Shedd Aquarium welcomed a new baby beluga this week — the first calf to be born there since 2012.
The whale is dark gray and a bit wrinkly — both normal conditions, aquarium staff said in announcing the animal’s birth. The calf is about five feet long and weighs an estimated 150 pounds.
For now, mama and baby — both doing well — are off-limits to the public, staff said.
“Right now, we want to give mom and the calf the space they need to nurse and bond and swim together,” said Johnny Ford, a Shedd spokesman. “The calf is just learning to swim.”
The calf’s birth brings the total number of belugas at Shedd to eight — four of them, including the new arrival, born to 38-year-old Mauyak, Ford said.
The new calf was born flukes first at 7:23 p.m. Wednesday, after about 30 minutes of labor, staff said. The sex of calf is not yet known, staff said.
“This is a humbling and fulfilling moment for our animal care teams, who have been preparing Mauyak for her big delivery for more than a year,” Peggy Sloan, chief animal operations officer at Shedd, said in a statement. “Every pregnancy and birth brings significant information for both populations in accredited aquariums and their endangered counterparts in the wild.”
