Cook Inlet Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)
Federally Endangered

Photo of a beluga whale The Cook Inlet beluga whale has the smallest population of the five Alaska populations. It is geographically separated from the other four populations. It is believed that this population was never large but once consisted of over 600 individuals. Between 1994 and 1998, the population declined by approximately 50% to 347 belugas. This decline was largely attributed to overharvest by subsistence users.

For general information on Beluga Whale, see the Beluga Whale species profile page.