Twelve Caribbean Flamingo chicks have hatched at SeaWorld San
Diego in the past three weeks! The
chicks are being hand-raised by aviculturists in SeaWorld’s Avian Center.
Photo Credit: SeaWorld San Diego
Caribbean Flamingos are also known as American
Flamingos. They are native to some Caribbean
Islands, coastal Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia, as well as the Galapagos Islands.
SeaWorld San Diego's Killer Whale mom Kasatka, estimated to be 37 years old, gave birth on Valentines Day to a healthy calf at Shamu Stadium under the watchful eyes of SeaWorld’s zoological team members. The birth marked the sixth successful killer whale to be born at SeaWorld San Diego. Kasatka and her new baby were swimming together in the show pool that very day. And DNA testing recently revealed that it's a boy! That makes SeaWorld’s Killer Whales to ten -- five males and five females.
Killer whale gestation is between 17 and 18 months long, and Kasatka’s took the full 18 months. Calves typically weigh between 300 and 350 pounds and measure between 6 and 7 feet at birth. The park’s zoological team members report that mother and baby continue to do well, with the calf nursing regularly from the start. Trainers and veterinarians continue a 24-hour watch on the whales to assure their health and well being.
In the mean time, he’s not only spending time with his brother and sister (Kalia and Nakai), but he's also swimming with Corky, Shouka and Orkid. And he’s already learned to swim upside down, proving himself to be a bit of a show-boat!!! The plan is to introduce him to the others - Ulises, Keet and Ike -- in the near future.
Photo Credit: All photos: SeaWorld San Diego, Photo 1, 2: Mike Aguilera
See more pictures of the baby Killer Whale swimming with Mom and the rest of the whale family after the fold.
Continue reading "New Baby Killer Whale Makes It Ten at SeaWorld San Diego" »
In early March, SeaWorld San Diego rescued a young Pacific Harbor Seal, estimated to be only days old, from a local beach. The animal, which appeared to be separated from its mother, is now being bottle-fed and cared for behind the scenes by SeaWorld's rescue team. SeaWorld experts expect the seal to make a full recovery and be returned to the wild.
So far this year, SeaWorld San Diego has rescued more than 100 marine mammals.
An Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin calf is making waves at SeaWorld San Diego.
After a 12-month gestation period, the calf was born to a 29-year-old Dolphin named Cascade on November 5 in a behind-the-scenes
pool at the marine-life park. Trainers
and veterinarians at SeaWorld report that the mother and baby are in good health
and are swimming together and bonding. This birth marks Cascade’s fifth calf born at SeaWorld
San Diego.
Trainers
monitor the mother and baby round-the-clock documenting respirations and
nursing frequency. The
gender of the calf will be determined in the coming weeks. The calf is estimated to weigh approximately
30 pounds.
Bottlenose Dolphins are mammals, so they give birth to live young. Mother Dolphins nurse their young with milk. Dolphin populations are widespread, occuring throughout most of the world's temperate and tropical oceans. At this time, most populations are stable, so Dolphins are not endangered.
Photo Credits: SeaWorld San Diego
Four accredited U.S. aquariums have come together in an effort to save a newborn Beluga whale calf which was found stranded in South Naknek, Alaska last week - this is the first time in history that a live calf has been found and rescued in U.S. waters. Marine mammal experts with a combined 125 years of experience from Shedd Aquarium, SeaWorld and Georgia Aquarium immediately answered the Alaska SeaLife Center’s call for assistance to provide around-the-clock care for the calf during this rehabilitation period. The male, 112-pound calf is touch-and-go at this point and considered in critical condition – especially due to his immature immune system, and remains under 24-hour observation.
This is a great example of how the aquarium community comes together to work collaboratively in order do what’s best for an animal in need.
Photo credits 1 and 2 and video: Alaska SeaLife Center. Photo 3: Provided by Shedd Aquarium featuring SeaWorld's Bill Winhall and Shedd Aquarium's Lisa Takaki
On July 1st the Monterey Bay Aquarium placed five lively juvenile green sea turtles on exhibit as part of its “Hot Pink Flamingos: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea” special exhibition. The young sea turtles are just under 9 months old and each is about the size of a dinner plate. The sea turtles are featured in a gallery that shows how rising temperatures could alter the gender of an incubating clutch of sea turtle eggs, or how rising sea levels threaten sea turtles’ nesting beaches.
Photo credits: ©Monterey Bay Aquarium / Randy Wilder
Senior Aquarist Veronica Franklin brought 10 young sea turtles to the aquarium on June 24 from SeaWorld San Diego, where they were among 82 hatchlings born October 5 to resident sea turtles in the park’s “Shipwreck Beach.” The sea turtles’ gender will remain a mystery until they mature a little more.
The young sea turtles at the aquarium will rotate between the exhibit and behind-the-scenes holding pools. The two larger turtles they replaced, as well as some of the smaller turtles, will be part of the aquarium’s remodeled “Open Sea” galleries that open in July 2011.
There’s more information online about their background, and how Franklin and her staff care for the turtles, at www.montereybayaquarium.org/exhibitupdates.
Early this month, Sea World San Diego announced the hatching of 82 Baby Sea Turtles on the park's Shipwreck Beach. The hatchlings, born without human aid or incubation, are developing well and park officials are pleased with the progress. The babies eat a varied diet of squid, krill, shrimp, and special pellets. Adult Sea Turtles live to be well over 100 years old!
Although not currently endangered, the bird is considered threatened due to declining numbers in the wild. The chick weighed only two ounces when it hatched.