It's a girl for Maris the beluga whale at the Georgia Aquarium. But no one is knitting a pink whale bib just yet.
That's because the newborn remained in critical condition Monday following its birth three days earlier. At 82 pounds, the calf is small for a beluga newborn, aquarium officials said.
The calf, the first born at the aquarium, has been under 24-hour care since shortly after its birth around 10:30 p.m. Friday, aquarium officials said Monday. The newborn was not strong enough to swim on its own, prompting doctors to intervene.
“We became concerned when the calf didn’t demonstrate that it could swim alongside its mother," Dr. Gregory Bossart, senior vice president and chief veterinary officer.
"She appeared to be weak, and her tail flukes hadn’t hardened," Bossart said. "Based on our knowledge regarding healthy calves, we knew we needed to intervene. Without our response, this calf would not have survived.”
First-time pregnancies are often unsuccessful for beluga mothers, but the odds for survival increase with subsequent pregnancies, aquarium officials said.
Both Maris, 17, and the calf's father Beethoven, 19, were both born while in captivity.
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