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Metropolis Reality Forums « vancouver has a new baby! »

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vancouver has a new baby!
« on: Jul 22nd, 2002, 10:31pm »		 Quote Quote Modify Modify
warning ~ although i have questions regarding animals in captivity, vancouver aquarium no longer has any other whales besides its' belugas.  they have no intentions of replacing whales with the current cultural mileu regarding animal rights and endangered species lists.  this past year, i went to see the belugas and am happy to announce our newest arrival ~ aurora had a baby boy!   Grin  :sunny:
 
cue the raffi baby beluga in the deep blue sea...swim so high and you swim so free...
 
It's a boy!
A baby beluga is born at the Vancouver Aquarium
   
Marisa Taylor, BCTV News on Global, Sunday, July 21, 2002
 
Staff marine experts say the young whale appears strong and healthy. [Global BC]  
   
 

 
Staff marine experts say the young whale appears strong and healthy. [Global BC]
 
 

 
 
 
Aurora swims in her tank at the Vancouver Aquarium after birthing her calf.
   
The Vancouver Aquarium's beluga whale Aurora has given birth to a second calf, a 50-kilogram baby beluga boy.  
 
He was born Saturday evening at 6:40 p.m.in front of about 200 spectators.  
 
Staff and spectators at the Vancouver Aquarium were thrilled Sunday to see 14-year-old Aurora swimming around with her new baby.  
 
"She's doing a good job of keeping him on the inside so that while he gets co-ordinated he's not bumping into anything," said Angela Nielsen, spokeswoman for the aquarium.  
 
"She's taking really good care of him. She's a second-time mom, so she knows exactly what she's doing.  
 
"It was just out of this world to be here yesterday and see this little calf race to the surface and take its first breath of air," Nielsen said.  
 
"We're elated."  
 
Aquarium staff member Clint Wright agreed that things are going very well.  
 
"Right now everything is great. It's about as good as we could have hoped. He seems to be very strong."
 
"Aurora's watching carefully. He's very independent," he said. "She's taking naps in the middle of the pool, and he's off looking at everything, zipping around. He's fully in control, seems very, very strong, breathing well."
 
Staff were waiting Sunday for the whale to start nursing, which can take up to 24 hours after birth.  
 
The first milk a mammal produces after delivery is rich in antibodies that helps babies fight infection, according to the aquarium.  
 
With the due date approaching, Aurora was trained to lie on her side in the pool while staff members pumped milk for the baby just in case she doesn't bond with the calf.  
 
The aquarium has also consulted experts from Vancouver Children's Hospital to make a whale baby formula, according to its Web site.  
 
And the veterinary school in Guelph, Ont., has created injectable antibodies to be used in the event the calf does not feed properly.  
 
Aurora has been at the aquarium since 1990. Her first calf, Qila, born in 1995, was the first beluga to be conceived and born in a Canadian aquarium.  
 
Belugas can live as long as 30 years, with females in the wild calving an average of once every three years.  
 
The newest addition is the aquarium's sixth beluga whale, the only whale species left at the aquarium.  
 
The last orca, Bjossa, died at SeaWorld in San Diego last fall.  
 
Bjossa, who was alone after her male poolmate Finna died in 1997, was moved to the facility to be with other orcas after 21 years in Vancouver.  
 
The city has banned new captive whales at the aquarium.  
 
An animal rights group says it's unfortunate that animals are still being born in captivity.  
 
Nikki Rotmeyer of No Whales In Captivity says the beluga's birth is not something to celebrate.
 
"I'm cautiously optimistic as to its chances of survival. I understand that Quila, Aurora's first calf, had to be force-fed in order to assure her survival. So I would not say that this is out of the woods yet.  
 
"But, at this point I can only feel sad for this baby as it's going to be spending the rest of its life in a concrete tank in captivity instead of free in the wild where these whales should be."
 
But the Aquarium's Dr. John Nightingale thinks the activists are being unrealistic.
 
"I think they've really got to go get a life," he said. "Aquariums more and more are going to be producing the animals they display. People don't want us going out and taking animals from the wild. And we've said we won't anymore. Now other aquariums are beginning to say that.  
 
"But if we're going to have animals to display to the public and use in education then we're going more and more to 'grow' our own."
 
The calf hasn't been named yet, and the Aquarium says it plans to hold a contest to choose a name. Watch for more details about that on upcoming broadcasts of BCTV News on Global.
 
The Vancouver Aquarium is open every day from 9:30am-7 p.m. during the summer.
 
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