FiberLux
New member
The following was sent out by Ken Ramirez of Marine Mammals
Hello Everyone,
Tuesday evening at 5:00 pm we decided to do a full physical exam on Puiji's calf. It was a routine wellness exam. Since the calf is strong and looking good, we felt that this was the best time to actually weigh the calf, get a blood sample, and determine the gender.
This allows us to have good baseline information on record for a healthy calf. Our size estimates have been very close to on target - the calf is just under 6 feet long and now weighs a plump 259 lbs! The calf will continue to nurse for many more months and will likely surpass 500 or even 600 lbs. by the time it reaches one year old.
As for the gender, we can now confirm that the calf is a female! As you know with beluga whales, both sexes have mammary glands and it's difficult to be 100-percent certain of a calf's sex until we do a routine physical like the one we did Tuesday.
Also, as expected, Puiji was great with us working with her calf.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Take care,
Ken
We thought you might enjoy hearing this update!
Boyd
Hello Everyone,
Tuesday evening at 5:00 pm we decided to do a full physical exam on Puiji's calf. It was a routine wellness exam. Since the calf is strong and looking good, we felt that this was the best time to actually weigh the calf, get a blood sample, and determine the gender.
This allows us to have good baseline information on record for a healthy calf. Our size estimates have been very close to on target - the calf is just under 6 feet long and now weighs a plump 259 lbs! The calf will continue to nurse for many more months and will likely surpass 500 or even 600 lbs. by the time it reaches one year old.
As for the gender, we can now confirm that the calf is a female! As you know with beluga whales, both sexes have mammary glands and it's difficult to be 100-percent certain of a calf's sex until we do a routine physical like the one we did Tuesday.
Also, as expected, Puiji was great with us working with her calf.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Take care,
Ken
We thought you might enjoy hearing this update!
Boyd
