Aquarium staff confirmed Qila, a 12-year-old beluga whale, Qila, is pregnant and due this summer, possibly in July or August. Staff actually confirmed the pregnancy in August, but veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena said the aquarium wanted to be cautious.
"It is Valentine's Day so it's kind of fun for us to announce on Valentine's Day, but also, just like in many species and unfortunately humans included, that first trimester and getting into the second trimester is a time where there is concern," he said.
"We wanted to monitor the pregnancy and do some ultrasounds, do our measurements, make sure everything is going fine and then make sure Qila is nice and healthy and then again, have a bit of fun with it on Valentine's Day."
Gestation for beluga whales is between 14 and 16 months.
Haulena said long-term studies on bottle-nosed dolphins and on orcas have found only 40 or 50 per cent of calves survive the first year. There is no information on how often pregnant beluga whales miscarry.
So in the absence of clear danger signals, veterinarians at the aquarium are making sure Qila's life is as normal as possible, that she's gaining weight, eating well and that her organs are working fine.
"Then, it's just a matter of making sure she's getting the right nutrition and extra supplementation, kind of like a pre-natal vitamin formula for her," Haulena said.
If the pregnancy goes as planned, the birth will mark a second generation of belugas bred at the aquarium.
Qila was born in Vancouver to mom Aurora on July 23, 1995 - the first time a beluga whale was conceived and born in a Canadian aquarium.
Another of Aurora's calves, Tuvaq, died suddenly in July of 2005, just shy of his third birthday.
Qila, along with 19-year-old male Imaq, plus Aurora and another female, Kavna, share the Arctic Canada habitat at the aquarium.
