Published 16:52 IST, August 28th 2020
Beluga whale gives birth to an energetic male calf, birthing video breaks internet
Bella, a beluga whale gave birth to an adorable male calf on August 21. The Shedd Aquarium shared the happy news on Twitter along with an endearing video.
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The Shedd Aquarium has welcomed a new family member after the birth of a baby beluga whale calf. Bella, a beluga whale gave birth to an adorable male calf on August 21. The Shedd Aquarium shared the happy news on Twitter along with an endearing video, which has since gone viral, winning hearts on the internet.
The clip, which is melting hearts, features Bella giving birth to a healthy and energetic male calf. In the caption, the aquarium shared that the dark grey beluga baby was born after nearly 15 hours of labour. The male calf weighs nearly 139 pounds or approximately 63 kgs. Along with the adorable birthing video, they also shared a link which further details the happy event. Check out the video here:
BIG NEWS: Bella has given birth to an energetic male calf!
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) August 24, 2020
The calf was born on 8/21 at 8:42 p.m. after 15 hours of labor. This was a noteworthy birth, with the calf born headfirst instead of the usual fluke-first birth.
More on the blog: https://t.co/pHDTAQ9kVb pic.twitter.com/S0iGl0IhiH
Netizens shower love
Since being shared online, the video has garnered more than 1.1 lakh views. It has accumulated over 2000 likes and 589 comments and retweets. The video which shows the arrival of a new life has left netizens amazed, who couldn’t contain their excitement and flooded the comments section to shower love and warmth. While many congratulated the new mother, others described it as “amazing,” “superb and “magical.” Check out some of the reactions here:
This is wonderful! I’m so happy for the Shedd and Bella...more good news on the baby front 🥰 ❤️🐬
— JoAnn A (@1stFanofChicago) August 24, 2020
So magical. I had the fortune of watching Bella's birth while I was volunteering and the next 3 months as a temp staff and this just made my year. ♥️
— Sasha Vuillaume (@sashavohm) August 24, 2020
I'm glad that both Bella and baby(he has no name though) are doing well!! This is important though.
— 𝓐𝖓𝓰𝖏𝖊 𝕸𝖆𝖊 ꕷ♄𝖆𝖗𝛋 🏡 #BLM 🦈 (@AngieMaeShark) August 25, 2020
Such a beautiful baby boy 🍼🐳💞🤗
— Anita Garrison (@LovingNASCAR9) August 25, 2020
Such an honour to be able to witness this
— Kim th. 🐕🐕🦜🦜🦜🇦🇺👂🎧✈️ (@KimthK9) August 25, 2020
Such a little cutie! The video is just amazing! 💙
— Laurie (@3dogsplus1cat) August 24, 2020
The link shared along with the video states that 14-year-old Bella is a first-time mother and was born at Shedd Aquarium on July 17, 2006. To give Bella and her offspring the best care, they will not be immediately viewable by the public to ensure that they spend some time alone for peaceful bonding and nursing. The aquarium team is currently assisting Bella with feeding the calf.
"As is often the case in the days following delivery, the calf is not yet independently nursing. The care team is in the water every three hours, assisting with feeding the calf,” the aquarium stated in the official link. Beluga whales can be easily recognised by their different white colour. The babies are usually dark grey in colour and turn white as they grow older. The Shedd Aquarium also shared a few glimpses on the micro-blogging site, check them out here:
Our scientific understanding is that first-time mothers experience a higher calf mortality rate. Watching Bella interact with the calf is just as valuable to our understanding as data we collect—animal care staff is hopeful from what they've seen so far. pic.twitter.com/Qgje8JYosh
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) August 24, 2020
As is often the case in the days following delivery, the calf is not yet independently nursing. The care team is in the water every three hours, assisting with feeding the calf. pic.twitter.com/bVLF0CTTwj
— Shedd Aquarium (@shedd_aquarium) August 24, 2020
16:52 IST, August 28th 2020