WESTCOAST NEWS
Aquarium welcomes new dolphin
Facility had been seeking a companion for Spinnaker for some time
Vancouver Sun
July 25, 2005
VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Aquarium said goodbye to a whale and hello to a dolphin over the weekend.
Allua, a 21-year-old beluga whale who been at the Aquarium since 1985, was settling in at San Diego's SeaWorld after a flight south.
Meanwhile, Spinnaker, the Aquarium's 18-year-old lone male Pacific white-sided dolphin, appeared delighted to meet his new companion, Laverne, who was flown in from SeaWorld in San Antonio, Tex.
The aquarium had been seeking a companion for Spinnaker for some time.
The Aquarium said in the news release that since being introduced shortly after noon on Sunday the two have been "almost inseparable."
Laverne, 27, also a Pacific white-sided dolphin, arrived Saturday morning, but initially was kept separate from Spinnaker in the dolphin tank's medical pool the morning of July 23.
The Aquarium said she was adjusting nicely, eating herring provided by both her SeaWorld trainer and her new Vancouver Aquarium trainers.
"She's swimming around, exploring her surroundings, eating well and responding positively to her trainers," said Brian Sheehan, marine mammal curator at the Aquarium.
While it took a couple of hours for the two dolphins to get used to each other, by the end of the afternoon Sunday the pair were doing basic trained behaviours together at the dock in the main exhibit during regularly scheduled dolphin shows.
Meanwhile, Allua was accompanied by her trainer to help her settle in in San Diego, where she will be a companion for that facility's one male and two female beluga whales.
At the Vancouver Aquarium, Allua had demonstrated strong maternal instincts, earning her the nickname "Auntie Allua," but had never had her own offspring.
SeaWorld and the Vancouver Aquarium hope Allua will breed and have a calf of her own at the San Diego facility.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005
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THE PROVINCE
Latest News
Lonely Spinnaker welcomes new dolphin
Staff hope two will eventually mate
Matthew Ramsey
The Province
Monday, July 25, 2005
CREDIT: Jon Murray, The Province
Laverne, a Pacific white-sided dolphin from SeaWorld in Texas, has successfully mated before.
After 90 minutes of coy glances and flirtatious circling, a feisty Japanese teenager made the first move on an older Texan female at the Vancouver Aquarium yesterday.
Spinnaker, the aquarium's 18-year-old resident white-sided dolphin, swam into a small holding pool to meet Laverne, 27, his new white-sided friend from SeaWorld San Antonio.
Laverne arrived at the aquarium Saturday morning and was kept initially in a small pool away from Spinnaker, who circled in the waters of the main habitat. Trainers opened the gate separating the two pools yesterday morning, ending the three-year job of finding a pal for Spinnaker after the death of dolphin Whitewings in 2002.
It took an hour and a half for Spinnaker (103 kilograms, 1.9 metres) to work up the nerve to swim into the smaller pool and meet Laverne (125 kg, 2.1 m).
The moment was met by cheers from aquarium visitors and staff.
Laverne and Spinnaker celebrated with herring.
It's been an "emotional rollercoaster" at the aquarium in recent days with the death of a juvenile beluga, saying goodbye to another beluga and welcoming Laverne, said vice-president of operations Clint Wright.
Wright said he hopes the two dolphins will eventually mate. Laverne is the mother of a five-year-old male called Munchkin, while Spinnaker is known to get randy but has never produced an offspring.
"The first thing is companionship," Wright said. "It's really up to the two of them. He's been frisky for the past two weeks. It's almost like he knew she was coming."
Female white-sided dolphins are typically dominant over males so it was somewhat of a surprise for Spinnaker to take the initiative yesterday. Four years ago, when he arrived from a facility in Japan, Spinnaker spent a full five days in the smaller pool before entering the larger one and meeting White-wings.
Once Laverne has settled in, she will join Spinnaker in regular performances.
n In the meantime, beluga whale Allua has arrived safely in California.
The 23-year-old female whale was hoisted by crane out of the water late Saturday night. The beluga was then placed in a freshwater transport box and driven to the airport where she was loaded into a charter DC-8 for the flight to SeaWorld, San Diego. She arrived at SeaWorld yesterday morning with an entourage of three Vancouver trainers.
Wright says Allua's new home is slightly bigger than what she grew accustomed to after 20 years in Vancouver. Allua will be allowed to settle in for the next few days and get used to her one male and two female beluga companions.
Trainers are hoping Allua, who became known as "Auntie Allua" in Vancouver after she started nursing calf Tuvaq, will breed with the SeaWorld male and raise a calf of her own.
Tuvaq, who was born at Vancouver Aquarium in July 2002, died at the age of three earlier this month. It's not known yet what killed the calf.
Allua's blood was checked at least three times before her trip to San Diego to ensure she had no infections.
mramsey@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2005