Silly commenters. Of course it breaks the tables. You have any idea how BIG even a baby beluga is?!
Richard Harrissays
How did the umbilical cord get severed?
Max Faginsays
Interesting. I didn’t know whales delivered their young tail first. Is that normal in the animal kingdom? And if not, when did that shift occur?
Richard Harrissays
Okay, I’ll try to answer my own question. I guess evolution did it. But by what means?
Falynesays
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! :-)
Of course, now I’m gonna have that song stuck in my head for a few days. I’m a child of the 80s, Raffi songs are in my very bones, just waiting to worm their way to my ears.
Also, WHOA, she had an easy time of that. Wow. It just came out, in less than a minute!
Nemosays
Only seconds old, and it swims to the surface on its own. Cool.
Flakysays
Do they usually give birth tail first?
Gibsays
Where’s the umbilical cord ? I didn’t see it, although there was a lot of “blood” which comes out with the baby. Perhaps the cord is an easy-tear variety ?
AnJaCosays
Tail first is normal for all Cetaceans [whales, dophins, etc.]
Might have evolved that way to delay the need to take a breath.
And the going straight to the surface immediately after birth is a characteristic that would be strongly selected for.
And I wonder how long it took for Mom to return to and attend to her babaluga? Junior seemed to be on his own there for a bit.
Katrinasays
Our kids were too young for Raffi. Here’s the song that I’m stuck with now: The Wiggles
sailorsays
Why do we keep belugas in captivity? For tourists to stare at?
QrazyQatsays
Pretty simple. If they don’t deliver tail first the babies drown. Those that didn’t very quickly develop the tendency to deliver tail first lost 100% of their offspring. That’s some pretty durned strong natural selection force right there.
Oh no… PZ is falling to the dark side. That thing is only a vertebrate!
Rob Gsays
Also, WHOA, she had an easy time of that.
We’re one of the few (the only?) mammalian species which does have a hard time. Because of our big fat overgrown heads.
Silisays
The squeaky noise was a bit distracting. I kept thinking someone was squeezing a balloon in an attempt to provide amusing soundeffects.
Gibsays
Where’s the umbilical cord ? I didn’t see it, although there was a lot of “blood” which comes out with the baby. Perhaps the cord is an easy-tear variety ?
natural cynicsays
Maybe you didn’t see it because the camera was fixed on the baby after the birth.
Nic Nicholsonsays
Wow, that’s cool. Its first breaths. Like most, I’m very curious what drives it to the surface like that. Obviously hard-wired that way.
Yet another example of an efficiently evolved characteristic! (E.E)
-nic
Ferrous Patellasays
News reports say it took a while for mom to bond with the tyke. Apparently (no pun intended) she began to nurse pretty quickly after some of the other beluga were reintroduced to the aquarium.
I don’t want to be the one to break the news about this thing called a zoo to #14…
Cap'n Ahabsays
Arrrrr the White Whale…she be reproducin.
Colonel Moleratsays
Instead of clapping, shouldn’t the onlookers be throwing stones and shouting, just to give the baby a healthy fear of humanity?
QrazyQatsays
But as for mammals that have a hard time during child birth a lot of female hyenas also die during child birth.
And a number of others. I did a correction, or more accurately a clarification, of this on a TO feedback (Jan 04). I mentioned examples of cows, elephants, and marmosets in that feedback, and pointed out that one reason we don’t give this a lot of thought is that mostly, we don’t care what pain non-human animals feel.
Stupid question. Why is the premium caviar called “Beluga” when it’s obviously not that particular species? Sturgeaon, I presume.
Benny the Icepicksays
//We’re one of the few (the only?) mammalian species which does have a hard time. Because of our big fat overgrown heads.//
Um, I’m pretty sure that it’s because of the Fall of Eden. Damn you, Eve, and your fruit-eating ways too!
Jeff Arnoldsays
OK, so am I the only one who though that this video was just really damned CUTE? I mean… It’s a baby BALUGA!!! A brand new one… It was swimming all clumsily and stuff… It was keeey-yute!
BAAAAby balUUUUga!!
Jeff Arnoldsays
Oh, the egregious spelling errors I made.. I’m unfit to post here..
foldedpathsays
Cute… so the baby gets to spend its life in a tank.
I’d be interested to know if the mom was a recent capture (pregnant when captured), or if this was an actual captive breeding program. Would it affect any of the “ooh, isn’t that cute!” responses here, depending on the answer to that?
