It’s a boy! The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago welcomed a baby dolphin over Memorial Day weekend and today they announced that the sex of the calf.
Caryn Poll, chief of medicine at the Shedd, said:
“While our staff has not confirmed his gender through a physical exam, our extensive experience and knowledge of the species helped us to identify the young calf as a male.”
The calf’s mother, Piquet, is healthy and has been spending the last few days swimming side by side with her calf.
Ken Ramirez, executive vice president of animal care and training, said:
“Piquet and her calf are building a strong bond, so Shedd trainers have been able to give mom a well-deserved break by re-introducing her training sessions. Our daily sessions give her calf a chance to practice his diving and buoyancy, and build his muscles. We are extremely proud of Piquet’s mothering skills and the calf’s progression, but we remain cautiously optimistic during these critical first weeks of development.”
The team at the Shedd Aquarium said that the baby dolphin started nursing with Piquet last week and has already put on about five pounds. Currently, the dolphin weighs approximately 30 pounds.
Here’s a video of the baby dolphin swimming at the Shedd Aquarium.
