Science & Nature
Welcome, Not-So-Little One. Baby Beluga Born at Shedd Aquarium is 1st Since 2020
The Shedd's new baby beluga is ready for its close-up. (Shedd Aquarium / Brenna Hernandez)
Shedd Aquarium has temporarily closed its Secluded Bay habitat for the best of reasons: There’s a new baby beluga in the house, and staff are giving mom and calf some private time.
The not-so-little one — measuring 5 feet and weighing 105 pounds — arrived Wednesday night, the first beluga born at Shedd since 2020. The sex of the calf will be confirmed later along with paternity.
Veterinary staff has already observed 35-year-old mom Naya gently guiding the calf around the habitat, and the team will continue to look for signs of bonding and regular nursing, the latter of which should lead to rapid weight gain for the calf.
Naya gave birth to twins in 2020, an extreme rarity among belugas, and neither calf survived — one was stillborn and the other scarcely weighed half of a typical baby beluga. Shedd’s animal care team is cautiously optimistic that this latest calf entered the world with stronger odds in its favor.
“While it’s still very early, we are encouraged by how strong and spirited this calf seems to be,” Charles Jacobsma, director of animal behavior and training at Shedd Aquarium, said in a statement. “Over the next several weeks, our animal care team will be observing Naya and the calf, collecting data and doing everything they can to make sure they both have all the support they need.”
Belugas are highly social creatures, and the newcomer will join a pod at Shedd that includes two mature males, four mature females (counting Naya) and two juvenile males.
In a video shared by Shedd Aquarium of Naya and her calf, a number of classic beluga traits and behaviors can be seen.
Notice the difference in color? Belugas are born dark gray and gradually lighten to white, in a process that can take as long as eight years. According to Shedd officials, the gray camouflages calves from predators in the murky waters of the rivers and estuaries where they are born. As they age, adult belugas’ bright white coloring helps them blend in with snow and ice.
Did you catch any “slipstreaming”? This is when a calf swims behind an adult and drafts in their current to save energy, the same way cyclists draft each other.
And if belugas seem particularly expressive for marine creatures, there are a couple of physiological reasons for that. Belugas have an unusual ability to move their heads up and down or side to side because their neck vertebrae aren’t fused. And they can change the shape of their forehead — called a “melon” — which gives their face different appearances.
Mom Naya and her calf are spending time bonding. (Shedd Aquarium / Brenna Hernandez)
Though belugas are primarily thought of as an Arctic creature, a small population of them lives in the St. Lawrence Estuary (the link between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean).
Shedd recently contributed to a research project aimed at stemming persistent declines in this endangered population of St. Lawrence belugas. Data collected on the aquarium’s captive whales is being used as the baseline for healthy belugas, which scientists are then using to compare with similar data collected from the wild population.
Click here to read the entire research paper.
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
