Echoes from the sound will bounce off of objects in the water and return to the whale. Information from the echoes helps the whale to learn about the shape, size and location of objects, to navigate and to locate food. Echolocation is similar to sound found in bats. Savssat and Muktuk Beluga whales have few enemies. Their natural enemies include killer whales and polar bears.
Starvation also take lives.
Killer whales, also called orcas, are a threat because they are much more swift than their beluga prey. It takes little effort for the killer whale to catch and kill a beluga, especially if it is weak or injured. Polar bears, on the other hand, take advantage of a situation that occurs in late fall when ice begins to form on the inlets where belugas migrate. When this occurs, whales may become trapped in the ice. The Eskimos call this situation a savssat.