She was about 5½ feet long and 125 pounds at birth.
So far all that growth has been fueled by Mom Puiji’s milk. Even more amazing, Bella now gets all the nourishment she needs during 8 to 10 seconds of nursing once an hour.
“Got milk?” still takes precedence over “Go fish” with the yearling calf. Ken reports that Bella isn’t especially interested in such grown-up foods as herring and squid. “She does occasionally take a fish, and she will swallow it, but it hasn’t become a habit yet,” he says. Puiji can produce milk for as long as the calf continues to suckle.
While Mom is her best friend and No. 1 companion, Bella also likes to cruise on her own or swim with some of the other animals in Shedd’s beluga group. “She hangs out with just about anybody and everybody who’s around,” says Ken.
Female Naya is probably the calf’s second most frequent companion, and Bella is totally comfortable swimming with big Naluark, who fathered the calf but has no role (or recognition) as her dad. Puiji and Mauyak, another dominant female, have a cool relationship, and Mauyak extends that aloofness to the calf. Bella takes her cues from Mom and doesn’t interact with Mauyak. On the other hand, she has watched the adults chase 8-year-old Kayavak, who is lowest in the social order, and she’s learning to do that also. (Fast, agile Kayavak stays one flap of a fluke ahead of them all.)
Ken explains that it’s all part of the dynamics of a beluga group.
He continues, “The way she’s learning to be social with other animals is similar to the way all calves learn: They get thrust into the social structure right away. It’s very natural, unfettered by our interactions with her.
“With Puiji being a dominant animal in the group,” he says, “Bella sees how the others respond to Mom and, in a sense, respond to her in connection with her mom. That could serve her well or poorly in the future. If Mom continues to be protective of her, as Bella gets older she will establish a dominant place in the group. But if Mom disassociates herself from Bella, which can happen as the calf gets older, Bella’s place in the social order will have nothing to do with Mom and everything to do with how she behaves and integrates into the group.
“It’s a very interesting process, and it will be fun to watch how it develops.”
We’ll continue to post occasional updates on Bella.
