Puiji’s calf, who turned 7 weeks old on Monday, is one plump little beluga. He has just about filled out his fetal folds, the deep wrinkles in his sides from when he was tucked in the womb. The trainers estimate that he’s gained at least 60 pounds since he was born, putting him at more than 220 pounds. He’s longer, too. Of course, he’s nursing from his mom and from the two other females in Puiji’s social group, Naya and Mauyak, so he’s getting plenty of nourishment.

At this point, the calf makes it look easy as he sails over to one whale or another to nurse. But in the beginning, imagine how hard it is when mom doesn’t have arms to cradle and baby doesn’t have hands to grasp – and both are swimming.

That’s why Shedd’s animal care team members wait anxiously for each beluga calf to figure out where the milk is and how to get it. They heaved a collective sigh of relief when Puiji’s calf started nursing when he was 24 hours old – thanks in large part to Puiji’s ability to guide the little guy to the right place while he was having early difficulties diving to reach her mammary glands.

In a matter of days, however, the calf became a nimble swimmer, ducking under mom, bumping her mammary glands with his head – stimulating milk production – and latching on for a meal.

When he nurses, he rolls his tongue into a soda-straw-like tube. Once the calf has his mouth firmly on the mammary, Puiji contracts the muscles around the gland to give him a high-pressure squirt of milk that is about 27 percent butterfat. (For comparison, half-and-half is about 11 percent, premium ice creams can run as high as 18 percent, and whipped cream is about 35 percent butterfat.) The calf nurses about every 30 minutes, getting two to six good long draws each time. And if Mom is tired but the calf wants more, he switches to Naya or Mauyak.

Be sure to visit Puiji’s calf soon in Polar Play Zone, and check out other beluga calf updates, including videos, downloadable activities, coupons, and more!

Posted by Karen Furnweger, web editor

Update from Releasing a sea turtle, Turtle surgery, Saving sea turtles

I said goodbye to everyone at Gumbo Limbo and headed north about an hour to the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. Dr. Mette was doing a flipper amputation on a loggerhead and I was able to see the removal of a badly damaged flipper. This poor turtle was hit by a boat propeller and got osteomyelitis--fancy word to say bone infection. These infections are very hard to clear up, especially if they are so wide spread as this poor turtles was.

Update from Saving sea turtles and Turtle surgery.

After the big round of surgeries yesterday we got in to find that one turtle recovered so quickly that he decided to get out of his pool and walk around the class room all night!  Very silly turtle.

Heather, a Gumbo Limbo Turtle Research staff member, and I medicated all turtles and then started to decide where everyone should go.

Update from Saving sea turtles.

Today we focused on surgery to remove the fibropapillomas (paps) tumors making it difficult for many of the turtles to move. Right now we think that these paps are a direct result of pollution. The most likely cause is “urban runoff” or pollution like fertilizers, oil and gasoline from streets and lawns washing into our water ways.

I got to Gumbo Limbo early to prep turtles and set up for surgery. There are many obstacles today: first, there are so many turtles that the surgery site does not have enough room to house all these turtles after surgery. We will use classrooms as a post-op site. Second, the weather is chilly so we have to heat up large classrooms to 80 degrees. Because turtles are cold-blooded, it’s important to regulate the room temperature.

Easy Diavola Mussels
Serves 4

Ingredients:
6 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup dry red wine or chicken stock
1 cup prepared tomato sauce or pasta sauce
1 tablespoon drained capers
¼ cup pitted black olives, chopped
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed, debearded
½ pound linguine, cooked and drained

Mussels in Red Thai Curry Sauce
Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 pound tomatoes, seeded, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped, peeled fresh ginger
2 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¾ teaspoon sea salt
3 pounds mussels, scrubbed, debearded
Fresh cilantro and lime wedges, for garnish

February's fish of the month is farmed mussels.

Did you know that approximately 90 percent of all the mussels consumed in the world are farmed? Did you know that this is actually a good thing?

Farmed mussels – as well as related scallops, oysters, and clams – are generally very environmentally sound. Because they do not rely on fishmeal or fish oil as dietary feed, farmed mussels require little natural resources to grow.

Be one of the first people to meet Puiji’s calf and help us celebrate this newest addition to Shedd’s beluga family!

Download a coupon for one FREE child Shedd Pass ticket with the purchase of an adult Shedd Pass ticket!

Posted by Laura Hayes, marketing

Check out news coverage of Shedd's newest beluga whale:

WLS-TV (ABC)
Chicago Tribune
ChicagoBreakingNews.com
NBC5.com
HuffingtonPost.com
GettyImages.com
European Pressphoto Agency

Posted by Jay Geneske, web editor