Beluga whales form extensive social networks
Belugas are gregarious, highly sociable and they regularly form small groups, or pods, which may contain between two and 25 individuals, with an average of 10 members.
Pods tend to be unstable, meaning individuals tend to move from pod to pod. Their behaviour, which includes sophisticated vocal repertoires, suggest that this marine mammal lives in complex societies. It has long been thought belugas formed social bonds around females that primarily comprise closely related individuals from the same maternal lineage, but this hypothesis has never been documented.