PROTECTION STATUS: Endangered
YEAR PLACED ON LIST: 2008
CRITICAL HABITAT: 3,013 square miles of critical habitat in upper Cook Inlet designated in 2011
RECOVERY PLAN: 2017
RANGE: Five distinct beluga populations are recognized in Alaska, including the Cook Inlet population, which doesn't migrate and is separated from the other four by the Alaska Peninsula
THREATS: Industrial development, pollution, sewage discharge, oil and gas development, gillnets, ship traffic, sonar devices, global warming, and underwater seismic blasting
POPULATION TREND: Three hundred to 400 whales likely remain today.