A. Swimming.
1. In general, beluga whales are slow swimmers. They commonly swim about 3 to 9 kph (1.9-5.6 mph). They are, however, capable of sustaining a maximum speed of 22 kph (13.6 mph) for as long as 15 minutes (Nowak, 1991; Ridgway and Harrison, 1981).
2. Belugas can swim forward and backward (Nowak, 1991).
3. Beluga whales often swim at depths barely covering their bodies (Ridgway and Harrison, 1981).
B. Diving.
1. Beluga whales typically don't dive very deep, usually to about 20 m (66 ft.). Belugas are not generally thought of as deep-diving marine mammals, but they are capable of diving to extreme depths. Under experimental conditions a trained beluga whale repeatedly dove to 400 m (1,312 ft.) with ease, and even dove to a depth of 647 m (2,123 ft.) (Nowak, 1991; Ridgway et. al., 1984).
2. A typical dive usually lasts three to five minutes, but belugas can stay submerged for as long as 15 minutes (Nowak, 1991; Ridgway and Harrison, 1981).
3. In......
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