Sorry…. I grew up in an area where captive Dolphins and Orcas were a big commercial tourist attraction, and where they still sell “swim with the captive dolphin adventures.” Count me on the un-sympathetic side, for this kind of thing.
Richard Simonssays
According to Vancouver Aquarium the mother was also born in the aquarium.
The umbilical cord consists of two arteries, two veins, and an “allantonic” duct, imbedded within a gelatinous connective tissue, which is tougher and much more compact than that of man.
Most of the growth of the fetus is towards the side and front of the mother, reducing the visible external bulge. Between the seventh and eleventh month of pregnancy the fetus is aligned with it’s tail toward the cervix. This allows the young to be born almost invariably tail-first.
Being born tail-first has an obvious advantage; it enables the young to breathe when not yet fully expelled, without the danger of breathing in nonsterile blood, mucus, or amniotic fluid in the maternal organs. This is important, since the birth may last from half an hour to over two hours. However, one bottlenose dolphin birth was reported to occur in only five minutes.
In terrestrial mammals the stimulus that begins breathing is thought to be a shortage of oxygen in the blood of the newborn. As long as sufficient oxygen can be supplied by the placenta, there is no danger that the young will be forced to breathe. However, should the cord become taut, get a knot or impede the blood flow in any other way, the young may be forced to breathe early. In many land mammals the cord is fairly short, about 40% of the fetus’ length. It is stretched taut at the moment the forehead of the young protudes from the mother. (Assuming the young is born head first. Because the cord is located closer to the rear of the animal than the snout, an animal born in breech position may have the cord taut or even snap before full born, causing the onset of breathing at a dangerous moment.)
In cetaceans, the umbilical cord ranges from 40 to 50% of the fetus’ length, but is located in the approximate center of the body. Thus, there is no real preference for head or tail presentation. Because the young are born under water, the risk of breathing in fluid will always be the same.
The flippers and flukes are folded at birth in such a way that they are not likely to catch on the mother’s pelvic bone during birth, and as such are not a worry.
The reason the cetacean is always born tail first is due to distribution of weight in the fetus. Since the tail is the lighter part of the fetus, it will rise to a higher point than the head and body. Due to the layout of the uterus, the highest point leads towards the cervix. In most terrestrial mammals, the opposite is true, the hindquarters tend to be heavier, and the head will point towards the opening of the cervix.
The umbilical cord has a weak point which allows it to snap of it’s own accord as the newborn is expelled. The forced needed to tear the cord is extremely little, in many cases it cannot support even it’s own weight.
Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above, and the sea below,
And a little white whale on the go.
Baby beluga, baby Beluga, is the water warm?
Is your mama home with you, so happy.
Way down yonder where the dolphins play,
Where they dive and splash all day,
The waves roll in and the waves roll out,
See the water squirting out of your spout.
Baby beluga, baby Beluga, sing your little song,
Sing for all your friends, we like to hear you.
When it’s dark, you’re home and fed,
Curl up snug in your water bed.
Moon is shining and the stars are out,
Good night, little whale, goodnight.
Baby beluga, baby Beluga, with tomorrow’s sun,
Another day’s begun, you’ll soon be waking.
Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale on the go.
You’re just a little white whale on the go.
Richard Harrissays
Taupo @ # 37, thank you for that. Having had a (for ignorant me) scary experience with the umbilical cord of one of my daughters many years ago, I was interested in how the cetaceans dealt with it.
I recommend watching this video with the sound off… the silly whooping and cheering at the end from the gormless crowd really spoils the moment.
Matt Penfoldsays
“We’re one of the few (the only?) mammalian species which does have a hard time. Because of our big fat overgrown heads.”
Coupled with a rather narrow pelvis as a result of bipedalism.
Yet another example of why humans are not intelligently designed, and why a fair few human females would like a little chat with any “intelligent designer” should they exist.
Lynnaisays
and why a fair few human females would like a little chat with any “intelligent designer” should they exist.
On of several reasons and I think that chat might involve a tire iron.
Skweesays
(: (: (: (: (: (: (: (:
I hope s/he finds the world to her/his satisfaction.
Carliesays
Am I the only one who was thinking “Sure, this is the one time when that whole ‘buoyancy in water’ thing really doesn’t help much” ? Gravity helping the baby out, not so much.
