Prepossessing, alluring, enigmatic. If someone uses these descriptors, they might be talking about a person they find attractive. If they add graceful, charismatic and supple to the description, they are probably talking about a beluga whale. I remember being mesmerized as I watched two of these ghostlike leviathans swim past me from only a few feet away. Not only can these gentle giants turn their heads and look at you, but they do so with near-human facial expressions and big, imploring eyes.

Belugas reach lengths of 11 to 15 feet and can weigh more than a ton. They live in Arctic waters so cold that a person falling overboard would survive only minutes. Belugas have small side flippers. The biological explanation for tiny appendages is that such bodily extensions result in heat loss—not an ideal attribute for something that spends a lifetime swimming around in icy water. They also lack a dorsal fin, a useful absence when swimming through and under ice. Their torpedo shape enhances their flexible and graceful body movements, which adds to their charm.

I wanted this to be the part where I tell you that I was wearing an Arctic drysuit and peering at them through my face mask while I checked my scuba tank and deftly avoided icebergs. Or that I was peering out the window of a room-temperature submersible 100 feet deep off the coast of Iceland. But in the interest of full disclosure, I was watching these gentle giants as they swam past a viewing window at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

The face of a beluga has an eerily personable look, and the ones in the aquarium were clearly interested in the strange creatures looking at them from the other side of the glass. In fact, one female returned repeatedly to stare at me as she glided past in slow motion, seemingly as fascinated with me as I was with her. Every time she swam by me she would close her eyes. Being coy, I suppose. Their agility is on full display as they effortlessly roll over and swim upside down, giving you a rather come-hither look, as if they would be pleased if you chose to join them.

Beluga whales can live up to 80 years. Mother belugas give birth to babies that are gray and weigh well over 100 pounds. When they assume their full adult coloration of pure snow white, they become one of the most enchanting creatures of the Arctic seas. A pod often contains 20 or more whales, and groups of more than a thousand have been reported in the past. Like so many other whales, belugas declined in numbers in most regions when they were hunted and killed by the whaling industry. In addition, so-called sports hunting involved explosive harpoons or rifles. How anyone can condone, let alone enjoy, such unsportsmanlike behavior remains a mystery to me.

 Attitudes differ about whether beluga whales should be displayed in an enormous aquarium for people to watch and learn about. Some animal rights organizations object to the removal of any belugas from the wild. The other side of the debate holds that a few captive animals offer educational opportunities, contributing greatly to protection of the species overall. Opinions on either side of the issue are unlikely to be changed any time soon.

The next time a national or international committee focused on decisions about wildlife meets to decide the fate of beluga whales, perhaps it should meet at the Georgia Aquarium. Watching a laid-back white whale swim past again and again, looking inquiringly to see what decisions will be reached, could result in consensus that beluga whales deserve all the protection we can give them. One way to protect them in the wild might be to have a few aquarium whales for people to learn about and admire. I cannot imagine anyone who has met one of these white beauties face to face wanting to kill or otherwise harm them.

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