Baby Beluga Updates
OCTOBER 15, 2009
She has started interacting with the trainers on a regular basis. We try to provide a dedicated trainer for each feeding session and she almost always interacts with her trainers. She is letting trainers give her tongue rubs, melon rubs, and back rubs.
Although our trainers haven’t started formal training of the beluga calf, every interaction she has with our trainers is a form of training – she is learning how to interact with them and has become very comfortable with trainers touching her. These interactions are the building blocks for all of our training. She is also learning that our trainers can be playful and offer positive reinforcement!
The baby beluga is enjoying her toys and uses her mouth to investigate her surroundings. She is still very interactive with the Aquarium’s other baby beluga, Tiqa, and continues to nurse well from her mother, Aurora.
She is growing every day. We don’t know exactly how much she weighs right now but when you visit her in person or watch her activities on the Aquarium’s beluga cam you can see she is very close in size to Tiqa these days!
JULY 17, 2009
The female beluga calf, born June 7, continues to do well. Her nursing and respirations are following expected trends. Her development is tracked and compared to behavioural research and statistics gathered at the Vancouver Aquarium from previous beluga births during the birth and post-birth periods of those whales.
A large percentage of this calf’s nursing events occur in a smaller area within the whale’s home in the Arctic Canada habitat.
We are seeing her continuing to become more interactive with the other calf, Tiqa (born June 10, 2008) and often attempting to interact with her during Tiqa’s training sessions.
The newborn calf’s mother, Aurora, continues to allow her young one to increase the amount of time she spends away from her mother’s side. Aurora shows comfort with allowing the calf to actively explore the habitat and increase the energy level of her play with Tiqa.
At this time the newborn calf is undergoing a molt, and you may see rub up alongside some areas in her habitat to remove the dead skin. This is a natural development and behaviour among beluga whale calves.
JUNE 12, 2009
Newborn calf gaining independence and getting to know Tiqa.
Marine mammal staff and volunteers at the Vancouver Aquarium continue to observe the female beluga calf born at 3:39 p.m., Sunday, June 7, 2009.
Nursing events between the calf and her mother Aurora continue to increase in frequency and duration. Today we are expecting to record 3000 seconds of nursing compared to yesterday’s record of 2000 seconds. Aurora’s calf is now nursing almost equally from both mammary glands whereas initially she nursed preferentially from the left mammary.
The 24-7 volunteer Beluga Observer team has seen a variety of interesting interactions and behaviours from the calf and the three belugas in her company.
Tiqa continues to test what kind of interactions Aurora will allow her to have with the new calf. She just turned one (year) and we’ve observed her swimming beside and chasing the calf in a playful manner. Aurora is allowing the two calves to swim together, but will intervene if Tiqa is too rough as she plays with the new calf. Aurora is teaching the calf how to swim and dive and the calf’s abilities are strong and positive, indicating Aurora’s attentiveness and care for her newborn.
The calf is becoming more active and is getting stronger. Her rate of respiration has decreased slightly as expected as the calf becomes a stronger swimmer. Aurora’s appetite is expected to increase significantly at any time as she is producing milk to feed her calf.
Underwater viewing is a special experience as it provides a rare opportunity to observe and gather data from a beluga calf in the very early days of her development – an opportunity not available to researchers in the wild. The data gathered on the growth and development of both calves, both physically and socially, contributes to the growing understanding of belugas that will lead to protecting them in the wild.
JUNE 10, 2009
Underwater viewing of beluga nursery opens to public today.
Today is also Tiqa’s first birthday. She is a female beluga calf born one year ago.
Starting today, Vancouver Aquarium marine mammal staff and volunteers welcome visitors to the underwater gallery to view the beluga nursery.
Underwater viewing is a special experience as it provides the opportunity to observe the beluga calf in the very early days of her development. Visitors will see the calf nursing from her mother and her improving ability to swim, dive and slipstream with Aurora. Aquarium Interpretive staff will provide fascinating insights on how the calf is interacting with the other belugas: Qila and one-year old Tiqa. Children and adults will get a rare opportunity to learn about the physical and social development of beluga calves −offering a unique connection to our natural world that is crucial in helping people understand how to conserve it.
Details:
• Underwater beluga nursery viewing will be open daily from 10 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.
• Groups of 30 will be permitted in the underwater gallery to observe the belugas from two different perspectives.
• The experience begins with a short video showing the birth of the beluga calf, followed by a presentation of the beluga family tree with tips on how to tell them apart.
• The introduction is followed by a viewing at the first window where an Aquarium interpreter will provide visitors with information on what they are observing. At the first window, visitors will also see the Aquarium’s volunteer beluga observer team and marine mammal research staff gathering data to keep better care of the belugas and to better understand beluga behaviour.
• The second viewing window is for quiet viewing, with an Aquarium Interpretive staff available to answer questions. Only photography without flash is permitted.
JUNE 8, 2009
BELUGA WHALE AURORA & NEW CALF BONDING BEAUTIFULLY
Newborn beluga calf introduced to one-year old Tiqa.
Following yesterday’s birth of a new beluga calf, the Vancouver Aquarium’s marine mammal care and veterinary teams are pleased to report that bonding between mother Aurora and her new baby is strong. The birth happened at 3:39 p.m. on June 7, 2009.
Ongoing observation of Mom and baby during the first 18 hours showed continued positive behaviours of strong interaction, with the calf continuing to swim alongside and be guided by mother Aurora. Nursing is underway and all signs to date are showing good development and interaction.
At 9:24 a.m. today, Qila and one-year old Tiqa were introduced to Aurora and her calf for the first time to celebrate World Oceans Day. This is the first occasion for two beluga calves to share a habitat at the Vancouver Aquarium. The two mothers and daughters swam in pairs for the first minute, and then Tiqa became increasingly curious about the new baby − following Aurora and her calf continuously and swimming alongside this new member of the family.
The newborn calf and Aurora will remain under 24-hour observation by the Aquarium’s veterinary and marine mammal care teams.
Vancouver Aquarium visitors will be able to view Aurora and her yet-to-be-named calf from 5 or 6 metres away on the upper deck of the Beluga habitat. Marine mammal care staff and researchers will observe behaviours and interactions, while interpretive staff will be available to visitors, engaging them in a rare educational opportunity.