You can be an adventurer - got a checkbook? Apr 20, 2008
After a charter flight (included) from Helsinki to Murmansk, Russia, passengers board a nuclear-powered icebreaker and along the way see archipelagos populated by polar bears, walruses, arctic fox, seals, seabirds, and beluga whales. Once at the pole, you can walk around the world in less than a minute. (Boston Globe)
Use your cellphone to get aquarium exhibit info Apr 18, 2008
Instead of using the more traditional headphones and a taped recording as a guide, as at many attractions, visitors to the aquarium dial a number on their cellphones if they want to know more about, say, beluga whales or otters. Each call lasts about one minute. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Self harm high at women's prison Apr 15, 2008
Freediving with beluga whales. Protests mar torch parade. (BBC News)
New guidance given on autism care Apr 12, 2008
Page last updated at 12:44 GMT, Wednesday, 2 April 2008 13:44 UK. The public health minister has announced new guidelines on autism. (Yahoo News -- Autism)
Homework timeBank bosses seek to learn the lessons of the credit crunch Apr 12, 2008
" The IIF plans to publish a final report on best market practices, leading to the establishment of a code of conduct, this summer. However, by then, the markets could be a facing a whole series of different problems. Bookmark with: LATEST NEWS BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS HAVE YOUR SAY RELATED INTERNET LINKS The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites E-MAILED The garage where it all began Week in pictures: 5-11 April Teachers 'hit by credit crunch' Country profile: Uganda... (BBC News -- Business)
New warning over mortgage lending Apr 12, 2008
Page last updated at 15:27 GMT, Friday, 11 April 2008 16:27 UK. Several lenders have yet to decide whether to pass on base rate cuts. (BBC News -- Business)
Freediver swims with beluga whales Apr 11, 2008
Freediving with beluga whales ... Advertisement A freediver has swam closely with beluga whales, captured on film by photographer Dan Burton. (BBC News -- Science)
Proms go uptown Mar 25, 2008
What makes this place unique: Ballroom faces whale sharks and beluga whales. Cost: $5,250 to book the space but requires a minimum $25,000 food and beverage tab. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Does Alaska need a $700 million port? Mar 24, 2008
Some biologists fear the project could harm salmon and beluga whales ... Biologists worry the project may hurt beluga whales and salmon from Ship Creek and Mat-Su streams ... Beyond that, noise from port construction could threaten the declining population of Cook Inlet beluga whales, biologists say. (Anchorage Daily News)
Letters to the editor (3/9/08) Mar 10, 2008
Salmon, beluga whales, wildlife and humans will be greatly impacted. Dust will not only cover Tyonek, Beluga and the west side; it will drift over the duck flats, Susitna drainage, Cook Inlet and Anchorage. (Anchorage Daily News)
Playground Listings Feb 15, 2008
bed-down in front of the beluga whales and hot breakfast. Vancouver Aquarium, Stanley Park, Feb. 16, $120, 604-659-3552. (Vancouver Sun)
Atlanta reality show update Feb 12, 2008
Glavine posed for photos with fans and played others in a game of pool, which took place within 10 yards of the circling Beluga whales. This was the 16th annual event for Glavine. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Lease sales face legal battle Feb 2, 2008
They say the federal government has ignored changing conditions in the Arctic Ocean, including record low summer sea ice last year, that already stress polar bears, walrus, beluga whales, gray whales and seals. "The Chukchi Sea is an ecologically rich frontier environment, and it is changing rapidly due to global warming," said Stan Senner, Audubon Alaska executive director. (Anchorage Daily News)
Political science Jan 28, 2008
It's not like the good old days chasing rhinos, climbing into bear dens and wrestling beluga whales in shallow water. Click to enlarge. (Anchorage Daily News)
Anchorage port brings in cargo of federal cash, assistance Jan 26, 2008
The permits, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are allowing the port to create 135 acres of new land along the waterfront by emptying truckloads of dirt and gravel into an area used by salmon and a diminishing population of beluga whales. The whales are up for consideration on the endangered species list in April. (Juneau Empire)
Oil auction off Alaska riles activists Jan 7, 2008
That nearshore buffer is used by bowhead and beluga whales, other marine mammals, and marine birds migrating north in the spring, Luthi said, as well as subsistence hunters from coastal villages. Cummings said the agency used inadequate standards for assessing the effect of sound from exploration seismic and drilling activity. (MSNBC -- Environment)
