Beluga Whale Pool - Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Taiwan
Belugas drift past the viewing glass on this underwater camera at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Checheng, Pingtung County, at the southern tip of Taiwan. Known locally as 海生館, the museum opened in 2000 inside Kenting National Park and is the country's largest marine research and display facility, holding roughly 24 million litres of seawater across its tanks.
The beluga pool sits at the end of an 82.5 metre underwater tunnel, so the camera looks into the same water visitors walk through. Belugas are active and curious animals and tend to swim continuously, passing the glass, rolling, and surfacing to breathe. The green cast to the water comes from the tank lighting rather than the camera. Taiwan runs eight hours ahead of UTC, worth checking against your own clock since daytime activity differs from the quieter overnight hours.
The museum's belugas came from the Sea of Okhotsk off the Russian coast and arrived in 2002. The species is listed on CITES Appendix II, and the museum states that the animals are held under Taiwan's wildlife conservation permitting for education, research and display.
Did You Know? Belugas are the only whales that can turn their heads. Their neck vertebrae are unfused, unlike other cetaceans, which lets them nod and look sideways. They are also among the most vocal whales alive, producing clicks, whistles and squeals that earned them the old whalers' nickname of sea canaries.
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location_on National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Houwan Road, Pingtung, Taiwan