The beluga has a very flexible neck that enables it to nod and turn its head in all directions. The beluga, or white whale, is one of the smallest species of whale. Their distinctive color and prominent foreheads make them easily identifiable.

Their distinctive color and prominent foreheads make them easily identifiable. Belugas are also called white whales, and their unusual color makes them one of the most familiar and easily distinguishable of all the whales. Calves are born gray or even brown and only fade to white as they become sexually mature around five years of age.

It possesses a distinctive protuberance at the front of its head which houses an echolocation organ called the melon, which in this species is large and deformable. The beluga's body size is between that of a dolphin and a true whale, with males growing up to 5.5 m (18 ft) long and weighing up to 1,600 kg (3,530 lb). This whale has a stocky body.

Most beluga calves are born tail first, but Atlas, Bella's first offspring and Shedd's first second-generation beluga, arrived headfirst. Despite this, he quickly swam to the surface.