Feds OK oil, gas development in Chukchi Sea Jan 3, 2008
That buffer includes a nearshore "polynya" through which bowhead and beluga whales, other marine mammals, and marine birds migrate north in the spring, and in which local communities subsistence hunt. Two sales have been held in the Chukchi Sea Planning Area previously in 1988 and 1991. (Anchorage Daily News)
Why 2008 will be the year of the polar bear Dec 29, 2007
But being in Churchill, first to see beluga whales and now the bears, also has firmed up my relationship with the natural world and alerted me to important issues affecting it. When I arrived last month, with the assistance of Polar Bears International, the animals we imagine hunting seals on floes were still waiting on shore. (Globe and Mail)
Animal activists' anger after aquarium puts Santa hats on whales... Dec 19, 2007
It's a scene that brings laughter and cheers from visitors to a Japanese aquarium - two white beluga whales wearing Santa hats ... The beluga whales have been fitted out with the cute Santa hats to entertain the crowds at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise on Yokohama Island ... Beluga whales have been fitted out with the Santa hats in a bid to draw in the Christmas crowds at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise on Yokohama Island, Japan. (The Drudge Report)
Belugas making a comeback? Dec 19, 2007
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The number of beluga whales swimming in Cook Inlet appears to be increasing, but biologists say it's too soon to know whether the winsome white whales are finally making a comeback ... Hobbs said the long view shows that this year's estimate of 375 beluga whales is about what it was in 1999. (MSNBC -- Environment)
POLAR BEARS 'NOT AT THREAT FROM GLOBAL WARMING'... Dec 8, 2007
He took an icy dip with mystical white beluga whales and marvelled at the most breathtaking light show on Earth: the Aurora Borealis. Inevitably, after studying the bears for 80 days and speaking to the people who live among them, he formed his own view about "the disappearing polar bear" controversy. (The Drudge Report)
Early findings of beluga whale's death at US aquarium inconclusive Dec 4, 2007
Marina was the second-oldest of four beluga whales at the aquarium. Marina was among three beluga whales that were transferred in November 2005 from Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium. (International Herald Tribune)
Ill beluga whale at US aquarium dies Dec 2, 2007
Marina was the second-oldest of four beluga whales at the aquarium ... The three other beluga whales at the Georgia Aquarium Nico, Maris and Natasha are eating normally, the aquarium said. (International Herald Tribune)
All Aboard! The Polar Express Experience Rolls Into SeaWorld Nov 28, 2007
The journey continues as guests also encounter other inhabitants of the North Pole -- the animals themselves -- including graceful beluga whales, powerful polar bears and giant walruses. In addition to this stellar holiday attraction, SeaWorld also offers an array of festive shows and seasonal additions. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Polar Express debuts at SeaWorld on Friday Nov 20, 2007
Wild Arctic also serves as SeaWorld's exhibit of polar bears, beluga whales, walruses and other Arctic animals. They will remain part of the post-ride show, and will still be available for people to view separately if they choose to skip the ride. (Orlando Sentinel -- Business)
Webster 7th Grader is an 'Aqua Kid' Nov 14, 2007
James has been traveling around the country, getting up close and personal with beluga whales, sea turtles and sharks. "We're trying to get to the kids, teach them about how wonderful animals are no matter if they're sharks, alligators, they all have a purpose in life and we should respect them," said James. (R News)
Mat-Su's ferry may precede its dock Nov 13, 2007
Ferry activity could deter salmon and beluga whales at the mouth of Ship Creek, one of the busiest salmon fisheries in the state. "We're looking at a 600-foot trestle in the mouth of Ship Creek. Ship Creek is vital to Anchorage. A trestle extending out to the mouth of Ship Creek is simply not acceptable," Michael said. (Anchorage Daily News)
High-speed ferry plan hits snag Nov 11, 2007
The Alaska Center for the Environment opposes siting the ferry at Ship Creek because it could pose as an impediment to the movement of beluga whales. The Northern District Set Netters Association of Cook Inlet also supports moving the ferry terminal to the north side of the creek. (Wasilla Frontiersman, AK)
