Baby Whale born yesterday

[Rabflmom]

Well, there's a new baby whale born at SW. They showed the birth on the news this morning. It was really cool. The young whale was born and without any help from the momma at all it swam straight up to get his/her breath of air.

I just realized I assumed it was SW Orlando without actually listening to see which park the birth was in so it may or may not have an impact on the Believe Shows in Orlando.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

There's nothing in the Press Release sections at any of The SeaWorld / Busch Gardens websites - perhaps its a bit too soon (or perhaps it wasn't SeaWorld ??)

 

[crazydaveh]

Nope, it was at SeaWorld Orlando. They've had three young ones in the past 18 months!

It makes you wonder what goes on in the "back pool" at night! Tilly is the Man!

 

[crazydaveh]

Here's the press release off Orlando's site:

3/13/2007

SEAWORLD WELCOMES NEWEST “PEA” TO POD

Spring has sprung early at SeaWorld Orlando as the park welcomes a new baby killer whale to the Shamu family on the 12th of March 2007.

The calf’s mother, Taima, gave birth to the 6-foot-long, 350-pound newborn at 4:48 p.m. in SeaWorld Orlando’s multimillion-gallon research and breeding facility, Shamu Stadium, following a one-hour labor. Moments later, the baby whale instinctively swam to the surface of the water for its first breath of air. The calf began nursing within hours.

One of the most photographed killer whales in the Shamu family, Taima is also the mother of two other killer whales. She is 18 feet long and weighs 6,500 pounds. Taima was also born at SeaWorld Orlando during a 1989 thunderstorm, which is where she get’s her name; “Taima” is Icelandic for “crash of thunder.”

SeaWorld animal care specialists remain cautiously optimistic about the progress of the baby and its mother. The ______ of the calf is yet to be determined.

The birth of this new whale brings the Orlando pod to nine whales, ranging in size from this 350-pound baby to a 12,000-pound male. SeaWorld's killer whale breeding program is the most successful in the world. This calf is the 15th killer whale born at SeaWorld Orlando and the 23rd to be born and successfully raised throughout all three SeaWorld parks.

 

[Rabflmom]

They showed the birth on TV so if you go to the local TV web sites they probably have the clip on their sites. Even after 19 babies over the years it is
breaking news here. We love our Shamus<g>

 

[mkt]

Here are some pics

http://www.mkt3000.com/pics/seaworld_3-14-07/

 

[crazydaveh]

Nice pics.

"Believe" must be on hold while mom and kid get used to their surroundings.

Always great to do when the busy Spring Break crowds hit the park! But, like we used to say when I worked there, if you just had a 350 pound baby, would you want to jump up and splash tourists?

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Nice pics MKT

 

[jmatt]

I saw Believe this afternoon and it seemed like they were distracting one of the baby whales by feeding (watering?) it with a hose while momma went off momentarily to do her schtick. As soon as momma was done, the hose disappeared and baby rejoined.

It seems that they are not separating the family while mom earns her paycheck. Call it "Take Your Calf to Work Day".

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

I saw Believe this afternoon and it seemed like they were distracting one of the baby whales by feeding (watering?) it with a hose while momma went off momentarily to do her schtick. As soon as momma was done, the hose disappeared and baby rejoined.

It seems that they are not separating the family while mom earns her paycheck. Call it "Take Your Calf to Work Day".

Both had a whale of a time :ROFLOL: :ROFLOL: