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Moment beluga whale gives birth at Georgia Aquarium

Georgia Aquarium has shared footage of a beluga whale calf’s birth and its first moments underwater.

Georgia Aquarium has announced a calf was born to Whisper, a 20-year-old beluga whale, on May 17.

Whisper’s calf weighed 79kg (174 pounds) at birth and was 1.64 metres (5.4 feet) long. 

Aquarium officials said Whisper had a long labor, but with assistance from the animal care and health teams at the aquarium, she delivered her calf.

Both Whisper and her calf are getting much-needed rest and time to bond. They are both being monitored around the clock. 

There are still milestones for the baby whale calf to achieve over the next few weeks which are important for development and bonding with Whisper. 

The mother and calf are resting and bonding away from other beluga whales, who are all being housed in a separate area of the exhibit space and will be introduced to Whisper and her calf when appropriate.

The aquarium remains closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but when the facility reopens, officials said there are a number of factors they will have to consider before opening the beluga whale habitat for public viewing of Whisper and her calf.

This report was produced and edited by Al Jazeera NewsFeed’s Katya Bohdan.