In the White Sea, belukhas are noted for the vast span of their migrations, with only a small number of the mammals remaining in the same area throughout the year and the rest migrating to the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea in winter

The belukha inhabits waters of different temperatures, ranging from freezing waters in winter to 32°C in summer

Russian waters have three major groups of whales which some zoologists consider to be three different subspecies: namely those inhabiting the White Sea, the Kara Sea and the Far Eastern waters

The belukha is one of the most numerous Arctic marine mammal species. They inhabit the coastal waters of the Arctic, as well as of the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk

The belukhas kept in zoos are trained with the use of special programs for interaction with veterinarians, scientific experiments, shows at aquariums and dolphin therapy

Aquariums and zoos in Russia and elsewhere take about 20 belukhas annually. These animals should be healthy and well adapted to captivity

The belukha whales feed mainly on fish, particularly schooling species such as cod, herring, plaice and salmon species, but they also eat shellfish and cuttlefish. An adult whale consumes near 15 kilograms of food daily