Worms. They're What's for Dinner.
What’s on YOUR menu today? A whole lot of choices, if you’re a beluga!
As opportunistic feeders, belugas have an extremely variable diet depending on the season and what’s available for them to eat. Since they live in many different habitats during the year, their options change depending on where they are. They eat many kinds of fish, octopuses and squid, crabs, shrimp, sea snails, marine worms, and large zooplankton. In the summer, when they live close to shore in estuaries, bays, and river mouths, they may even chase schools of fish upriver for a tasty meal!
Yum….does this marine worm look tasty to you?
The belugas taken out of the wild and put in tanks will not have this seasonal change in their diet. They don’t form the social hunting groups brought together in the wild, nor will they have the exercise and mental challenge of hunting down their dinner. They will be fed a diet not nearly as variable as what they find in the wild, and food is only available at certain times of the day, when the oceanarium staff allows it.
WDC is asking Georgia-Pacific to meet the needs of beluga societies and withdraw their sponsorship of the Georgia Aquarium. Let’s send them a message! “Georgia-Pacific, you protect your communities – protect beluga communities, too! Say NO to sponsoring the Georgia Aquarium. Wild Russian belugas should NOT be held captive in US tanks!”
Please contact the Georgia Aquarium directly and tell them conservation and education does not mean taking beluga whales from the wild!
Check back soon for more information on how belugas hunt and eat, and for another action alert! Thank you for your support in helping belugas stay wild and free!
