These aquarium workers have a whale of a tale.
After almost 15 hours of labor, Bella, a 14-year-old beluga at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, gave birth to a healthy baby boy as staff joyously watched on August 21, the Shedd wrote in a press release.
“Push it!” one employee yells as the calf’s head emerges from Bella. Once both of its little fins have emerged, the human crowd cheers. “Head’s out!” another viewer exclaims.
As soon as its body is fully out, the worm-like baby whale swims away. It then bobs above the water for the first time in its life as its mother swims beside it.
The baby is Bella’s first, making the calf’s apparent health all the more powerful: “[Current] scientific knowledge of belugas and dolphins is that first-time mothers often experience a higher calf mortality rate,” the Shedd wrote.
There was much joy at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago as they welcomed the birth of a beluga whale calf on Friday, August 21.Calves are also usually born tail first, while Bella’s came head first. “The animal care team remains cautiously optimistic and will continue around-the-clock monitoring to ensure that mom and calf have all the support that they need.”
The birth brought staff both a night of delight at watching the spectacle and also rekindled a feeling of longer term, symbolic hope in those who were lucky enough to look on. “As the calf swam to the surface and took its first breath, it brought with it the palpable hope of new life and fresh beginnings — something we all appreciate,” said Shedd Aquarium president and CEO Dr. Bridget Coughlin.
The not-so-little boy weighs in at 139 pounds and measures 5-feet, 3-inches in length.
After a prolonged closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Shedd is now open to guests, but the beluga baby is not being made immediately available to visitors. Plenty of sea otters, jellyfish, sharks, thousands of fish and other aquatic beings are available for viewing in the meantime.