* Risky child stunts in China draw attention, criticism Oct 28, 2007
Beluga whales look like dolphins but have flat noses and a big forehead. Xiao Qiang, who is six years old, is 3m long and weighs 450kg. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
4-year-old boy swims with beluga whale, latest extreme feat by child athlete in China Oct 27, 2007
"That's the dream, I'm working hard here to achieve it ... I think my dream will come true,'' she told AP Television News. Huang Yan, who goes by the nickname Yang Yang, has been going to the Polar Ocean World Aquarium in his hometown of Qingdao, an eastern Chinese coastal city, for more than four months to swim with Xiao Qiang. He began swimming before he was even a year old and fell in love with the whale after seeing him perform in a show at the aquarium. Beluga whales look like dolphins but... (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
Arctic Q&AYour queries on the Northwest Passage answered Oct 16, 2007
This vast array has included the usual species expected for the Arctic such as Arctic foxes, seals, beluga whales, northern fulmars, and those organisms that inhabit the sea floor like brittle stars, worms, bivalves and some of the lesser known sea spiders; one of which has a leg-span of larger than 10 inches. We have also collected various zooplankton and microalgae, but these await further inspection back in the laboratory before we are able to confirm whether we have discovered any new... (BBC News -- Science)
North of the Arctic Circle - an odd sort of bustle Oct 13, 2007
Yet nature looms large: thick forest inland, treeless tundra along the coast and riches of the Barents Sea, from catches of Atlantic salmon to encounters with beluga whales. To travel here in the endless light of high summer is to shift between extremes: from modern city streets in Vadso to an abandoned sod-covered cottage by the sea in Hamningberg, from the solitude of tundra at Vardo's edge to a gas station parking lot on a Kirkenes traffic circle. (International Herald Tribune)
Prowling in Atlanta Oct 4, 2007
I discovered just how relaxing it is to watch fish, from huge white beluga whales to schools of tiny colorful tropical fish. But the best part was going through one exhibition called Ocean Voyager. (DeWitt Era-Enterprise, AR)
Couple escape to toast 'perfect wedding' Sep 4, 2007
They sat on rocks overlooking the inlet and watched beluga whales and eagles. "I thought, here's my outdoorsy guy," Crystal said. (Anchorage Daily News)
North Slope Borough has cause to oppose Beaufort drilling Sep 4, 2007
They came to similar conclusions about the risks of excessive noise to beluga whales, seals and other species in the area. None of these scientific concerns showed up in the agency's final document. (Anchorage Daily News)
Tailing the whales Sep 2, 2007
"Our captain turned to join three other inflatables following a humpback whale at the requisite 200-meter distance. Obligingly, the whale turned back toward the boats, swimming along the surface for excruciating minutes, and then arched high out of the water, presenting its flukes before diving. Our captain stepped out of his cockpit and took a small bow.We applauded his whale-seeking prowess but spotting cetaceans is often a matter of luck. Radar and sonar are forbidden because they interfere... (Boston Globe)
Southcentral fishing report Aug 31, 2007
Watch for beluga whales offshore on rising tides. KENAI PENINSULA. (Anchorage Daily News)
Infotainment Aug 23, 2007
Happy Bubble RingsHamada: Beluga whales release Happy Bubble Rings as they perform at Shimane Aquarium AUQAS. The bubble rings are formed when air bubbles are blown into the water by the caretaker and inhaled through the whales blowholes and then released through their mouths. ap. (Daily Times, Pakistan)
Mystic Aquarium in Conn., offers some personal time with beluga whales Aug 22, 2007
offers some personal time with beluga whales - ExploreNewEngland ... Aquarium offers some personal time with beluga whales ... Visitors can get up close -- and even touch -- beluga whales at the the Mystic Aquarium tute for Exploration. (Boston Globe)
A slice of heaven Aug 22, 2007
The Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration (55 Coogan Blvd., 860-572-5955, ), an important educational and research facility, has beluga whales, northern fur seals, penguins, sharks, rays, and sea lions that will captivate both kids and adults. Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea (75 Greenmanville Ave., 860-572-5315, ) is a living history museum with historic sailing vessels, a working preservation shipyard, and 17 acres of exhibits depicting 19th-century coastal life in New... (Boston Globe)
Shell's rocky return Aug 20, 2007
