Juno, a beluga whale living at the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, doesn’t have a problem with stage fright. In fact, he’s a big fan of fright—or at least, a fan of scaring the kids who visit him.
Like any typical teenager, 13-year-old Juno can be a little mischievous. When kids stand at the glass to look at the whales, he’s often there to greet them. In case you aren’t sure how to spot him, Mystic Aquarium notes on their website that he’s “usually the one watching the people at the underwater viewing area.”
Occasionally, he takes it a little further. Sometimes he’ll swim directly at the glass, or bare his teeth at younger guests in an attempt to spook them. Despite (or perhaps because of) these antics, visitors love him, as evidenced by the more than 800 fans he’s got on this unofficial Facebook page.
Beluga whales are known to be very playful and social animals, and Dr. Tracy Romano, the chief marine biologist for the aquarium, told CBS that Juno especially loves interacting with kids. “He’s playing peekaboo,” Romano said. “The kids getting his reaction is really what’s spurring him on to keep doing it.”
