Beluga born at Vancouver, B.C., aquarium

A baby beluga whale has been born at the aquarium in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Twenty-one-year-old Aurora gave birth Sunday to a female calf after several hours of labor as members of the public watched. The yet-to-be-named calf swam up to the water's surface for its first breath at 3:39 p.m.

The calf is the second born at the aquarium during the past year. Last June, Aurora became a grandmother when her daughter Qila gave birth to a calf named Tiqa.

Aurora gave birth to Qila in 1995.

There are now six beluga whales at the Vancouver aquarium.

The birth comes within weeks of the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash., losing both of its belugas. Qannik (kah-NIK') died in March of a blood infection, and Beethoven was moved at the end of May to Sea World at San Antonio.

"This really was textbook - it was just phenomenal," Clint Wright, the aquarium's vice-president of operations, told The Canadian Press.

"Aurora seemed to take it all in stride, her eyes were open, she just looked nice and relaxed."

Wright said Aurora had started eating less in recent days and some blood was spotted in the water Saturday night, letting staff know the birth was imminent.

Aurora's water broke Sunday morning, and several hours later, the calf's tail could be seen peeking out.

"And then she had big pushes, big contractions, and about half the calf would come out and she would hold it for a few seconds and the calf would pop back in again," said Wright.

"There was big groans from everybody watching. I think everybody was trying to push and help her to get it out. And the calf came out, very vigorous, very healthy. (It) came firing up out of the water and took a huge breath of air."

It was Aurora's third birth.

Her first was Qila in 1995 - the first whale conceived and born in captivity in Canada.

Aurora gave birth to Tuvaq in 2002, but that offspring died mysteriously three years later for reasons that still aren't clear.

And Qila became a mother herself - and Aurora a grandmother - on June 10, 2008, when she gave birth to Tiqa.

The other belugas at the Vancouver Aquarium are Imaq and Kavna.

Wright said Aurora and the new calf will be separated from the other whales at first.

But that will likely be short-lived, he said, because Aurora is an experienced mother who will need less time to adjust than Qila did last year.

Imaq and Kavna were taken from the Hudson Bay off Churchill, Manitoba, in the late 1980s, as was another male beluga, Nanuq, who has since been transferred from the Vancouver Aquarium to SeaWorld in San Antonio.

Another Vancouver Aquarium whale, a female named Allua, is on loan to SeaWorld in San Diego.

The aquarium abandoned its direct-capture policy after it acquired Aurora, and now only accepts whales and dolphins that have been injured or born in captivity.