The borough and the whalers worry that noise from seismic testing, the drilling ships and icebreakers that escort and protect the rigs will drive bowhead and beluga whales off their normal migratory paths and farther to sea. If this happens, the already perilous whale hunts will become even more dangerous for crews forced to range farther offshore in small aluminum or sealskin boats to find whales, say lawyers for the borough and whalers. (Anchorage Daily News)
R.I. man charged after tossing liquid into aquarium tank Aug 17, 2007
By Ryan Gainor - The Sun Staff MYSTIC All major exhibits where guests could have contact with water at the Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration were closed for an hour and 45 minutes Wednesday, after a staff member saw an East Providence man dump liquid into a tank housing beluga whales. Share your thoughts on the above article. (Westerly Sun, RI)
Port of Anchorage expansion receives federal approval Aug 16, 2007
Biologists have raised questions about the design's effect on migrating salmon and beluga whales. Engineers have been concerned about the area's extreme tides and the risk of earthquakes. (Anchorage Daily News)
Haz-mat team probes EP home after incident at Conn. aquarium Aug 16, 2007
Gray said the aquarium had done its own testing of the 750,000-gallon whale tank immediately after the incident occurred and found that it posed no danger to the three Beluga whales who reside in it. "The whales are all fine, thankfully," said Gray. (Pawtucket Times, RI)
BREAKING NEWS: Aquarium closes briefly after liquid scare Aug 16, 2007
By Ryan Gainor - The Sun Staff MYSTIC All major exhibits where visitors could come in contact with water at the Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration were closed for nearly two hours today, after staffers observed an East Providence man dump a liquid into the tank housing beluga whales. The liquid was determined by hazardous material crews called to the scene to be a combination of baking soda and flux used in soldering, which is a non-toxic combination and did not pose a threat to the... (Westerly Sun, RI)
Borough cautious about beluga protection Aug 15, 2007
PALMER - More study is needed before Cook Inlet beluga whales are added to the nations list of endangered species, Matanuska-Susitna Borough leaders say ... Cook Inlet beluga whales are white with short beaks and typically eat salmon, herring, capelin, shrimp, Arctic cod, flounder and crab. (Anchorage Daily News)
Beluga bounty in the Arctic Aug 14, 2007
Dean Lukin, Junie Nelson, Bob Nelson and Chris Stein butcher beluga whales caught in Kotzebue last month ... Over the past 20 years, the Inupiat of the Northwest Arctic had come to terms with the fact that they might never be able to hunt beluga whales as they and their ancestors had in the past ... To sustain a healthy population of beluga whales, no more than 6 percent may be harvested each year, according to Frost and Goodwin. (Anchorage Daily News)
Killing Beluga whales sparks a controversy Aug 14, 2007
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Over the past 20 years, the Inupiat of the Northwest Arctic had come to terms with the fact that they might never be able to hunt beluga whales as they and their ancestors had in the past. And they could only speculate about what had happened to one of their main subsistence food sources, which in previous times would frequent local shores with the preciseness of a clock. (Scripps Howard News Wire)
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE NEWS BUDGET Aug 14, 2007
BELUGAWHALES (Ben-Yosef, Anchorage Daily News) -- ANCHORAGE, Alaska: The mysterious appearance of hundreds of beluga whales in the Northwest Arctic sparks a debate among the Inupiat. 700. (Scripps Howard News Wire)
Letters to the Editor Aug 11, 2007
When all the available information -- scientific and otherwise -- strongly indicates that Cook Inlet's beluga whales deserve the additional protections afforded by an endangered status, why does Anchorage's mayor so strongly assert that "We do not believe our community is affecting beluga whales". For one thing, our city's shoreline is hardly "unchanged from a century ago." What about the port. (Anchorage Daily News)
Beluga whales spotted again at northern NWT lakes Aug 10, 2007
Beluga whales spotted again at northern N.W.T. lakes ... Beluga whales spotted again at northern N.W.T. lakes ... For the second year in a row, hunters near Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., have found beluga whales in a chain of lakes east of the community. (CBC North)
Beluga whales in Arctic on thin ice? Aug 7, 2007