Pretty simple. If they don’t deliver tail first the babies drown. Those that didn’t very quickly develop the tendency to deliver tail first lost 100% of their offspring. That’s some pretty durned strong natural selection force right there.
Right, but that way of putting it implies that suddenly there was a selection pressure to have babies tail-first, and suddenly those variants appeared and were selected for.
Remember what Dawkins often emphasizes: evolution is gradual, and the gradient that makes gradual evolution possible is the heterogeneity of the real world. A leaf-mimicking insect didn’t suddenly emerge from an insect that looked nothing like a leaf; they began to resemble leaves more and more, because the birds are making split-second decisions to investigate or not investigate that blob of green as they fly past, and if one insect looks 0.01% more like a leaf than its neighbors, that’s enough over the long haul to result in the splendid adaptations we see. Likewise, for cetaceans, there was a situation where it was advantageous to spend a little more time in the water than out, and every tail-first birth gave a tiny advantage. Gradually that ratcheted towards the scene we just saw.
Autumnsays
@Qrazy Qat,
I clicked your link, and the funniest fucking thing I’ve ever seen was a creationist asking why our (human) chromosome number is less than that of chimps!
It must be because mutations only destroy information!
Creationism confirms human’s evoloutionary lineage!
Cute little cetacean.
keelysays
In response to some questions regarding the birth:
The birth wasn’t as quick (or as easy) as it looked. Qila (the mother) was pregnant for 14 months, and was in labour for 4 hours. The umbilical cord snapped on its own. The cheering you hear once the calf in born is staff and aquarium guests. We were all in a little suspense as Qila is a first time mom, and survival rates aren’t always that great for first time moms. So seeing a live and healthy calf (notice how she swan straight to the surface on her own!) was cause for cheering. Especially after sitting uncomfortably for three hours.
The tail flukes appeared at 1:11pm (MST) Tuesday June 10th, and we waited with bated breath until 4:27pm. Not all calves are strong enough to go to the surface on their own, so this calf doing it was a really good sign.
Right after birth mom (Qila) went to another part of the habitat to rest after her experience. After some time it seemed as if Qila really wasn’t clear what she should be doing next. At that point we introduced Grandma, Aurora. Qila herself was conceived and born at the Vancouver Aquarium almost 13 years ago to Aurora. When we introduced Aurora to the habitat she went straight to the calf and started swimming with the calf as a mother usually does. Aurora has had calves before and is a great mom, and demonstrated it that day. It was also a great learning opportunity for Qila to understand what she should do. After sometime Qila started to understand her duties as mom however, Grandma proved to be a little…too helpful. So marine mammal staff asked Aurora to return to the side animal care area so that Qila and the calf could bond on their own. Soon after Qila and the calf were on their own in the habitat they began swimming together, and even began nursing a short time later.
It is still Qila and the calf on their own in the main habitat, and they can be viewed on the link given above. The calf is now 5 days old, still really cute, and still actually has a bit of the umbilical cord attached.
The placenta was passed later Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning and retrieved by marine mammal staff.
Having Qila and the calf at our aquarium gives us the opportunity to educate public about animals in the wild, and gives the opportunity for guests to really connect with animals they otherwise wouldn’t connect with. It is also an ideal situation in which to speak with public about the different dangers that face these populations and what we can do to help. We are a conservation institution, and that is our focus. Our focus is not entertainment and shows, but rather a ‘head-fake’ of talking about the animals and including conservation messaging as well (and in the case of myself – evolution also. “Here, take a look at this coelacanth!”)
Aaaw. Thanks AnJaCo that whale cam is so cool the link bears repeating. Cetaceangasm.
But I see your baby beluga and raise you a baby humpback here… a minute or so in for the bub.
Bride of Shreksays
4 hour labour!!! Heh. Half her bloody luck. Try 24 hour hours, an episiotomy, a vacuum on your baby’s noggin and about a million med students staring up your clacker… and none of the buggrs cheered or clapped afterwards for me.
Golf clap for BoS. I had to look up episiotomy and… ouch. I say again… ouch.
Obviously you’ll never let the little bugger forget the pain he/she put you through. 40 odd years later and my mum still brings up the 36 hour labour and the forceps etc…
zadigsays
I understand why human childbirth is so difficult, ’cause Genesis (the book, not the rock band) tells me why, but, RE: comment #24, what did the hyenas do to piss off God? Did they feed off the Carrion of Knowledge of Good and Evil or something?
am I the only one for whom this breaks the page layout?
