Beluga whale and calf

During a photography workshop in Churchill, Manitoba revolving mostly around their largest land inhabitants, the polar bear, we got the opportunity to venture onto the mouth of the Churchill River to observe the large population of beluga whales. It was amazing the number of whales we observed up and down the Hudson Bay and then up close and personal in the river!! As I recall, the estimate was around 3,000 whales in just the mouth of the river. They were surfacing everywhere we looked. It was difficult to get any good shots as they just come up for a quick breath of air, and they don't have a distinctive dorsal fin. I picked this photo out of the bunch as it shows the calf riding along and what I am assuming is polar bear scars on the mother's back. It's not a very easthetically pleasing image, but I thought it has some interest. Anyway, thanks for looking.

Taken 07/27/09
Canon 5D
100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @135mm
1/1600s, f/9
ISO 400