SeaWorld announces death of baby beluga whale who died moments after birth
SEAWORLD has revealed how a newborn beluga whale died moments after being born at its famous Orlando theme park.
Staff tried to save the calf as it sank to the bottom of the pool but could not keep the youngster alive.
A 24-hour watch had been kept on the mother, a 17-year-old beluga called Whisper, for weeks in the run-up to her delivery, with routine ultrasounds and checks confirming the pregnancy was progressing well.
Yet, when Whisper finally went into labour, the calf was delivered in an “unusually weak” condition, SeaWorld said this weekend.
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While this loss was unexpected, both Whisper and the calf received the same world-class care that all our animals receive
Beluga or white whales are adapted to life in cold, Arctic waters and give birth to calves weighing around 180lb after pregnancies that can last up to 475 days.
SeaWorld officials say a full post mortem with laboratory testing will be carried out to discover how the calf died, although results will not be available for several weeks.
There had been no signs of complications when Whisper began delivering her youngster, the park explained.
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SeaWorld said in a statement: “Unfortunately the unusually weak calf surfaced only briefly before sinking to the bottom of the pool.
“The animal care and veterinary teams reacted quickly and were able to reach the calf and begin emergency care.
"Despite their best efforts and expertise, we are saddened to confirm that the calf did not survive.
“Whisper received routine ultrasounds and health assessments to monitor her and the calf’s progress throughout the pregnancy, which progressed as expected.
"Additionally, there were no obvious signs of complications during labour and everything otherwise appeared to progress normally.”
Whisper is being monitored at a “back pool” within the Florida park’s Wild Arctic attraction and will remain in the critical care facility until she is in good health and resumed her normal daily activities.
SeaWorld says the calf was surrounded by the dedicated team that had spent years caring for Whisper, who arrived in Orlando in 2010 when she was 11 years old.
She was born at SeaWorld San Antonio in 1999.
SeaWorld added in its statement: “While this loss was unexpected, both Whisper and the calf received the same world-class care that all our animals receive.
“Although this is a difficult time for the SeaWorld family, our attention now turns to ensuring Whisper continues to receive the care and attention she needs.
“Whisper is active and alert and the teams will continue to monitor her 24/7 until they are sure she is in good health and has returned to her normal daily activities.”
The last ever killer whale to be born at SeaWorld arrived at its San Antonia attraction in April, a year after the business announced the closure of its orca breeding programme.
Animal rights protests and falling ticket sales had beset the project but 25 year old matriarch Takara was well into her 18-month pregnancy when the shutdown was flagged, coming only a few weeks after the death of SeaWorld’s most famous captive orca, Tilikum, from a bacterial infection at its Orlando facility.
Tilikum, 35, became notorious for the deaths of three people during his time in captivity, and featuredheavily in the £50,000, low-budget documentary “Blackfish" that went on to earn international acclaim by highlighting the controversy of keeping highly social, extremely intelligent whales in captivity.
SeaWorld has maintained the documentary was inaccurate and misleading.