Beluga whales in Arctic on thin ice ... Aug. 3: Scientists in Russia believe Solovetsky Island should be a protected area for the beluga whales that return there every year ... BOLSHOI SOLOVETSKY ISLAND - Summer doesn't last long on the edge of the Arctic circle, but on the remote Solovetsky Island on Russia's White Sea it marks the remarkable return every year of Beluga whales just meters from the shore. (MSNBC -- Environment)
Up Close in the Arctic, Beluga Whales Under Threat Aug 6, 2007
BOLSHOI SOLOVETSKY ISLAND - Summer doesn't last long on the edge of the Arctic circle, but on the remote Solovetsky Island on Russia's White Sea it marks the remarkable return every year of Beluga whales just metres from the shore ... "The greatest dangers for beluga whales are oil and gas - energy development, marine traffic and even eco-tourism," said Dr Roman Belikov, of the marine mammal group at the Institute of Oceanology in the Russian Academy of Sciences. (Planet Ark, United States)
Proposed coal mine across Cook Inlet draws protesters Jul 31, 2007
Beluga whales, recommended for a listing as endangered in April, swim off the coast. Fishermen with setnet permits fear mining will affect their catch. (Anchorage Daily News)
Where in the world have you been? Jul 30, 2007
The facility houses three whale sharks (the only aquarium to house them in the United States), four beluga whales, many types of fish and touch tanks as well as a walk-through viewing tube in the Ocean Voyager exhibit. The Ocean Voyager is the largest tank in the building and holds 6. (Orangeburg Times and Democrat, SC)
Cook Inlet White beluga whales' gray future Jul 22, 2007
The National Marine Fisheries Service held the second in a series of four public hearings on a federal proposal to list Cook Inlet's beluga whales as an endangered species in Anchorage on Friday ... A. Federal scientists say Cook Inlet's beluga whales are a unique population whose population has dwindled from an estimated 1,300 three decades ago to about 300 today. (Anchorage Daily News)
Pollution risks to people slip through net in tests on fish Jul 13, 2007
He confirmed that these were present in samples from a wide range of organisms in the Arctic, including beluga whales. David Santillo, a toxicologist at the Greenpeace research laboratory at Exeter University, said that the results were not surprising. (Guardian Unlimited)
Bears build up what fish flush out Jul 13, 2007
Studying more than a dozen animals, including ducks, beluga whales and polar bears, they fingered several compounds that regulators have overlooked because they can escape into water, but not air ... The Inuit, who hunt marine mammals such as Beluga whales, and are known to contain high levels of PCBs, are especially vulnerable to biomagnified pollutants, the researchers believe. (Nature News Service)
Point Defiance Park Jul 7, 2007
Watch as the beluga whales swim, the walrus bellow and the polar bears play. Sumatran tigers, reindeer and artic fox also call the zoo their habitat. (Suite101.com)
Alleged family killers boasted of becoming living legends Jul 1, 2007
There will be no beluga whales at the Calgary Zoo in the foreseeable future, after. . (Canada.com)
Fly like a seagull Jun 29, 2007
Sheep-spotting along the Chugach Mountain Range, searching for beluga whales over the Turnagain Inlet, greater Anchorage. Rust's Flying Service, 800/544-2299. (CNN -- Travel)
Frontage road would encroach on more than just property Jun 18, 2007
Being Alaskans, folks weren't happy to be told to move signs that, in some cases, have been around for decades and are as much a part of the Seward Highway scenery as Dall sheep and beluga whales. "I guess I have to get some duct tape and tape myself to my sign," Mary Lou Redmond said, only half joking. (Anchorage Daily News)
Aquariums face same problems Jun 18, 2007
The 75-year-old Shedd Aquarium, which sits on the banks of Lake Michigan, created headlines in 1999 when one of its beluga whales, Immiayuk, died from a blood-borne bacterial infection six months after giving birth to a calf ... "If we have a beluga here for 25 years, and it dies, our critics say that shows we shouldn't have had beluga whales.". (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
LETTERS: Immigration debate Jun 17, 2007
Then I realized that the tanks, no matter how large, are not the ideal environment for the whale sharks and beluga whales ... Same for the beluga whales. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
Who regulates facilities? Jun 15, 2007
The Georgia Aquarium, for example, has an Agriculture Department license to display beluga whales, sea lions, otters and other warm-blooded creatures. The document does not include penguins, also on display; the aquarium applied to Fish ife to import those birds from the Lisbon (Portugal) Zoo. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
