ZooBorns

Milking a Killer Whale

In October we brought you the story of Loro Parque's newborn Killer Whale calf. Today we received an update from this Spanish aquarium with some fascinating footage. Unfortunately the mother Orca was not feeding her baby properly so aquarists stepped in to hand feed the rambunctious calf. In order to do this, keepers needed to extract milk from mom. Lucky for them, mom seems happy to oblige as seen in the video at the bottom. In the first video, we get up close and personal with the calf as he bottle feeds. 

Loro Parque Welcomes Killer Whale Calf

Two baby Killer Whales in just two days! Loro Parque, located in Spain's Canary Islands, welcomed its first orca calf yesteday. Veterinarians, biologists and other experts, watched anxiously over the four hours of labor. Moments after the birth, the onlookers were relieved to see the healthy newborn calf instinctively rise to the surface and take its first breath. The baby weighs 150 kilograms (330 lbs) and measures 2 meters (6.5 feet) long. The conservation status of Killer Whales is poorly understood and scientists are working hard to determine if one or more types of different Killer Whales may be distinct endangered species. 

Special thanks to ZooBorns reader Juan Villalba for alerting us to this birth.

Baby Killer Whale Born at SeaWorld Orlando

Katina, a 34-year-old killer whale, gave birth Saturday, October 9, at 7:28 p.m. in SeaWorld Orlando’s multimillion-gallon Shamu Stadium following a 45-minute labor. Moments later, the baby whale instinctively swam to the surface for its first breath. This is the seventh calf born to Katina, an 18-foot-long, 5,400-pound killer whale. “It’s a terrific day for all of us at SeaWorld,” said Kelly Flaherty-Clark, curator of animal training.  “Katina is an experienced mom and she appears to be bonding quickly with her baby.”

Photos taken by Chris Gotshall for SeaWorld Orlando

SeaWorld veterinarians and trainers remain cautiously optimistic about the progress of the baby and her mother and are encouraged by the bonding they’ve already seen. This calf is the 27th killer whale born at the SeaWorld parks in Orlando, Fla., San Diego, Calif. and San Antonio, Texas.  Sixteen whales have been born at SeaWorld Orlando. SeaWorld's killer whale breeding program is the most successful in the world.