This Sunday May 10, 2015 photo provided by Georgia Aquarium, shows a beluga whale calf swimming close to her 20-year-old mother, Maris, in the first few hours after birth at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. The young beluga calf, heralded as a milestone for whales born in captivity, has died. The Georgia Aquarium says the female calf, not yet a month old, died Friday, June 5, 2015, next to her mother. When the whale was born May 10, aquarium officials called it the first "viable calf" to be delivered from parents who were born in captivity. Aquarium spokeswoman Jessica Fontana says preliminary tests show that the calf may have had gastrointestinal problems and difficulty digesting nutrients. Officials say a necropsy will be conducted, but the calf's exact cause of death may never be clear. (Georgia Aquarium via AP) (The Associated Press)
ATLANTA – A young beluga calf, heralded as a milestone for whales born in captivity, has died.
The Georgia Aquarium says the female calf, not yet a month old, died Friday morning next to her mother.
When the whale was born May 10, aquarium officials called it the first "viable calf" to be delivered from parents who were born in captivity. Officials say a necropsy will be conducted, but an exact cause of death may never be clear.
Belugas can dive to depths of 3,300 feet in their natural environment, but this one, like its parents, never swam in an ocean.
The calf's mother, Maris, was born at the New York Aquarium. Father Beethoven was born at SeaWorld San Antonio.
In 2012, Maris delivered a female calf that died days after birth.
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