Beluga Birth

It's a Bouncing Baby Beluga!

Qila gave birth to her first calf at 4:28 PM Tuesday, June 10, 2008.

This newborn beluga is:

about 1.5 metres long and weighs more than 50 kilograms (at birth)
slate grey -- it will gradually lighten as it matures
wrinkled for the first few weeks
adorable

Qila was born at the Aquarium on July 23, 1995, and is now a mom herself.

Her trainers are monitoring her and the newborn calf to give her calf the best chance for survival. Watch a video of Qila's ultrasound on our YouTube channel.

This is Qila's first calf and like any new mammal mom she is learning how to care for her baby. One of the first few milestones the veterinary staff will be looking for is bonding and nursing.

In preparation for the birth, two of the belugas (Imaq and Kavna) were moved to the Aquarium's research area behind the scenes.

The move gives Qila the space she needs to bond and nurse her calf. It also minimizes the distractions to her as she establishes a nursing pattern with her newborn calf.

Aurora, Qila's mom, will stay with her as a companion.

Imaq and Kavna will return to join Qila and her calf once the staff are certain that mom and calf are ready to widen their social circle. Imaq is the father of Qila's calf.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• baby
• beluga
• vancouver
• aquarium
• qila
• whale

[hannahgracespraggy]

so cuute! what is the baby's name?

[VancouverAquarium]

Qila's baby (the baby in this video) is named Tiqa

[Chloey23]

this is wonderful, i love sea life. i'm sorry to see that some immature comments have been made to this video. there's nothing disturbing about a natural healthy birth.

i was referred here by the Times Standard newspaper.

[brownsugarpoptart123]

heeehee. waterbirth (,^.^,)

[poonafink]

Holy afterbirth

[camliag]

Aww what a cute little beluga!! RIP

[wilsfreestyle]

I feel like i just got done watching a lady gaga music video

[stefano1oo1]

ewwwwwwwwwwwwww wut the fuck is that!!!!!!!!11

[LordOfCookies123]

This is now my new fetish.

[MrCharlieGoddard]

@SaveCetaceansNOW I used to agree with you, but if these animals are reproducing in captivity, they cannot be deprived of anything. It is simple animal instinct. They do not start to think about reproduction if they haven't, themselves, been in the tip top condition.

[MrCharlieGoddard]

So wonderful! I love how captive bred species are able to sustain themselves rather than their wild counterparts taken. Not only that, I bet a baby whale is a great tourist attraction! And the funds go straight back into the care of the animals! :)

[callofdutyfan8]

I waz there and I also went to a overnight sleep ova and slept by them