(Taiwan) Three Russian belugas make public debut in Pingtung

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Three Russian belugas make public debut in Pingtung

 

2002-08-19 / Taiwan News, Staff Writer /

Whale watchers packed the National Museum of Marine

Biology and Aquarium in Pingtung yesterday to witness

the public debut of three Russian beluga whales.

 

Of the six belugas purchased from Russia, only three

were available for their first public welcome

yesterday after their arrival on August 12.

 

Two of the whales were still under observation and one

died on Thursday.

 

As this was the first public exhibition of beluga

whales in Taiwan, the event attracted a large crowd.

The two to three-year-old whales, rapidly shaking

their 500 to 700 kilogram bodies, appeared to be

nervous about the attention they attracted from the

fans.

 

But staff of the museum, in collaboration with a

Russian cetacean expert, tried to sooth the animals by

creating a comfortable living environment for them and

maintaining the water temperature at around 16 degrees

Celcius.

 

Besides welcoming the newcomers, the museum yesterday

also disclosed the sad news that one of the six whales

had died on Thursday due to extreme stress from the

long journey from Russia.

 

The Russian expert said that after the arrival of

these whales, the female whale was found to be in poor

condition as she rapidly swam around in the pool and

convulsions shook her body.

 

After her death, an initial autopsy revealed that the

right chamber of her heart was abnormally expanded,

indicating that the whale died from heart failure.

 

However, the definite cause of her death will only be

determined after the final results of the autopsy are

released on August 21, the museum said.

 

Due to concerns that the beluga had perhaps died of a

contagious disease, the museum examined the whale's

organs during the autopsy but no bacterial infection

was discovered.

 

The beluga whales usually have a life expectancy of 20

to 30 years and grow to between 1300 to 1500 kilograms

in weight and 300 to 460 centimeters in length.

 

These whales, dubbed " sea canaries, " make a variety of

sounds when hunting for food and they can be

recognized by their white color, prominent rounded

head, stout body shape and lack of dorsal fin.

 

 

 

 

 

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