, a 1993 smolt survey of the upper Inlet found juvenile xxxxxxx the second-most abundant fish species collected (Xxxxxxx, 1994). Dense concentrations of prey appear essential to beluga feeding behavior. Hazard (1988) reports belugas were more successful in feeding in rivers where prey were concentrated than in bays where prey were dispersed. Xxxxx et al. (1983) noted that belugas in Bristol Bay feed at the mouth of the Snake River, where salmon runs are smaller than in other rivers in Bristol Bay. However, the mouth of the Snake River is shallower and, hence,...
Feeding Behavior. Beluga whales are opportunistic feeders, and are known to prey on a wide variety of animals. They eat octopus, squid, crabs, shrimp, clams, mussels, snails, sandworms, and fish such as capelin, cod, herring, smelt, flounder, sole, sculpin, xxxxxxx, and xxxxxx (Xxxxx, 1990; Xxxxx, 1986; Xxxxxxxxx, 1966). CI Natives also report that CI beluga whales feed on freshwater fish; lingcod, trout, whitefish, northern pike, and grayling (Huntington, 1999), and on tomcod during the spring (Xxx et al., 1984). Xxxxxxx (1989) reported recovering 13 fish tags from the stomach of an adult beluga whale found dead in Turnagain Arm. These salmon had been tagged in the Susitna River, as much as 80 miles upriver of CI. In captivity, beluga whales may consume 2.5-3 percent of their body weight daily, or 40-60 pounds. Wild beluga populations, faced with an irregular supply of food, may easily exceed these amounts while feeding on concentrations of eulachon and salmon. CI beluga hunters report one whale having nineteen adult king salmon in its stomach (Huntington, 1999). The smelt-like eulachon (also named hooligan and candle fish) is undoubtedly a very important food source for beluga whales in CI. Eulachon may contain as much as 21% oil (total lipids) (Xxxxx et al., 1999). These fish enter the upper Inlet in May. Two major spawning migrations of eulachon occur in the Susitna River, in May and July. The early run is estimated at several hundred thousand fish and the later run at several millions (Xxxxxxx, 1989). Stomachs of beluga whales harvested from the Susitna area in spring have been filled with eulachon. Salmon smolt are also an important prey item, as large numbers leave these river systems in spring and summer and are available to the belugas. Pink and chum salmon are most numerous during June and July, and all five species of Pacific salmon are present in the upper Inlet. Interestingly, a 1993 smolt survey of the upper Inlet found juvenile xxxxxxx the second-most abundant fish species collected (Xxxxxxx, 1994). Dense concentrations of prey appear essential to beluga feeding behavior. Hazard (1988) reports belugas were more successful feeding in rivers where prey were concentrated than in bays where prey were dispersed. Xxxxx et al. (1983) noted that beluga whales in Bristol Bay feed at the mouth of the Snake River, where salmon runs are smaller than in other rivers in Bristol Bay. However, the mouth of the Snake River is shallower and, hence, may concentrate the prey.
