SeaWorld San Antonio is celebrating a ‘baby boom’ with the arrival of two cetacean calves: a Pacific white-sided dolphin and a beluga whale. Both were born within two days at the Beluga Whale and Dolphin Stadium, under the watchful eyes of animal specialists and the park’s veterinary team. The park also recently welcomed a California sea lion, a harbor seal, and a critically endangered radiated tortoise.
Both mothers, Piquet, a 36-year-old Pacific white-sided dolphin, and Luna, a 23-year-old beluga whale, are seasoned mothers, having successfully birthed and raised multiple calves. After about 50 minutes of labor, Piquet gave birth to a female calf weighing around 20 pounds and measuring 20 inches long. Luna’s calf, a male, weighed approximately 130 pounds and was four feet long at birth, after two and a half hours of labor. Both calves were born tail first, the typical birthing position for whales and dolphins.
For several weeks, the calves will swim closely alongside their mothers, often gliding in their slipstream to conserve energy. Soon, they will be introduced to the existing pod at the facility, which now includes ten beluga whales and eight Pacific white-sided dolphins. In the coming weeks and months, zoo officials will seize this unique opportunity to gain deeper insights into each species.
Animals born in human care provide invaluable information about their species. For over 20 years, SeaWorld has partnered with St. Mary’s University in San Antonio to conduct observational research on various park species, including Pacific white-sided dolphins and beluga whales. Monitoring mother-calf interactions, growth rates, nursing patterns, emergence of independent behaviors, and social bonding yields valuable data that can be shared with the zoological community, offering additional insights into these fascinating species. Such information would be nearly impossible to obtain from studying animals in the wild. Additionally, studying animals born in human care can aid in the successful rescue and rehabilitation of distressed wild animals.
“We have worked with SeaWorld for two decades conducting observational research on calves and their development,” said Dr. Heather Hill Professor of Psychology at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. “SeaWorld’s willingness to share successful births like these with us has given undergraduate and graduate students the unparalleled opportunity to study calves, their mothers, and their development. This privilege has led to many scientific insights into the critical importance of young offspring to a social grouping, including significant milestones in play, insights into key social behaviors, and the positive impact offspring have on the other animals.
