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player ready...On Friday, the Shedd Aquarium will debut the latest addition to its whale family: an 8-week-old female beluga.
Her mother, Mauyak, gave birth Aug. 27 to the calf, then 4 feet 6 inches long and 130 pounds. She has grown about 6 inches and gained about 85 pounds, according to the aquarium.
“We are really pleased to see how the calf is developing,” Ken Ramirez, executive vice president of animal care and training, said at a Tuesday media preview. The baby whale glided through the water attached to her mom as she nursed.
Mauyak has given birth to two other calves, Miki and Qannik. Their father, Naluark, is on loan to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut.
The calf has been bonding with her mother, nursing on a regular basis and getting comfortable with other belugas and divers in her habitat, officials said.
She has even developed a fondness for looking at other whales and dolphins through gates in her habitats. “At this point she is very playful,” Ramirez said. “She is very curious.”
Beluga whales are native to the Arctic Circle and the calf’s name will likely be tied to its heritage, Ramirez said.
“We usually come up with a name between the three- and six-month mark,” Ramirez said. “We often try to pick names that have some significance to the place where the animals come from.”
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