Each summer, explore.org offers a live feed of the underwater world of dolphin-like beluga whales, a popular seasonal visitor at the estuary of the Churchill River in Manitoba, Canada.
Although Arctic sea ice is very important to beluga whales, because they are highly adapted to life in and around ice, we see them in the Churchill River during the ice-free summer.
One hypothesis explains why there are thousands of beluga whales in the rivers of Hudson Bay during the summer because the ice cover provides them with protection from killer whales, and is the base of their food chain, as beluga whales depend on algae, zooplankton and fish that are part of the Arctic ecosystem. Northern.
What is the Beluga Pets project?
And if you are passionate about beluga whales, you can deal with them virtually, either by collecting footage from the beluga cam and the "Explore.org" website during the months of July and August of each year.
You can also help classify the images in the Beluga Bits project, including determining the orientation of the beluga (for example, can you see its underside?), the visible parts of the beluga, as well as marking them.
The Beluga Pets project has grown since its founding in 2016 in collaboration with the Assiniboine Park Zoo into a citizen science project based on videos from the beluga camera.
This collaborative research project provides viewers with the opportunity to actively participate in the classification and definition of the beluga, and as of this writing has over 22,000 registered participants who have completed nearly 5 million classifications.
What is Explorer?
Explore is a multimedia organization of world leaders who has dedicated her life to exploring a wide range of topics, including animal rights, health and human services, environmental poverty, education and spirituality.
According to explore.org, founder Charles Annenberg Weingarten explained what their work in the organization is, saying, “At Explorer, we are archivers.” He added, “We strive to produce films that allow viewers to join us on our journey, while we go to the site and experience what happens It's as if the viewers are traveling with the team."
Explorer's growing library of more than 250 original films and 30,000 photographs from around the world is shown at film festivals, on more than 100 public channels, and on many other sites including explore.org. and "Snag Films", "Hulu" and "TakePart".
Are beluga whales affected by climate change?
Dr. Stephen Petersen of the Assiniboine Park Zoo explained that beluga whales are a species that has adapted to the Arctic, but if the climate changes there unusually, they will face an increased threat.
"We also know that the beluga is found as far south as Churchill in places like the Saint Lawrence River (eastern Canada), and is on the endangered species list, but we are not sure how much this relates to climate or how much it is due to other human activities, and we are also We suspect that due to a warming climate, the beluga will face increased threats."