Skip to content
All articles
  • All articles
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Fundraising
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent bycatch
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Stop whaling
Harbour porpoise. Image: Charlie Phillips/WDC

Speaking up for the little guys – WDC in action

Whales and dolphins face so many dangers. These intelligent beings are crucial for the wellbeing...
Humpback whale fluke in Alaska.

An unforgettable first encounter – observing the whales we work to protect

I have kept a dark secret since joining WDC back in June 2021. Despite my...

WDC in Japan – Part 2: Digital dolphins

Welcome to the second chapter of my incredible journey to build alliances in Japan. As...
Amanda the intern

Meet the 2023 Interns: Amanda Eskridge

We are so excited to welcome Amanda Eskridge, our final Marine Mammal Conservation Intern of...

Making Faces for Food

“If you keep making that face it’ll freeze that way!” Do you think beluga moms use that line on their kids? Probably not, because the moms are making faces, too!  Belugas have very malleable mouths with a cleft upper lip.  These traits are unusual among whales and dolphins, but give belugas their uniquely wide range of “facial expressions,” the ability to pucker their lips, and squirt water with amazing accuracy.

While those skills may seem custom-made for the entertainment of oceanaria visitors, they actually have a very important function for survival in the wild.  Many of the belugas’ various prey items are bottom dwellers, and belugas use their flexible lips and mouths to create suction for feeding.  It’s a shame that the way belugas forage has been twisted by captivity into a stunt intended to amuse spectators.

 

This week, help us keep belugas wild and free by telling Turner Broadcasting (owners of TBS & CNN – where “Blackfish” has recently been seen by millions – among other networks) that you are not amused or entertained by captivity.  We’re going back to Facebook this week (TBS doesn’t provide a general contact email) to tell them: “Turner Broadcasting, you say you’ve been environmentally responsible since your founding – importing wild Russian belugas is NOT environmentally responsible! Say NO to sponsoring the Georgia Aquarium.”

 

Thanks for being part of another action alert – see you next week for your new beluga fun fact!