Sex-Specific Social Affiliation in Captive Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas)

The current study investigated the social affiliations of 21 captive beluga whales housed in two large social groups at a facility in North America. The results revealed that adult male belugas were found in the proximity of other adult males seven times more often than they were found in the proximity of females. By contrast, adult female belugas were almost always found alone. These findings suggest that the male-male associations stem from internally motivated social preferences rather than from ecological constraints or migratory tendencies.