Ailing Vancouver Aquarium beluga stumps vets following offspring’s sudden death
VANCOUVER — The sudden illness of a female beluga whale at the Vancouver Aquarium following her offspring’s unexpected death two days earlier has her caretakers scrambling to figure out what is behind the alarming development.
John Nightingale, the aquarium’s president and CEO, said the facility is conferring with medical experts both inside and outside Canada to identify what is ailing Aurora. The whale, who is believed to be 29, is exhibiting the same symptoms that preceded the death of Qila, her 21-year-old calf.
“Whether it’s an internal toxin from disease or an external toxin from food, it seems likely that at the very core, physiological root of the problem, there probably is a toxin in there somewhere,” Nightingale said. “That’s what we’re trying to find.”
The facility’s top veterinarian has consulted with experts at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, the University of Guelph’s veterinary toxicology department and the aquatic biotoxin wing of the United States’ federal agency responsible for overseeing ocean quality, Nightingale said.