Europe's first captive-born beluga whale may not survive

A 2-week-old beluga whale - the first born in captivity in Europe - may not survive because his mother has stopped producing milk, officials at a Valencia's Oceanografic marine park in southeastern Spain said Thursday. Officials at the Valencia aquarium said the baby beluga had suffered from an irregular swimming style and excessive buoyancy since his birth on November 2.

The beluga's 8-year-old mother is the youngest whale to give birth in captivity. She conceived naturally, which is also unusual, and her pregnancy was a long 16 months.

The beluga has been unable to nurse her infant and stopped producing milk - despite efforts by aquarium staff to pump milk from her mammary glands, said Pablo Areitio, director of biology, and Daniel Garcia, chief veterinarian at the marine park. It has been reported that aquarium staff have been nursing the young whale with a formula that includes antibiotic and anti-fungal agents to help ward off infection.

Areitio said aquarium staff had contacted marine experts in Vancouver, Connecticut and New York, who warned of the "enormous difficulty of raising animals under these circumstances." Of several similar cases, only one young whale survived - only after it began suckling again, Areitio said, noting that aquarium staff members were trying to stimulate Yuka's mammary glands so she would begin producing milk again.

The baby whale has not yet been named, officials said.

Source: The Associated Press