Methinks PZ did not close off the youtube link properly.
You crashed your tables!
Silly commenters. Of course it breaks the tables. You have any idea how BIG even a baby beluga is?!
How did the umbilical cord get severed?
Interesting. I didn’t know whales delivered their young tail first. Is that normal in the animal kingdom? And if not, when did that shift occur?
Okay, I’ll try to answer my own question. I guess evolution did it. But by what means?
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! :-)
Of course, now I’m gonna have that song stuck in my head for a few days. I’m a child of the 80s, Raffi songs are in my very bones, just waiting to worm their way to my ears.
Also, WHOA, she had an easy time of that. Wow. It just came out, in less than a minute!
Only seconds old, and it swims to the surface on its own. Cool.
Do they usually give birth tail first?
Where’s the umbilical cord ? I didn’t see it, although there was a lot of “blood” which comes out with the baby. Perhaps the cord is an easy-tear variety ?
Tail first is normal for all Cetaceans [whales, dophins, etc.]
Might have evolved that way to delay the need to take a breath.
And the going straight to the surface immediately after birth is a characteristic that would be strongly selected for.
And I wonder how long it took for Mom to return to and attend to her babaluga? Junior seemed to be on his own there for a bit.
Our kids were too young for Raffi. Here’s the song that I’m stuck with now:
The Wiggles
Why do we keep belugas in captivity? For tourists to stare at?
Pretty simple. If they don’t deliver tail first the babies drown. Those that didn’t very quickly develop the tendency to deliver tail first lost 100% of their offspring. That’s some pretty durned strong natural selection force right there.
Oh no… PZ is falling to the dark side. That thing is only a vertebrate!
Also, WHOA, she had an easy time of that.
We’re one of the few (the only?) mammalian species which does have a hard time. Because of our big fat overgrown heads.
The squeaky noise was a bit distracting. I kept thinking someone was squeezing a balloon in an attempt to provide amusing soundeffects.
Where’s the umbilical cord ? I didn’t see it, although there was a lot of “blood” which comes out with the baby. Perhaps the cord is an easy-tear variety ?
Maybe you didn’t see it because the camera was fixed on the baby after the birth.
Wow, that’s cool. Its first breaths. Like most, I’m very curious what drives it to the surface like that. Obviously hard-wired that way.
Yet another example of an efficiently evolved characteristic! (E.E)
-nic
News reports say it took a while for mom to bond with the tyke. Apparently (no pun intended) she began to nurse pretty quickly after some of the other beluga were reintroduced to the aquarium.
Easy? Sure, that’s one advantage of being streamlined. You can have a great big brain and a relatively easy birth.
Funny how few of these ID guys have given birth.
(Vis-a-vis the women IDoids, I suggest something along the Stockholm Syndrome/hazing continuum.)
gross.
But as for mammals that have a hard time during child birth a lot of female hyenas also die during child birth.
http://www.livescience.com/animals/060426_hyena_cubs.html
I don’t want to be the one to break the news about this thing called a zoo to #14…
Arrrrr the White Whale…she be reproducin.
Instead of clapping, shouldn’t the onlookers be throwing stones and shouting, just to give the baby a healthy fear of humanity?
But as for mammals that have a hard time during child birth a lot of female hyenas also die during child birth.
And a number of others. I did a correction, or more accurately a clarification, of this on a TO feedback (Jan 04). I mentioned examples of cows, elephants, and marmosets in that feedback, and pointed out that one reason we don’t give this a lot of thought is that mostly, we don’t care what pain non-human animals feel.
Stupid question. Why is the premium caviar called “Beluga” when it’s obviously not that particular species? Sturgeaon, I presume.
//We’re one of the few (the only?) mammalian species which does have a hard time. Because of our big fat overgrown heads.//
Um, I’m pretty sure that it’s because of the Fall of Eden. Damn you, Eve, and your fruit-eating ways too!
OK, so am I the only one who though that this video was just really damned CUTE? I mean… It’s a baby BALUGA!!! A brand new one… It was swimming all clumsily and stuff… It was keeey-yute!
BAAAAby balUUUUga!!
Oh, the egregious spelling errors I made.. I’m unfit to post here..
Cute… so the baby gets to spend its life in a tank.
I’d be interested to know if the mom was a recent capture (pregnant when captured), or if this was an actual captive breeding program. Would it affect any of the “ooh, isn’t that cute!” responses here, depending on the answer to that?
