What Are Beluga Whale Knees?

While beluga whale knees are remarkably visible from above, they’re almost never seen up close. Instead, they are folds in the animal’s fat stores, a coincidence between their falling directions. Looking at the whale’s skeleton, these leg folds resemble visible rails. They are a unique arrangement of fat stores in the ventral region of the animal’s belly. Read on to learn more.

Legs

If you’re wondering whether the beluga whale has legs, you’re not alone. The curious creature lives in the waters of the Arctic Ocean, and the nearby seas. While the whale is found throughout the Arctic, it is especially common in areas such as Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. During the summer, beluga whales are usually seen in shallow coastal waters. However, the mysterious animal’s legs have not been fully explained.

Feeding habits

The beluga whale’s neck and knees are extremely flexible. This allows them to feed on the sea floor and is also facilitated by the strong suction in their mouths. This animal is known to dive as deep as 500 meters to hunt for food. Here are some feeding habits of beluga whales. 1. What they eat: Beluga whales hunt for fish by schooling, so they move closer to the surface before striking. Their teeth are remarkably sharp and are not used for chewing, instead they swallow the fish whole. Some researchers have observed debris in beluga whale stomachs, which they believe to be from the bottom of the ocean.

Diet

The beluga whale is a large marine animal with a fold of fat on its lower body. Its blubber is made of insulating material that accounts for around 40 percent of its body weight. As it swims, this blubber is prominent on the sides of the beluga whale’s body, giving it the appearance of legs. This is an illusion most likely caused by movement.

Dorsal fin

The dorsal fin of a beluga is a distinctive feature of cetaceans, and explains their unusual behavior. This unique fin is made up of collagen and other fibrous connective tissues, and helps the animal stabilize itself in water. While they may seem intimidating at first, beluga whales are known to be very friendly toward humans, and they have even been known to come up to boats or approach people in the water. They are also quite sociable, and you can often see a beluga whale picking up your lost phone or text message if you approach it.

Pectoral flippers

The five-digit pectoral flipper of a beluga whale resembles the fingers on a human hand. Because the beluga has no hind limbs and no backbone, they can swim underwater without being seen. The shortened rod-shaped pelvic bones that make up their pelvic region are located inside the body muscle. During the winter, belugas can be found swimming below ice sheets.

Muscle flap

The blubber-covered pads on the beluga’s knees are a skeletal part that supports the animal’s weight. They extend from the pelvic region to 14 centimeters outward from the sides of its body. They are often mistaken for love handles by humans because they resemble them, but are not actually legs. Here are some facts about beluga whales’ knees:

Lack of knees

The skeleton of a beluga whale is quite unique. Instead of legs, the whale’s pelvic bones function as a sort of rail system. The lack of knees in beluga whales is not surprising, as this species of dolphin is among the most vocal. But the lack of legs has some practical implications as well. For example, a beluga whale’s lack of knees makes it difficult to detect a beluga in the water. Similarly, the lack of hind limbs is a common trait in modern whale dolphins.