We appreciate the many comments and thoughts we’ve received over the last week, and wanted to provide you an update on Naya, along with Puiji and her calf.
Naya, whose calf failed to thrive after a rare and difficult birth earlier this week, is doing extremely well. She is eating and playing with her trainers like normal, appears more relaxed, and is almost back to her old self. Because Naya has an incredibly strong bond with Puiji, and has been a nursemaid to many of our previous calves, she is currently swimming with Puiji and her calf in Secluded Bay. It’s encouraging to see Puiji’s calf spending time with Naya. In fact, Puiji’s calf currently spends almost 25% of its day with Naya, something that Puiji allows and Naya seems to appreciate.
As for Puiji’s calf, he is doing amazingly well as he moves into his second full week of life. You may remember he was born with a slight curvature of his tail, possibly from his breech birth (head first). But with help from his mother, he has learned to overcome some early swimming challenges and his tail now looks and functions normally. He swims and dives like a champ. In fact, he likes to play with his buoyancy. He flips and stands on his head, and swims upside down and so much more. He seems to truly appreciate and enjoy showing off how agile he has become. There are still several milestones he needs to still reach, but we are very pleased with his progress so far.
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Posted by Ken Ramirez, animal collections and training.
Really wonderful news that the calf is thriving, despite his initial "handicap".
Posted by: Leah Perlman | December 23, 2009 at 02:27 PM
i am so very happy for Naya. Such a strong mother and auntie. So inspiring. Thank you shedd aquarium staff and members for being there for the animals. I know what it is like to lose something so precious and dear to your heart.
Posted by: faith | December 23, 2009 at 03:11 PM
Really great news!! It raises my spirits to have such a successsful calf after two animal deaths in Chicago on the same day. It looks like the calf is doing well, despite the fact that he is handicapped.
Posted by: Joe D. | December 23, 2009 at 04:22 PM
"failed to thrive" ?? What are you guys, politicians??
death is as much a part of life as anything and should not be sugar-coated.
the calf died, let's move on
JS
Posted by: Jim sweeney | December 29, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Failure to thrive is actually a medical diagnosis given to infants when they aren't growing or doing as well as they should be. It's not a sugar coating, nor does it mean, necessarily, that the infant has died.
Posted by: TARA | January 03, 2010 at 01:11 PM
It's great to see that he is so active. I can't wait to see him.
Posted by: Alyssa | January 27, 2010 at 12:54 AM