Beluga whales look like chunky, pure white dolphins. Adults are 2.6 to 4.5 m (8.5 to 15 ft) long, with no fin on the back and a round, squishy forehead, says the Canadian status report on belugas. Calves are born grey. Belugas can also nod and turn their heads, which most whales cannot do.
What do beluga whales look like, part by part?
A beluga is built like a thick torpedo that narrows towards the tail. The head is small and round, and the front of it bulges. There is a short beak with a wide mouth, small eyes and no fin on top. Here is each feature, what it looks like and what it is for.
| Feature | What you see | What it does | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colour | Grey at birth, pure white as an adult | Changes with age | COSEWIC |
| Length | 2.6–4.5 m (8.5–15 ft); females about 80% of male length | Males are the bigger sex | COSEWIC |
| Forehead (melon) | Round, soft bulge that changes shape | Focuses and shapes sounds | NOAA Fisheries |
| Back | No dorsal fin, just a tough ridge | Lets them swim easily under ice | NOAA Fisheries |
| Neck | A visible “neck” crease; head turns and nods | Neck bones are not joined together | NOAA Fisheries |
| Teeth | 32–40 small teeth | Grip fish and squid | NOAA Fisheries |
| Blubber | Up to 13 cm (5 in) thick | Keeps them warm | Alaska Department of Fish and Game |
Why are beluga whales white?
They are not white at first. Newborn calves are grey, sometimes with darker blotches, says the COSEWIC report. Young belugas slowly get paler. They turn pure white at, or shortly after, the age when they can breed. NOAA Fisheries says females reach that age at about 6 to 14 years old.
So you can guess a beluga’s age from its colour. A dark grey one is a baby. A pale grey one is a teenager. A bright white one is an adult.
Why white? Many people suggest white skin helps belugas hide among ice floes from killer whales and polar bears, their main predators according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. That idea makes sense, but nobody has tested it directly, so treat it as a good guess.
How big is a beluga whale?
For a whale, a beluga is small. Adults are 2.6 to 4.5 m (8.5 to 15 ft) long, about as long as a family car. Adult females are about 80% as long as males, the COSEWIC report says. A newborn is about 1.5 m (5 ft) long, which is roughly half its mother’s length.
Males also look stockier. When a beluga is well fed, its body gets so round that the head seems to sit on “shoulders”. If you want the numbers on how heavy they get, read our page on how much a beluga whale weighs.
Why do belugas have a round forehead?
The bulge is called the melon. It is a pad of fat, not bone. NOAA Fisheries describes it as a round, flexible melon that focuses and shapes their sounds. Belugas use it to send out clicks and “see” with echoes.
What makes a beluga’s melon special is that it moves. It can look taller, flatter or pushed forward from one moment to the next. Our page on beluga whale echolocation explains how that works.
Just behind the melon is a single blowhole. It is the beluga’s nose. A beluga breathes through it at the surface and closes it tight before going under.
Why don’t beluga whales have a dorsal fin?
Most dolphins and many whales have a fin sticking up from the back. Belugas do not. Instead they have a low, tough ridge along the back. NOAA Fisheries says this ridge lets them swim easily under ice floes.
Think of the Arctic sea in winter. It is often covered with slabs of floating ice with narrow cracks between them. A tall fin could catch on the ice. A flat back slides underneath.
Beluga flippers are short, wide and paddle-shaped, and the tail is broad and flat. They help belugas turn in shallow water and swim slowly. They are not built for speed.
Can beluga whales move their necks?
Yes, and it is one of their oddest features. In most whales and dolphins, the neck bones are joined into one stiff block. In belugas they are not. NOAA Fisheries says this lets belugas nod and move their heads from side to side.
That gives belugas a “neck” you can actually see, as a crease behind the head. It also helps them look around while hunting, without turning the whole body.
Belugas also have a wide range of face shapes. Their lips can pucker and they can change the look of the melon. That makes their faces look far more expressive than those of most whales.
Do beluga whales have teeth?
Yes. Belugas are toothed whales. NOAA Fisheries says they have 16 to 20 teeth in both the upper and the lower jaw, for a total of 32 to 40. The teeth are small and peg-like. Belugas use them to grip fish, not to chew.
The teeth also work like tree rings. Layers build up as the whale ages, and scientists count them to estimate age. NOAA reports a beluga with 80 layers, and says belugas can live up to 90 years.
Why do beluga whales shed their skin?
Belugas moult, which means they shed their old outer skin. In summer they gather in warm, shallow river mouths. There, they rub against rocks and gravel on the bottom. One Arctic site where this happens is Cunningham Inlet in northern Canada, reports National Geographic.
A researcher quoted there calls the rubbing move “the caterpillar”. Scientists suggest that shedding skin may get rid of whale lice, algae and sun-damaged skin. That is still being studied.
Under the skin is a thick layer of fat. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says beluga blubber can be up to 13 cm (5 in) thick. That thick coat makes belugas look soft and plump, and it can fold into creases along the belly.
How can you tell a beluga from other white whales?
Belugas are the only whales that are pure white as adults. Look for three things at once: white skin, no back fin and a round melon. A baby beluga is grey, but it still has the round head and flat back.
Belugas also tilt their heads to look around, and a narrow sonar beam helps them move between the ice, reports a 2021 study of wild belugas in Greenland. If you want to compare with their relatives, see our page on how dolphins are adapted to the sea. And to meet one of the beluga’s predators, read what polar bears eat.
Frequently asked questions
Are beluga whales born white?
No. Beluga calves are born grey, sometimes with darker blotches. They get paler as they grow and turn pure white at, or shortly after, the age when they can breed. For females that is about 6 to 14 years old, according to NOAA Fisheries.
Is a beluga a whale or a dolphin?
A beluga is a small toothed whale. Toothed whales include dolphins and porpoises too, so belugas are close cousins of dolphins. Their nearest relative is the narwhal, another Arctic whale without a back fin.
How long do beluga whales live?
NOAA Fisheries says belugas can live up to 90 years, based on counting growth layers in their teeth. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game gives a lifespan of about 30 years, so a typical beluga lives far less than the record.
Are beluga whales endangered?
Not as a species. The IUCN Red List rates belugas Least Concern (2017). But some groups are in trouble. The Cook Inlet belugas in Alaska are listed as Endangered under the US Endangered Species Act, according to NOAA Fisheries.
Sources
- Government of Canada (COSEWIC). COSEWIC assessment and status report on the beluga whale: species description.
- NOAA Fisheries. Beluga whale species profile.
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Beluga whale species profile.
- National Geographic. See what happens at a 'day spa' for whales.
- PLOS ONE via PubMed Central (2021). Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas in West Greenland (Zahn et al., PLOS ONE, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0257054).
- IUCN SSC Cetacean Specialist Group. Red List status of cetaceans.
Sources checked 15 September 2026.
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