Baby Beluga Rescued
Beluga Whale Calf Rescued by the Alaska SeaLife Center
Seward, AK (June 20, 2012) –
Bristol Bay Beluga
The Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC) rescued a stranded male beluga whale calf from Bristol Bay on Monday, June 18. The solitary animal, estimated at two to three days old, was found near the Diamond O Cannery
in Naknek. The calf was first spotted after a large storm, and no other beluga whales were
observed in the immediate vicinity. The animal repeatedly returned to shore after being encouraged to return to the open ocean. It was picked up after rescuers called the Alaska SeaLife Center, who received authorization from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to attempt a rescue.
With support from Georgia Aquarium, three Alaska SeaLife Center staff flew on a Grant
Aviation aircraft from Seward to South Naknek airport to retrieve the calf.
“Grant Aviation delayed scheduled flights to enable this rescue to occur, and we thank them for their fast response and accommodation to the special needs of transporting a beluga whale,” said Tim Lebling, stranding coordinator.
While the Center was designed with pools capable of holding belugas, this calf is the first beluga whale to ever be housed at the Alaska SeaLife Center. When the 5-foot long calf was brought to the Center, it weighed 50 kilograms (110 pounds). The calf is currently being fed every two hours with a milk matrix created specifically for beluga calves, which contains all of the nutrients and calories the calf needs to grow.
“The calf is swimming on his own, cooperating with feedings, and breathing regularly, which are all very positive signs. However, there are tremendous hurdles ahead. Because this animal is extremely young, it is at a very high risk of complications,” said Dr. Carrie Goertz, staff veterinarian. Beluga whales exist in five distinct stocks in Alaska. This calf is from the Bristol Bay stock, a population that appears to be growing and is geographically distinct from the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale stock.
Coincidentally, ASLC recently launched a new exhibit on Beluga whales on World Ocean’s Day. The exhibit features details about a study that was done of the Cook Inlet whale populations, using a remote video camera, and a video with excerpts of an oral history project, detailing the experiences of those who recall Belugas and share their stories, both present and past, including a fisherman a biologist, and a native elder.
Author: Freedom
1:46 pm
Thank you for sharing this for us! Here is a link to our video documenting the last couple of days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdszGa_gGWw
We will be posting updates on his progress to our fan page – http://www.facebook.com/AlaskaSeaLifeCenter.
3:07 pm
what a great story! Glad that everything fell into place to make this possible.
And if this story doesn’t have you humming the tune, maybe you just don’t know the words. So here you go.
http://www.lyricstime.com/raffi-baby-beluga-lyrics.html
5:17 pm
Providing the whale survives, will it be released in the wild when old enough?
10:40 pm
This poor calf is going to wish it had died after finding out the life they have in store for it in captivity. Imagine spending your life in a 10 x 10 room from the time you are born until the time you die. Aquariums are nothing more than prisons.
12:26 pm
I Agree Everett! It would have been better to leave him on the beach where they found him. I’m sure he would have much preferred to lay baking in the hot sun, with eagles and foxes ripping off chunks of his 2 day old flesh while he was still alive. Sounds much better then the medical care he seems to be currently receiving.
In fact, I don’t think any animal deserves to be confined. Won’t you join me this weekend in picketing the animal shelter? There are also a few families in town that keep cats and dogs brutally confined to the inside of their houses for their own amusement. It might look like a loving family to them, but those dogs and cats deserve to run free all over Seward!
You lunatic. Get a clue.
1:48 am
No, “Animal Lover”, *you* need to get a clue. There is this concept called QUALITY of Life. No sentient, sapient being should be in prison without a crime. The analogy is apt, if generous. Maybe more like a 6×6 closet — with 3 opposed types of music playing at different tempos in great volumes, as well as one’s own voice echoing back…Eating carrion forever. Yes, it would have been kinder to euthanize (much as I’m opposed to that) than a lifetime, decades, of that sort of hell.
This is a travesty, a miscarriage of purpose, and a bastardization of truth. There is nothing noble about taking a newborn to make it into a captive slave.
12:54 pm
Your comment makes about as much sense as the Alaska Sealife Center giving their annual award for sustainability to Shell Oil for their efforts to drill in the Arctic Ocean despite the fact that all agree that there is no way that they could clean up any sort of spill for 10 months of the year, given the ice and slush conditions. How much did that award cost Shell Oil in corporate donations to ASLC?
12:00 pm
No captivity ! A scientific approach would consist in tagging him and having found a group of its species, before releasing. Nobody is clairvoyant…
12:37 pm
I agree Sibylline, that would have been a good idea. I hear most WILD animals will automatically adopt a sick and orphaned member of their own species, after it is dropped amongst their pod by a bunch of humans. I’m sure they could have found a nursing mother (that didn’t already have a calf) to take him in.
Any other scientific approaches you want them to consider? You sound like a pretty legitimate scientist.
12:40 pm
Is the sealife center going to update its webpage any time soon? Sounds like people have questions about this whale.
8:42 am
Here’s a few highlights of what’s going on:
Several experts from other aquariums that already have experience with captive belugas flew in immediately and are assisting with the care of this one. The National Marine Fisheries Service will select an accredited one to be its permanent home, once it is ready, where it will be kept along with other older belugas for company. The calf would have died if left alone. They generally stay with their mothers for two years in the wild before they are on their own. There are no plans for releasing it. (Story soon). HeidiZ
1:52 am
I’ll also add and note that it’s amazingly convenient that this 3-day old orphan happens to be found all by itself, with NO pods ANYWHERE nearby… just a short while after the Georgia Aquarium requests EIGHTEEN belugas from the wild.