Back in August, we here at Animal Tracks were cheered to announce the birth of a bouncing baby beluga whale at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. At the time, no one knew the gender of the baby; he or she was being allowed to bond with mom without any physical interaction with human handlers.

 The time finally arrived for the whopping infant to receive a physical examination, and on Tuesday aquarium officials issued a happy announcement: It’s a girl!

The female beluga calf will make her public debut with her mother, Mauyak (pronounced “MAH-yak”), at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 26. Aquarium guests should have plenty to see: The 5-foot-long calf already weighs more than 205 pounds and has been gaining 12 to 15 pounds a week.

*The baby beluga arrived on the scene at about 2 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 27.

*The calf is 4 1/2 feet long and weighs about 150 pounds.

*The new baby is the sixth beluga calf born at Shedd.


*The newborn has two older siblings also born to Mauyak: Qannik and Miki.

*Mom Mauyak’s name means “soft snow” in Inuit. She weighs about 1,200 pounds and is about 11 feet long.

*The newborn’s dad is named Naluark (nah-LOO-ark), and he weighs 2,100 pounds.
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