I've been singing the "Baby Beluga" Raffi song since Sweet Potato was a wee sprout, but I'd never seen a real Beluga until this weekend.R and I took Buckaroo to the Mystic Aquarium where the belugas are plentiful. Here are a few things I learned about them:
Belugas like to hang out in shallow water, which is troublesome for them because of the stinky pollution. It causes them cancer.
Beluga caviar does not come from the whale; it comes from a sturgeon.
The babies are usually gray when they're born.
Their main predator is the polar bear, who attacks when the belugas are trapped between floes.
It's a tough life for a whale.
We stood at the deck and watched the whales for a long time while Buckaroo sang, "Baby Booga" over and over. They're very friendly and chatty, dolphinesque.
And thinking of friendly, R and I have decided that Buckaroo is here to teach us a lesson in social skills. The boy is gregarious. He says "Hi!" to everyone who walks past, and he'll climb into the lap of any sitting mama or tug the pants of any daddy. He's been known to hug unsuspecting strangers. We meet so many people these days.
We've all returned to The Woods, including Sweet Potato who says she carved out some time to watch the presidential debate and thinks that Obama was far and away the winner.
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