14 DAY TRIAL // Last weekend, a 23-year-old beluga whale named Maris living at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, US, delivered a perfectly healthy calf. The baby beluga whale, born on Sunday, May 10, is a female.
The mother and the calf are now monitored 24/7, just to make sure everything is A-OK. The newborn whale is nursing regularly and appears to have bonded just fine with its mom, caretakers reassure.
The birth went smoothly, the mom and calf were closely monitored
Although the baby beluga whale was born on May 10, it was the day before the actual delivery that its mother started showing signs of unrest.
Staff at the Georgia Aquarium realized that the marine mammal was getting ready to deliver, and so gathered around its tank to keep a close eye on it and make sure it could safely deliver its calf.
The birth process was caught on film and the video was shared with the public this past Thursday. You can find it below, should you feel like checking it out.
As detailed by Georgia Aquarium Director of Animal Health Tonya Clauss, it took Maris a few good hours to give birth to the female calf.
The baby beluga whale was born tail first. Just moments after delivery, the calf instinctively swam to the surface to take its first breath of air.
As mentioned, the young whale and its mother are both in good health condition. Still, just to be on the safe side, the marine mammals are under 24-hour care.
“Since the moment of birth, our animal care and veterinary teams have been giving around-the-clock care to Maris and her calf, taking every measure possible to ensure that the calf thrives.”
“Thus far, we are very encouraged by what we are seeing from both mom and calf,” Dr. Gregory Bossart, senior vice president & chief veterinary officer, said in a statement.
The calf underwent its first health exam, passed all tests with flying colors
Although it is not yet a week old, the baby beluga whale has already undergone its first health exam. It was measured and weighed, and its caretakers are quite pleased with the figures they got.
Thus, the calf is said to measure about 59 inches (about 1.5 meters) in length and to weigh around 126.5 pounds (a little over 57 kilograms).
