New Baby Beluga

[Grog]

I just thought I'd share:

I am a volunteer at the Vancouver Aquarium and have been watching over the Aquarium's 21-year-old Aurora on the nightshift as Aurora was pregnant with her third calf.

She just had her baby today. Unfortunately I was not there to see it happen, but I will spend the night at the Aquarium tomorrow.

You can see Aurora and her calf swim live here: http://www.vanaqua.org/belugacam/ and there is a link on that page to a couple of videos of the birth itself.

There is not a whole lot known about belugas and they are difficult to study in the wild. This is a pretty unique opportunity to learn about them. And it's quiet in the Aquarium at night...

[shootingstar]

No doubt, attendance at Aquarium will increase abit with the new family member.

I've never been to the Aquarium yet..and it's not far from home.

[salsabike]

Grog, how wonderful! They are such lovely-looking animals. I will look forward to hearing more after your next night watch.

[maillotpois]

Wow!! How wonderful! We are hoping to get to Vancouver this summer on a trip with our daughter - the aquarium may become a must see destination for us.

[shootingstar]

Wow!! How wonderful! We are hoping to get to Vancouver this summer on a trip with our daughter - the aquarium may become a must see destination for us.

Maillotpois, make sure you consider cycling to the Aquarium with daughter. There are some gelato places and cafes along the way. There is a bike path that is scenic that is paved and off-road. You can make that ride short or full length, over 25 kms. Aquarium is located within Stanley Park which the whole bike path winds around the whole park. Beautiful changing views along the way, including seaplanes that fly off by Coal Harbour where the Canada Place is located which outside of the park, but still along the Seawall multipurpose path.

Early morning along the path is best..if you can swing it. If you need a bike route guide, there are Vancouverites around.

[maillotpois]

shootingstar that sounds great but we won't have bikes and will have very limited packing space, so we may not even have closed toe shoes (aside from motorcycle boots) in the event we could rent bikes. I will definitely try to figure out how to get out there, though, even for a walk on some of it. We will definitely have to find the gelato and coffee places....

any other suggestions welcome!

[Grog]

Hey MP when are you coming? I'll send you a list of gelato spots. My husband is a gelato-maniac. Oh, and check these guys out: http://cleanhotdry.com/ There is quite a coffee culture in town now.

DO go to the aquarium. I've been to many aquariums and it's the one I feel best in. I love the way it uses entertainment to sneak up education about marine life on people. Great stuff for kids (hands-on with a sea cucumber anyone?). It's truly involved with conservation. And it's run by a combination of staff (350) and volunteers (over 600).

I'll keep you updated.

[badger]

so out of touch with local news, never even knew!

glad you're enjoying the aquarium! I soooo miss it!!!

[jesvetmed]

Thanks Grog! That is really amazing -- they are so beautiful to watch! I just spent more than 10 minutes on Beluga Cam! Forwarded it to a bunch of people via email.

Is that a fairly small area they have them in right now? What a great opportunity for you -- wonderful volunteer work. Enjoy!

[GLC1968]

Oh, how cool!!

I first saw a Beluga at an aquarium in CT a few years back and I was entranced by them. I could have stayed there watching that tank all day but the kids we brought with us wanted to move on. They are so beautiful and unique looking!

I can't do the live cam at work, but I'm definitely going to check that out tonight when I get home. Thanks for sharing!

[Grog]

glad you're enjoying the aquarium! I soooo miss it!!!

Come and visit! Are you still a member?

You should see Tiqa (for those who don't know: the 1-year-old beluga born last year). I think she's become a teenager all of a sudden: she's forgotten everything about her mother (whom she was swimming with all the time until yesterday morning) and swims about two meters away from the baby and Aurora all the time. I wonder what's going on in her beluga head...

[arielmoon]

Very neat! Thanks for sharing that. I would watch the cam for hours!

[sundial]

Grog, you are soooooo lucky to work there. I am so fascinated with the whales and would love nothing more than to be there with them.

[Grog]

You're all welcome to visit!

[maillotpois]

So we are hoping to get to Vancouver beginning of next week (as in 7/27 - 28). How is the baby beluga doing?

A list of gelato spots is welcome! My daughter would love that.