July 9, 2012

Marine mammal specialists are encouraged by the progress a beluga calf has made after being rescued in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The young whale was found dehydrated and disoriented on June 18 by two Alaska fishermen, who immediately contacted the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward for help. SeaLife biologists airlifted the calf to their research and rehabilitation center, where they began attempts to save its life.

The beluga whale is a white whale. It lives in the Arctic Ocean and can sometimes be seen off the southwestern coast of Alaska. (© Ivan Histand, Shutterstock)

The biologists estimate that the calf was two days old when it was discovered. They believe that the new-born male was separated from its mother during a windstorm off Alaska’s southwestern coast. The calf’s age makes the rescue attempt one of the first of its kind. No other wild new-born belugas have survived in captivity since record-keeping began in 1972. Marine mammal experts–who have flown in to help from the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and SeaWorld in San Diego–note that the calf’s immune system is insufficiently developed because it never had the chance to nurse on its mother’s milk. They are feeding the baby through a stomach tube, as well as teaching it to suckle from a bottle, and are adding supplements to the formula in hopes of developing its immune system. Since its rescue, the calf, which is 5 feet (1.5 meters) long, has gained 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms) and now weighs 115 pounds (52 kilograms).

In addition to feeding the calf, at least three human handlers are with the young whale day and night. Two caretakers in wet suits stay in the pool, where they play with the calf and teach it new swimming patterns. At present, the calf is not in an area where it can be viewed by the public. It has not been officially named, though many of the handlers have started calling it Naknek. (Naknek is the name of a village on Bristol Bay in the area where the calf was found.)

A worker at the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada pets an adult beluga whale while a young visitor watches. (© Ross Denotter, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Center)

If the calf survives, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service will place it in an aquarium with a group of belugas that are most likely to accept it. Marine mammal specialists believe that it is not possible to teach a whale of this age to survive on its own in the wild.