Sorry…. I grew up in an area where captive Dolphins and Orcas were a big commercial tourist attraction, and where they still sell “swim with the captive dolphin adventures.” Count me on the un-sympathetic side, for this kind of thing.
According to Vancouver Aquarium the mother was also born in the aquarium.
Streaming webcam of Mom and baby girl.
Available during [Vancouver] daylight hours.
@#29: You are right – roe from the Beluga Sturgeon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beluga_caviar
Quoting : http://www.harmlesslion.com/dolphins/r_fetal.htm
The umbilical cord consists of two arteries, two veins, and an “allantonic” duct, imbedded within a gelatinous connective tissue, which is tougher and much more compact than that of man.
Most of the growth of the fetus is towards the side and front of the mother, reducing the visible external bulge. Between the seventh and eleventh month of pregnancy the fetus is aligned with it’s tail toward the cervix. This allows the young to be born almost invariably tail-first.
Being born tail-first has an obvious advantage; it enables the young to breathe when not yet fully expelled, without the danger of breathing in nonsterile blood, mucus, or amniotic fluid in the maternal organs. This is important, since the birth may last from half an hour to over two hours. However, one bottlenose dolphin birth was reported to occur in only five minutes.
In terrestrial mammals the stimulus that begins breathing is thought to be a shortage of oxygen in the blood of the newborn. As long as sufficient oxygen can be supplied by the placenta, there is no danger that the young will be forced to breathe. However, should the cord become taut, get a knot or impede the blood flow in any other way, the young may be forced to breathe early. In many land mammals the cord is fairly short, about 40% of the fetus’ length. It is stretched taut at the moment the forehead of the young protudes from the mother. (Assuming the young is born head first. Because the cord is located closer to the rear of the animal than the snout, an animal born in breech position may have the cord taut or even snap before full born, causing the onset of breathing at a dangerous moment.)
In cetaceans, the umbilical cord ranges from 40 to 50% of the fetus’ length, but is located in the approximate center of the body. Thus, there is no real preference for head or tail presentation. Because the young are born under water, the risk of breathing in fluid will always be the same.
The flippers and flukes are folded at birth in such a way that they are not likely to catch on the mother’s pelvic bone during birth, and as such are not a worry.
The reason the cetacean is always born tail first is due to distribution of weight in the fetus. Since the tail is the lighter part of the fetus, it will rise to a higher point than the head and body. Due to the layout of the uterus, the highest point leads towards the cervix. In most terrestrial mammals, the opposite is true, the hindquarters tend to be heavier, and the head will point towards the opening of the cervix.
The umbilical cord has a weak point which allows it to snap of it’s own accord as the newborn is expelled. The forced needed to tear the cord is extremely little, in many cases it cannot support even it’s own weight.
O/T but PZ have you seen the art of Dan Hillier?
http://www.danhillier.com/#/gallery?image_id=ae_01
“Baby Beluga”
by Raffi and Debi Pike
Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above, and the sea below,
And a little white whale on the go.
Baby beluga, baby Beluga, is the water warm?
Is your mama home with you, so happy.
Way down yonder where the dolphins play,
Where they dive and splash all day,
The waves roll in and the waves roll out,
See the water squirting out of your spout.
Baby beluga, baby Beluga, sing your little song,
Sing for all your friends, we like to hear you.
When it’s dark, you’re home and fed,
Curl up snug in your water bed.
Moon is shining and the stars are out,
Good night, little whale, goodnight.
Baby beluga, baby Beluga, with tomorrow’s sun,
Another day’s begun, you’ll soon be waking.
Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale on the go.
You’re just a little white whale on the go.
Taupo @ # 37, thank you for that. Having had a (for ignorant me) scary experience with the umbilical cord of one of my daughters many years ago, I was interested in how the cetaceans dealt with it.
Awwww….a brand new beluga! Very cute.
I recommend watching this video with the sound off… the silly whooping and cheering at the end from the gormless crowd really spoils the moment.
“We’re one of the few (the only?) mammalian species which does have a hard time. Because of our big fat overgrown heads.”
Coupled with a rather narrow pelvis as a result of bipedalism.
Yet another example of why humans are not intelligently designed, and why a fair few human females would like a little chat with any “intelligent designer” should they exist.
On of several reasons and I think that chat might involve a tire iron.
(: (: (: (: (: (: (: (:
I hope s/he finds the world to her/his satisfaction.
