Beluga whales are known by several common names. Some call them “white whales” for their distinctive white color as adults. Others call them “canaries of the sea” for the diverse chirps, whistles, squeals and clicks they make to communicate. Though their common name can change, it remains constant that beluga whales are essential to arctic ecosystems.
The eight beluga whales at Shedd — Annik, Atlas, Aurek, Beethoven, Bella, Kimalu, Naya and Opus — are ambassadors for their species, helping millions of guests every year form a deeper connection to the aquatic world. Get to know them better before your next visit and learn more about the qualities that make each beluga unique.
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Annik (AH-nik) was born on July 3, 2019, making him the third-youngest beluga at Shedd. He can be identified by a white half-moon marking in front of his blowhole. This young male is still growing, and now measures 10 feet in length and weighs 1,000 pounds.
Annik can often be seen interacting with enrichment items like a string of buoys, which he’ll push and pull with his mouth, flukes or pectoral flippers and rub against his body.
Enrichment provides an animal with mental stimulation or physical activity opportunities and encourages and complements unique behaviors and adaptations. It also gives an animal choice, control and variety in their environment, and is an important component of enhancing overall wellbeing.
Annik has been progressing well in training sessions, learning new vocalizations like a foghorn sound. Belugas use their melon — their round, protruding forehead — to produce and change sounds.
Atlas (AT-luhs) is the second-youngest beluga at Shedd, born to mother Bella on Aug. 21, 2020. While most beluga calves are born tail first – allowing them to unfurl their flukes before the final push and swim to the surface for that all-important first breath – Atlas arrived headfirst. Despite this, he immediately powered himself to the surface. He is Bella’s first offspring and Shedd’s first second-generation beluga. (Bella was also born at Shedd.)
Now, the energetic juvenile is 9.5 feet long and 850 pounds and still growing. Atlas can also be identified by the bright white mark at the base of his tail. He is very playful and interactive with enrichment like “kelp sheets,” long strips or squares of felt-like carwash material.
Aurek (OR-ehk) is the biggest beluga at Shedd. In fact, he's the biggest animal at the aquarium. Born in 2003, the 14-foot, 2,100-pound whale arrived at Shedd in September 2017. Between his size and a distinctive gray smudge across the top of his head, just in front of his blowhole, he should be easy to spot … or hear!
Aurek has a wide range of vocalizations, including one that sounds like a donkey bray. He's very engaged in training sessions, especially with fast-paced and energetic interactions. You may hear him offer squeals and other vocalizations while working with his caretakers.
Beethoven (BAY-toh-ven) is the oldest adult male, born in 1992, and the second largest at Shedd at 14 feet and 1,900 pounds. He’s the whitest of the whales, with just a few gray dots and dashes splashed along his sides like Morse code. The trailing edge of Beethoven’s tail looks ruffled, which helps him stand out from the group.
Like the other belugas, Beethoven can squirt water from his mouth, varying in force from a dribble to a drenching. This behavior is often used to uncover crustaceans buried under the sandy seafloor in the wild. You might see him do this during an Animal Spotlight.
Bella (BEH-la) was born seconds before the aquarium closed for the day on July 17, 2006. Today, she's a mid-sized adult, 11 feet, 11 inches long and weighing 1,100 pounds. To tell her apart from the others in the pod, Bella has a prominent melon, or forehead, and a white spot on her right side. Since she was a calf, Bella has been playful and interactive with her caretakers as well as with the other whales. She is also the mother of Atlas.
Kimalu (KEE-mah-LOO), whose name means “something or someone special” in the Inupiaq language, was born at Shedd on Aug. 27, 2012. A helpful tip to spot her among the group: Look for the dimples on her back, her light gray skin or a white swoosh mark on her lower jaw.
At 10 feet 4 inches and 1,000 pounds, she’s the smallest of the female belugas, but she's still growing. When she was introduced to her little brother, Annik, she quickly paired up with him, practicing skills like allowing him to slipstream with her. This behavior is when a whale calf swims behind an adult and drafts in the current created by the other animal to save energy, similar to how cyclists utilize the wind currents of other bikers in a race.
Naya (NYE-ah), which means “little sister of a male” in an Inuit language, was 3 years old when she arrived at Shedd in 1992. Now, she is the largest female and third-largest beluga, at 12 feet 8 inches and 1,800 pounds. She has rippling rolls of extra blubber, called rails, running the length of her sides, making her easy to identify either underwater or from above on the coastal walkway. Belugas’ thick blubber helps keep them warm in the chilly Arctic and subarctic waters of their native range.
Naya is one of the most playful of the adult females, but she also has a nurturing side. She is the mother to Opus, and has also helped the other females care for their calves, from babysitting while mom takes a break to producing milk to help nurse calves. This kind of care for an unrelated young animal is called alloparenting, and it’s been observed in a number of cetacean species.
Opus (OH-puhs) was born to mother Naya on July 24, 2024. His name, chosen by Shedd members, represents a musical composition or set of compositions usually numbered in the order of its issue, in honor of his father, Beethoven. It also references belugas being the “canaries of the sea” with their unique vocalizations. As the youngest member of the pod, Opus is the darkest gray in color compared to the other belugas.
Beluga whales are born a dark gray, which is thought to help camouflage calves from predators in the murky waters of the rivers and estuaries where they are born. Their skin lightens to a bright white as they age, helping them blend in with snow and ice in an Arctic environment.
As a growing calf, he is meeting important milestones in his development like exploring new spaces, eating solid fish, developing relationships with his caretakers, meeting the other whales in the pod, playing with enrichment and practicing his whistles, chirps and squeaks as his name suggests!
Our Commitment to Care for Beluga Whales
The ability to closely observe and work with the belugas for more than two decades has enabled Shedd experts to gain knowledge about them that is used to better understand and protect beluga whales everywhere, including threatened populations in the Cook Inlet in Alaska.
The animals in the care of accredited aquariums have also contributed to the further understanding of their wild counterparts in the areas of immune function, migration patterns and habits, the effect climate change or industrial activities have on specific populations and more.
Further, because of our in-depth health records and onsite veterinary care for the belugas at Shedd, we can help researchers set baseline data on what a healthy beluga whale looks like and serve as a control group for their research or validate research methods.
Looking Nature in the Eye
The beluga pod at Shedd can regularly be seen spending time in separate habitats. Groupings fluctuate throughout the year, encouraging connections and interactions between different individuals. Or look for members of the pod highlighting their behaviors and adaptations during Animal Spotlights.
The animal care team is continually working to create a wide variety of experiences for the beluga whales, whether that be switching up social groups, varying their high-quality, sustainable diet of fishes like herring, sardines, capelin and squid, or introducing and encouraging new behaviors during training sessions for physical and mental stimulation.
With each visit to see the beluga whales, we hope that they spark your curiosity to know more about the aquatic animal world, and inspire you to take action to better protect and conserve wildlife.