Beluga Whales Essay

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Beluga Whale CAUSES of the issue. Beluga Whales are in ‘Near threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The reasons why are predators, hunting by humans, and environmental hazards. 1. Predators: Killer whales and polar bears prey on beluga whale adults and babies. 2. Hunting by humans: a. Since ancient times, the original Canadian, Alaskan, and Russian have hunted beluga whales for meat, blubber, and skin. People used to use only tanned beluga skin as leather because it was only leather that they can use. b. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Europeans and Americans hunted beluga whales for several reasons: using the meat and blubber, beluga whales’ oil to lubricate watches, machinery and illuminate lighthouses. According to the data, from 1868 to 1911, Scottish and American whalers caught more than 20,000 beluga whales in Lancaster Sound and Davis Strait. c. In the 1930s, beluga whales had been killed along the St. Lawrence River by fishermen because they thought whales destroy the fishing industry. d. Arctic natives still have hunted belugas for food and other raw materials. It is important for their culture, but they have been killing belugas too much about 200 to 550 in Alaska and about 1,000 in Canada. 3. Environmental Hazards a. In the St. Lawrence River, lots of industry has resulted in high levels of toxic chemical such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and heavy metals. b. Because these toxins affect not only one specie but also all of species that are interconnected by food chain. c. These pollution decline beluga’s immune system, get disease easily that linked to low birth rates of belugas which have lived in the St. Lawrence River. d. Some oil explorations such as BP oil spill destroy belugas’ habitats, too. EFFECTS of the issue. Because of these predators, humans,

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