Meet the Beluga
Summers in Churchill, Manitoba offer arctic adventurers the spectacular experience of visiting the Beluga Whale.
From June to September, approximately 3,000 of these uniquely white-coloured whales visit the Churchill River basin and approximately 60,000 come into the Hudson Bay area. Not only can you go whale watching but you will also have the chance to get up close and personal to these incredibly friendly creatures. Belugas are curious and social mammals who freely approach us and actively seek out passing water craft in order to watch their human counterparts.
The gentle giants of the sea are friendly, playful, intelligent and curious. They are also blessed with the gift of song--whistling, chirping, clicking and clanging. They can even mimic other sounds earning their title as the most vocal whales in the world.
The Beluga Life
Belugas are highly sociable and while they generally travel in pods of around ten, much like a large human family, they can travel together in hundreds or even thousands during summer months. Each spring they breed in the cooler Hudson Bay waters and migrate to the coastal areas in summer to bear their offspring. But interestingly, their gestational period is 14 months, so breeding in spring means having their babies a year and a half later the following summer. They begin to migrate in mid-June and leave in fall so the best chance to see them is on the Beluga Whale Dream Tour or the Ultimate Arctic Summer Adventure.
The Beluga Mystery
Did you know that Belugas can live up to 30 years? This may be because Belugas have no natural predators other than Orcas and Polar Bears.
Plus they can:
- weigh up to 3000 pounds,
- dive to 1900 feet,
- reach 20 feet in length,
- swim 13 miles an hour
- and they are the only whale with a flexible neck—the better to look up to see you while they pass by your water craft!
Take a Lazy Bear Expedition to the waters around Hudson Bay to view the fun and friendly Beluga Whale. We know where to look, how to get you there and how to ensure you have the most complete viewing experience possible. You can take the two-night “Beluga Whale Dream Tour” in summer and, if you want to see a Polar Bear while you're at it, join the “Ultimate Arctic Summer Adventure.” Come get up close and personal with Lazy Bear Expeditions for a trip of a lifetime.