At any given summer moment on the Churchill River that flows into the Hudson Bay, as many as 4,000 belugas can be up and down the waterway, surrounding vessels of all sizes. Beluga whales are called the canaries of the sea because scientists say they are some of the most vocal creatures on Earth. But in Arctic where sea ice is shrinking, scientists are somewhat concerned and worry they may be the canary in the coal mine warning of a dangerous environment. The town of Churchill is counting on that to continue. The mostly Indigenous community, pulled out of economic doldrums by polar bear tourism, faces the prospect of a dwindling number of bears because of climate change. So it is counting on another white beast, the beluga, to come to the rescue and entice summer tourists — if the sea mammals can also survive the changes to this gateway to the Arctic. There's something healing about belugas. Just ask Erin Greene. After she was thrashed by a polar bear on Halloween night 2013, contact with the sociable whales helped pull her out of post traumatic stress disorder, she said. Now she goes out in the water with them, on a paddleboard, and sings to and with them. She also rents paddleboards to tourists, so they can do the same. Greene, who isn't native to Churchill but came to work in the tourism industry, tried yoga, which eventually led to paddleboarding in Hawaii. It made her feel a little better, so she thought she'd bring it back to Churchill where there isn't just water, but belugas. And that helped her heal, she said. Sea ice is shrinking all over the Arctic, including here in Hudson Bay. And even though this is probably the biggest beluga population in the world, scientists are a bit concerned. In the Beaufort Sea, research shows that belugas aren't as fat as they used to be, but scientists don't know about those in Hudson Bay, Richard said. Another issues is that killer whales that hunt belugas are coming more often into the Hudson Bay and less sea ice means fewer places for belugas to hide, he and University of Washington marine mammal scientist Kristin Laidre said. Beluga whales, unlike polar bears, as a species aren't on an endangered or vulnerable species list, although an Alaskan population of them is. There are as many as 200,000 belugas worldwide and the International Union for Conservation of Nature that creates a global endangered list calls them a species of “least concern.”