Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) congregate in nearshore waters of the
eastern Chukchi Sea, especially in Kotzebue Sound and Kasegaluk Lagoon, in
June and July. Where they travel after they leave this area was unknown be
fore this study. We live-captured five belugas in Kasegaluk Lagoon and atta
ched satellite-linked depth recorders to them. The belugas, caught between
26 June and 1 July 1998, were all males, ranging in length from 398 to 440
cm. A 310 cm gray beluga accompanied the smallest male. Two tags transmitte
d for only about two weeks, during which time one animal remained in the vi
cinity of Icy Cape, 80 km north of the capture site, and the other traveled
to Point Barrow, about 300 km north. The other three tags operated for 60-
104 days, and those belugas traveled more than 2000 km, reaching 80 degrees
N and 133 degreesW, almost 1100 km north of the Alaska coast. This journey
required them to move through 700 km of more than 90% ice cover. Two of the
whales then moved southward into the Beaufort Sea north and east of Point
Barrow. Two whales later moved to an area north of the Mackenzie River delt
a, where they spent 2-3 weeks before once again heading southwest towards B
arrow.