Beluga calf at Shedd celebrates six month birthday
Posted February 11, 2008 10:00 pm
A birthday milestone is near for one resident of Chicago's Shedd Aquarium.
Miki the 350-pound beluga whale calf is almost six months old.
He was born in August last year and Shedd officials say he's mimicking adult behavior like eating some solid foods.
The baby calf is nearly six feet long.
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Miki was named after a three-week contest in which nearly 9,000 votes were cast.
His name is an Inuit word meaning "little."
A Shedd vice president says Miki's name will take on a more ironic meaning as he keeps growing at his normal rapid pace into an adult beluga whale.
A fully grown adult male beluga can weigh more than 2,000 pounds.
The aquarium has had four other beluga calf births.