HONOLULU -- Officials at Hawaii's Sea Life Park said the world's only known captive whale-dolphin hybrid has given birth to a playful female calf.
The hybrid mother, Kekaimalu, gave birth about 100 days ago.
Officials said the calf was born Dec. 23 to a hybrid of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. The calf, yet to be named, is one-fourth false killer whale and three-fourths dolphin.
Park officials said they kept the birth a secret until now because of recent changes in ownership and operations at the park.
The only two wholphins in the world are kept in seclusion at Sea Life Park's mammal nursery to allow the baby to thrive.
"We were very excited to know that she was pregnant and very excited to have her successfully take over the calf when she was born," Seal Life Park General Manager Renato Lenzi said.
Kekaimalu, which means peaceful sea, is eating about 80 pounds of frozen herring and capelin a day to keep up with the demands of nursing her baby.
This is Kekaimalu's third baby. One died from failure to thrive in 1990. The other died of an infection after living for nine years.
Hopes are high for this baby because at 19 years old, Kekaimalu is a mature and experienced mother.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for us and for the research community in order to gain more information about the two species and the product of their breeding," Lenzi said.
The calf is jumbo-sized compared to purebred dolphins, and is already the size of a 1-year-old bottlenose. There have been reports of wholphins in the wild.
Kekaimalu's baby will be available for viewing by the public at the park sometime before the summer.
The wholphin birth is significant because it shows compatibility between the two species is much greater than was previously thought.
I hadnt heard about this one before, thought it was cute! You can see the video of the baby and the mom at ....
http://www.thenewmexicochannel.com/irresistible/4382236/detail.html
