Baby beluga whale born at Vancouver Aquarium

[mr.x]

• Video Link












Baby beluga whale born at Vancouver Aquarium

Updated Wed. Jun. 11 2008 12:05 AM ET
The Canadian Press

Qila, a 12-year-old beluga whale, successfully gave birth at the Vancouver Aquarium, Tuesday afternoon.

"The baby looks very strong did just what babies are supposed to do,'' said John Nightingale, a spokesman for the aquarium.

"It popped out tail first, swam to surface, took a nice big breath, popped back five seconds later and took another one. So that's the first milestone,'' he said. "The baby's been swimming all over the place.''

Aquarium officials say they are virtually certain that the baby whale is a girl.

Before giving birth, Qila had been pregnant for 15 months.

In preparation for the birth, two other belugas, including the calf's father Imaq, were relocated to another pool to give Qila more room.

This is to ensure that there are no distractions during the labour and after birth that would prevent Qila from establishing a nursing pattern with her newborn calf.

However, Aurora, Qila's mom, will stay with her as a companion.

Once the calf is visible, the birth will take about two to four hours to complete.

Imaq and another beluga whale called Kavna will return to join Qila and her calf once the aquarium staff are certain that mom and the calf are ready to widen their social circle.





This newborn beluga is:

* about 1.5 metres long and weighs more than 50 kilograms (at birth)
* slate grey – it will gradually lighten as it matures
* wrinkled for the first few weeks
* adorable

Qila was born at the Aquarium on July 23, 1995, and is now a mom herself.

Her trainers are monitoring her and the newborn calf to give her calf the best chance for survival. Watch a video of Qila's ultrasound on our YouTube channel.

This is Qila's first calf and like any new mammal mom she is learning how to care for her baby. One of the first few milestones the veterinary staff will be looking for is bonding and nursing.

In preparation for the birth, two of the belugas (Imaq and Kavna) were moved to the Aquarium’s research area behind the scenes.

The move gives Qila the space she needs to bond and nurse her calf. It also minimizes the distractions to her as she establishes a nursing pattern with her newborn calf.

Aurora, Qila’s mom, will stay with her as a companion.

Imaq and Kavna will return to join Qila and her calf once the staff are certain that mom and calf are ready to widen their social circle. Imaq is the father of Qila’s calf.

[Yume-sama]

Well... that's something I've never seen before...

Isn't that somethin'

[danby]

aww good for her! I last was there last summer, ill have to stop by soon and see the baby

[mr.x]

Amazingly, they won't even know if it's a boy or girl for sure for another 6 months......but they think it's a girl.

[SFUVancouver]

My photo, taken June 12th, 2008


It seems even whales have baby fat.

My photo, taken June 12th, 2008


She's a cute blurry little thing.

My photo, taken June 12th, 2008


You can't tell under water just how much of a difference in colour there is between the newborn and her mom.

My photo, taken June 12th, 2008

[mr.x]

omg, that's so adorable! make more babies...please!

[touraccuracy]

Baby beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below, And a little whale on the go.

Baby beluga, oh, baby beluga,
Is the water warm?
Is your mama home with you so happy?

Way down yonder where the dolphins play,
Where you dive and splash all day.
Waves roll in and the waves roll out!
See the water squirtin’ out of your spout.

Baby beluga, oh, baby beluga,
Sing your little song, sing for all your friends. We like to hear you.

Baby beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below, And a little whale on the go.

When it’s dark, you’re home and fed,
Curl up snug in your water bed.
Moon is shining and the stars are out.
Good night, little whale, good night.

Baby beluga, of, baby beluga,
With tomorrow’s sun, another day’s begun.
You’ll soon be waking.

[twoNeurons]

Originally Posted by touraccuracy

Baby beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below, And a little whale on the go.

Baby beluga, oh, baby beluga,
Is the water warm?
Is your mama home with you so happy?

Way down yonder where the dolphins play,
Where you dive and splash all day.
Waves roll in and the waves roll out!
See the water squirtin’ out of your spout.

Baby beluga, oh, baby beluga,
Sing your little song, sing for all your friends. We like to hear you.

Baby beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below, And a little whale on the go.

When it’s dark, you’re home and fed,
Curl up snug in your water bed.
Moon is shining and the stars are out.
Good night, little whale, good night.

Baby beluga, of, baby beluga,
With tomorrow’s sun, another day’s begun.
You’ll soon be waking.

And if you want to sing and dance along:
• Video Link

[djh]

Believe me, every parent knows that song backwards.
Took my 2 kids to see the baby beluga on the weekend as a surprise (after showing her the birth on Youtube to explain where baby animals come from).


The eldest hasn't stopped singing the song...

[mr.x]

"Everybody loves, Marineland!"

[deasine]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

"Everybody loves, Marineland!"

Oh no...

[SpongeG]

is it dead yet?

don't these beluga babies all day within a year or something?

[mr.x]

^ the only other beluga born at the aquarium died about two years ago, three years after being born. it's possible, belugas have something like a 50% surviving out in the ocean....iunno about aquariums.

[SpongeG]

was it the orca than that died within the first few days?

i remember some baby was born and it died really quickly

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

was it the orca than that died within the first few days?

i remember some baby was born and it died really quickly

No, i think you're talking about the stillborn dolphin......and before that, there was Bjossa - the aquarium's last orca, which was sent to Sea World San Diego and died a few weeks later. Ironically, the aquarium was the first place in the world to have an orca in exhibit. Before them, they were feared as truly the "killer whales".

[SpongeG]

maybe it was before you were born than lol

but i remember something was born and died within a few days

remember my memory goes back to the 70's

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

maybe it was before you were born than lol

but i remember something was born and died within a few days

remember my memory goes back to the 70's

~1995 for me.

[SFUVancouver]

Mortality rates are tricky. I suspect there are milestones that account for a large chunk of the deaths.

Whale being rejected by the parent = death.
Parent not knowing how to care for baby = death.
Baby not being able to swim itself to the surface for its first breath = death.
Whale being eaten by something = death. (obviously)

Once you successfully start passing these milestones the life expectancy of the survivor skyrockets.

[SpongeG]

the news said this new baby was not being attended to by the mother until the grandmother showed the mother what to do

poor things

[SpongeG]

Aquarium's baby beluga responding well to treatment

Vancouver Aquarium's baby Beluga is responding well to treatment after an abscess was found at the base of her tail, the aquarium's veterinarian Dr. Marty Haulena said today.

On Monday staff became concerned that the calf was listless and obviously in distress as it was floating near the surface of its pen. Haulena said he examined the calf and noticed a sac of fluid at the base of her tail which was drained and treated with anti-biotics.

"She was quite weak and it was easy to bring her to the side of the pool and examine her," he said.

Within five hours of treatment the baby was frolicking with its mother and had perked up, said Haulena.

"Today she's playful and we're cautiously optimistic for her recovery. We're just hoping the abscess wasn't a sign of a more systemic problem such as a widespread infection," he said.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...2-f8546574d4a6