photo credit: Shedd Aquarium
Shedd Aquarium in Chicago shared the wonderful moment when Katrl, a Pacific white-sided dolphin in their care, gave birth to her first calf this week.
According to Shedd, Katrl gave birth after 3 hours of labor in the Abbott Oceanarium with more than 40 members of the animal care and veterinary teams standing by.
Katrl is one of only 16 dolphins in the care of accredited zoological facilities in North America and the birth is a rare opportunity for scientific and marine mammal communities to improve their understanding the reproductive and neonatal biology and behaviors about this rarely studied species.
Check out the incredible moment and listen as the crowd goes wild:
h/t: Shedd Aquarium