Beluga Whale In Tokyo Aquarium Cools Down Hot Visitors With Water Spray

Rhodi Lee, Tech Times 23 July 2015, 05:07 am

It's sweltering hot in Japan with temperatures climbing more than 93 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, a day after the end of the rainy season.

Being outdoors with plenty of other people on a hot day can be very uncomfortable but people visiting Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama received an unexpected relief from the scorching hot weather from a beluga whale.

The crowd was gathered to watch a display at the aquarium when the whale spit out water following a zookeeper's sign. The whale popped out of the water and hosed down visitors with water coming from its mouth giving them a surprising relief from the hot weather.

"It felt good," said 8-year old Seiei Kubota of his refreshing experience.

Those who want to have the same experience can enjoy the water splashing event at the facility until the end of August. Entrance to the facility costs 3,000 yen for adults, 1,750 for school age children and 850 yen for children four years old and older.

The whale's antic was caught on camera and has since then been shared on social media with some people finding amusement in what appeared to be the marine animal's abs.

Belugas are among the cetaceans that are popularly kept in captivity in wildlife parks and aquarium in Europe, Asia and North America. The marine animal is popular with the public because of its color and expression. In the wild, these cetaceans regularly form small pods consist of two to 25 individuals. The average number of members of these pods is 10.

Also known as the white whale, sea canary and melonhead, the marine mammal is adapted to Arctic life and thus has physiological and anatomical characteristics that make it different from other cetaceans.

It is characterized by an all-white color, a distinctive protuberance at the front of its head and the absence of a dorsal fin. The size of the beluga's body is between that of a true whale and a dolphin with males reaching up to 5.5 meters in length and weighing up to 1,600 kg.

Belugas have been hunted for many centuries. The species are also threatened by infectious disease, river contaminations and natural predators such as killer whales and polar bears. In 2008, the animal was placed on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being near threatened.