The Shedd Aquarium’s most recent addition to its beluga whale family is doing swimmingly.
Now two-and-a-half weeks old, the calf — a male, it was revealed Tuesday — has not been named.
Mammal experts and resident veterinarians at the Shedd are watching the calf around-the-clock in its early weeks of life, tracking its growth using computer software.
The baby has not been integrated with the rest of the belugas; he and his mother, 38-year-old Mauyak, are in a separate area.
Steve Aibel, the Shedd’s senior director of marine mammals, said keeping the calf by his mother is crucial at this stage in order to nurse.
It will be about “30 to 60 days” before staff no longer will have to closely monitor the calf, and the calf can begin to be “slowly integrated” into the larger group of belugas, Aibel said Tuesday.
With each new beluga birth, the Shedd learns a little more about these animals.
This is not Mauyak’s first birth. In 2012, she gave birth to a calf named Kimalu.
What the Shedd is learning from this calf’s birth is how parents learn from past births.
“We’re learning that experience changes the way that [beluga] moms mother,” Aibel said. “Mauyak is still very attentive, but attentive differently.”
After what Aibel called a “quick” 33-minute birth on July 3, the calf seems to be growing just fine.
The calf was 142 pounds at birth. He passed his first veterinary exam with “flying colors,” and all his nursing numbers were “within norms,” Aibel said.
“Everything that we’re looking for — from a bonding standpoint with [Mauyak] or a medical standpoint — ” Aibel said, “is going exceptionally well.”
“You hate to use words like ‘perfect,’” he said, “but this calf is certainly on track.”
What holds for the Shedd next is maintaining careful watch over the calf as it grows alongside its mother.
“We’re watching our group [of belugas] very closely, and we’re hopeful that the breeding we’re seeing here will continue,” Aibel said.
The Shedd does not expect another beluga birth in the near future. However, there will be a dolphin birth in October.