Beluga Buddies: The Preferred Social Network of Belugas in Managed Care

Authors

• Valery Marinelarena, St. Mary's University
• Diamond Garcia, St. Mary's University

Files

Contributor

Hill, Heather (Faculty Mentor); Sea World San Antonio

Digital Publisher

Digital Commons at St. Mary's University

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Keywords

Beluga whales, Behavior, Social networks, Managed Care, Sea World San Antonio

Description

Belugas societies are not fixed  and group composition is everchanging. Group composition can also influence behavior. This study aims to examine the preferred social networks and the role age plays in the behavioral diversity within a group of managed care belugas housed at Sea World San Antonio. Results Supported TYO had a preferred, non-random social network and ATL performing more chinslaps than TYO.

Format

PDF

Size

1 poster

City

San Antonio, Texas

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.