Am I the only one who was thinking “Sure, this is the one time when that whole ‘buoyancy in water’ thing really doesn’t help much” ? Gravity helping the baby out, not so much.
@QrazyQat:
Right, but that way of putting it implies that suddenly there was a selection pressure to have babies tail-first, and suddenly those variants appeared and were selected for.
Remember what Dawkins often emphasizes: evolution is gradual, and the gradient that makes gradual evolution possible is the heterogeneity of the real world. A leaf-mimicking insect didn’t suddenly emerge from an insect that looked nothing like a leaf; they began to resemble leaves more and more, because the birds are making split-second decisions to investigate or not investigate that blob of green as they fly past, and if one insect looks 0.01% more like a leaf than its neighbors, that’s enough over the long haul to result in the splendid adaptations we see. Likewise, for cetaceans, there was a situation where it was advantageous to spend a little more time in the water than out, and every tail-first birth gave a tiny advantage. Gradually that ratcheted towards the scene we just saw.
@Qrazy Qat,
I clicked your link, and the funniest fucking thing I’ve ever seen was a creationist asking why our (human) chromosome number is less than that of chimps!
It must be because mutations only destroy information!
Creationism confirms human’s evoloutionary lineage!
Cute little cetacean.
In response to some questions regarding the birth:
The birth wasn’t as quick (or as easy) as it looked. Qila (the mother) was pregnant for 14 months, and was in labour for 4 hours. The umbilical cord snapped on its own. The cheering you hear once the calf in born is staff and aquarium guests. We were all in a little suspense as Qila is a first time mom, and survival rates aren’t always that great for first time moms. So seeing a live and healthy calf (notice how she swan straight to the surface on her own!) was cause for cheering. Especially after sitting uncomfortably for three hours.
The tail flukes appeared at 1:11pm (MST) Tuesday June 10th, and we waited with bated breath until 4:27pm. Not all calves are strong enough to go to the surface on their own, so this calf doing it was a really good sign.
Right after birth mom (Qila) went to another part of the habitat to rest after her experience. After some time it seemed as if Qila really wasn’t clear what she should be doing next. At that point we introduced Grandma, Aurora. Qila herself was conceived and born at the Vancouver Aquarium almost 13 years ago to Aurora. When we introduced Aurora to the habitat she went straight to the calf and started swimming with the calf as a mother usually does. Aurora has had calves before and is a great mom, and demonstrated it that day. It was also a great learning opportunity for Qila to understand what she should do. After sometime Qila started to understand her duties as mom however, Grandma proved to be a little…too helpful. So marine mammal staff asked Aurora to return to the side animal care area so that Qila and the calf could bond on their own. Soon after Qila and the calf were on their own in the habitat they began swimming together, and even began nursing a short time later.
It is still Qila and the calf on their own in the main habitat, and they can be viewed on the link given above. The calf is now 5 days old, still really cute, and still actually has a bit of the umbilical cord attached.
The placenta was passed later Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning and retrieved by marine mammal staff.
Having Qila and the calf at our aquarium gives us the opportunity to educate public about animals in the wild, and gives the opportunity for guests to really connect with animals they otherwise wouldn’t connect with. It is also an ideal situation in which to speak with public about the different dangers that face these populations and what we can do to help. We are a conservation institution, and that is our focus. Our focus is not entertainment and shows, but rather a ‘head-fake’ of talking about the animals and including conservation messaging as well (and in the case of myself – evolution also. “Here, take a look at this coelacanth!”)
Aaaw. Thanks AnJaCo that whale cam is so cool the link bears repeating. Cetaceangasm.
But I see your baby beluga and raise you a baby humpback here… a minute or so in for the bub.
4 hour labour!!! Heh. Half her bloody luck. Try 24 hour hours, an episiotomy, a vacuum on your baby’s noggin and about a million med students staring up your clacker… and none of the buggrs cheered or clapped afterwards for me.
Whereelse but Queensland BoS !
Golf clap for BoS. I had to look up episiotomy and… ouch. I say again… ouch.
Obviously you’ll never let the little bugger forget the pain he/she put you through. 40 odd years later and my mum still brings up the 36 hour labour and the forceps etc…
I understand why human childbirth is so difficult, ’cause Genesis (the book, not the rock band) tells me why, but, RE: comment #24, what did the hyenas do to piss off God? Did they feed off the Carrion of Knowledge of Good and Evil or something?