Scientists Teach Baby Beluga Whale How To Bottlefeed

Photos courtesy of Mercury News.

For the first time ever, a baby beluga whale has been rescued in US waters and brought back to an aquarium for care. The little whale is only two days old and was found in South Naknek, a part of Alaska's Bristol Bay. Previous rescue attempts had not been successful with most calves passing away before they could be transported to a care facility. The only previous rescue attempt that had shown any success ended with the rescuers returning the baby whale back to its pod but in this case, there was no sign of the mother to be found.

The little male calf was transported 90 minutes to the Alaska SeaLife Center where scientists around the world have been flocking in an attempt to help. Currently, he is being fed via a stomach tube but there is hope that he will learn to feed from the bottle being offered to him. There is a long road ahead for this baby but scientists are hopeful that someday he'll grow to his full size of around 15 feet long.

For more information and additional photos, click here.