{"id":443646,"date":"2025-06-05T16:25:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T14:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendofthesea.org\/?p=443646"},"modified":"2025-06-06T10:18:01","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T08:18:01","slug":"the-wsf-launches-the-save-the-belugas-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friendofthesea.org\/ar\/the-wsf-launches-the-save-the-belugas-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"The World Sustainability Foundation\u00a0launches the “Save the Belugas” campaign to protect the\u00a0white whales of the Arctic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The\u00a0World Sustainability Foundation<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(WSF) is announcing the launch of the international “Save the Belugas” campaign<\/span><\/a>. The campaign aims to raise public awareness and promote concrete actions to protect beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas<\/i>), a flagship species of Arctic ecosystems.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although commonly called whales, belugas are actually more closely related to dolphins. They are also known as “sea canaries” due to their high-pitched and varied vocalisations, and “white whales” because of their distinctive colouration that makes them unmistakable. Characterised by a rounded head \u2013 known as a “melon” \u2013 which acts as an organ for echolocation, belugas have an extraordinary adaptability to the Arctic environment, thanks to the absence of a dorsal fin that allows them to swim easily under the ice. They can reach a length of 5.5 metres and a weight of 1.6 tonnes. Belugas are brilliant social creatures and live in social groups of around ten individuals. Still, they can form aggregations of hundreds of individuals in estuaries and shallow coastal areas in summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The threats facing belugas<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

For centuries, indigenous populations such as the Inuit have hunted belugas sustainably, according to their ancient cultural traditions. However, today, the species is seriously threatened by far more serious causes:<\/span><\/p>\n