Gene pool: Vancouver's beluga whales over the years

Article content

Kavna, the Vancouver Aquarium’s first beluga whale, was captured pregnant in the wild and came to the aquarium in 1976, giving birth in 1977 to a calf who died at four months old. Kavna herself died at the aquarium in August 2012 of cancer. Children’s entertainer Raffi was inspired to write the song Baby Beluga after meeting Kavna in 1979.

Two male belugas, Nanuq and Imaq, were taken from Hudson Bay in the 1980s and brought to the aquarium. Nanuq would go on to sire Qila, the first beluga born in captivity. Qila’s mother, Aurora, was taken from the wild at about age three in 1990. Aurora gave birth to a second calf, Tuvaq, in 2002. Tuvaq died three years later.

Qila herself gave birth to a calf, Tiqa, in June 2008, fathered by Imaq. Tiqa died in September 2011 of an infection. Imaq would go on to father a calf in 2009 with Qila’s mother, Aurora. That calf, Nala, died a year later, with stones and a coin blocking her larynx.

Nanuq was moved to Orlando Seaworld in 1997 for breeding purposes, where he died in February 2015 of a broken jaw suffered in an encounter with other animals. He was 31 or 32 years old.

Imaq was moved in 2011 on breeding loan to SeaWorld San Antonio, Texas. A calf he sired there died at three weeks old in July 2015.

CLICK HERE to report a typo.

Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com.