Kekaimalu & Mikioi have some 'splainin' to do...

[SoCalDem]

Whale-Dolphin Hybrid Has Baby Wholphin

http://my.aol.com/news/news_story.psp?type=1&cat=0100&id=2005041513440001769537

Apr 15 2005 1:44PM


HONOLULU (AP) - The only whale-dolphin mix in captivity has given birth to a playful female calf, officials at Sea Life Park Hawaii said Thursday.The calf was born on Dec. 23 to Kekaimalu, a mix of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Park officials said they waited to announce the birth until now because of recent changes in ownership and operations at the park.

snip...

The calf still depends fully on her mother's milk, but sometimes snatches frozen capelin from the hands of trainers, then toys with the sardine-like fish.She is jumbo-sized compared to purebred dolphins, and is already the size of a one-year-old bottlenose.``Mother and calf are doing very well,'' said Dr. Renato Lenzi, general manager of Sea Life Park by Dolphin Discovery. ``We are monitoring them very closely to ensure the best care for them.''

snip....

There have been reports of wholphins in the wild, he said.

Kekaimalu, whose name means ``from the peaceful ocean,'' was born 19 years ago after a surprise coupling between a 14-foot, 2,000-pound false killer whale and a 6-foot, 400-pound dolphin. The animals were the leads in the park's popular tourist water show, featured in the Adam Sandler movie ``50 First Dates.''

Kekaimalu has given birth to two other calves. One lived for nine years and the other, born when Kekaimalu was very young, died a few days after birth.Park researchers suspect the wholphin's father is a 15-foot long Atlantic bottlenose dolphin named Mikioi.``He seems to be totally oblivious to this happening,'' Lenzi said.

snip....
Sea Life Park Hawaii: http://www.sealifeparkhawaii.com/

[Goathead]

1. When I saw this my first reaction was...

:wtf: Those crazy geneticists, creating their own little island of Dr. Moreau.

[SoCalDem]

2. surprise...INDEED!!!

"...surprise coupling between a 14-foot, 2,000-pound false killer whale and a 6-foot, 400-pound dolphin..."

[SoCalDem]

3. picture of Mom ( and a write up on her)

From the Waimanalo News - May '95



photos courtesy of Sea Life Park

Sea Life Lore

Waimanalo Hapa Girl Makes 10!

by Keene Rees
This may not sound like big news, but when the "girl" is Sea Life Park's hybrid wholphin, Kekaimalu, it's pretty exciting! Her birth on May 15, 1985 was a big surprise for the Sea Life Park staff. Her mother, a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and her father, a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens), met on the job in the Whaler's Cove show. Since they were two very different animals, it was not expected that they would produce an offspring, but they did, making Kekaimalu the world's only known living wholphin.



Top to bottom

Killer Whale (Dad- I`anui Hahai ), Bottlenose Dolphin (Mom- Punahele )

& Wolphin - Keikaimalu


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She has developed into a unique animal combining characteristics of both of her parents. At birth she weighed 35-55 pounds and was about 45 inches long. Today she weighs about 600 pounds.and is close to 10 feet long. Her size, color, and shape are right in between her dolphin mother and whale father. Even her teeth show her mixed heritage: bottlenose dolphins have 88, false killer whales have 44, and Kekaimalu has 66!
The wholphin's first 10 years have not been idle. She spent her early years with her mother, Punahele, and various other dolphins. By the age of 4 she was trained and began performing the the Whaler's Cove show. Hybrid animals are usually sterile, so it was another big surprise when Kekaimalu got pregnant and gave birth to a female calf in 1991. The calf, Pohaikealoha, was fathered by one of the dolphins performing in the show. Being 3/4 dolphin and 1/4 whale, Pohaikealoha looks much like a bottlenose dolphin. Kekaimalu spent over two years with her calf, but the Sea Life Park training staff also gets lots of credit for raising Pohaikealoha. For 5 months they fed her 8 times a day since no nursing occurred between mother and calf. Pohaikealoha has now joined other young dolphins being trained, and Kekaimalu is back with some adult female dolphin companions.

The wholphin will soon return to show business after her lengthy maternity leave. The Sea Life Park staff has been busy preparing for the opening of a new show which will give visitors a chance to learn some of the fascinating ways marine mammals have adapted to life in the ocean. Visitors will see Kekaimalu perform along with 3 veteran dolphins who have been at Sea Life Park since before she was born.

John Oakley, a Sea Life Park trainer, has worked with Kekaimalu since her early training sessions. He is now training her behaviors for her new show, specifically a backward tail walk, forward flip, vocalizing on cue, and spitting water. He feels she definitely has matured and now has a much longer attention span. "She's one of the brightest animals I've ever worked with," said John of the love of his life (at least in the animal kingdom).

Join us in wishing Kekaimalu Hauoli la hanau on May 15th and come to see her with her dolphin friends in Sea Life Park's new Wholphin Bay Show. You'll see that here in Hawai'i, where a mixed heritage is the norm, Kekaimalu is right at home