Artist Whale

A Beluga whale is making a big splash as an artist after picking up a paintbrush at an oceanarium in China.Keepers at the Qingdao Polar Ocean World say Xiao Qiang started out when he simply grabbed a paint brush left behind buy a visitor and started playing with it.Now the seven year old star's paintings are changing hands for hundreds of pounds among fans."He showed a lot of interest in painting right from the start so now all we have to do is give him the brushes and hold the paper while he paints with his mouth," said trainer Zhang Yong."His favorite color seems to be blue and he's best of all at seascapes. His people always look like seals."Experts say that dolphin-like Belugas - known as the sea canary because of their high pitched squeaks and twitters - have more soft tissue around their mouths than other whales which allows Xiao Qiang to manipulate a brush."He enjoys what he does and this turning of the head to paint is a natural movement that these whales perform in the wild when they are cleaning their food of sand," added Yong."They are brighter than other whales and he loves to play jokes on his keepers. Sometimes he deliberately paints them instead of the paper."

Beluga whale Xiao Qiang demonstrates his painting skills with trainer Zhang Yong at Polar Ocean World, Qingdao, Shandong province, China