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Aurora The Beluga

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Aurora The Beluga

Birth
Churchill and Northern Manitoba Census Division, Manitoba, Canada
Death
25 Nov 2016 (aged 29–30)
Vancouver, Greater Vancouver Regional District, British Columbia, Canada
Burial
Donated to Medical Science. Specifically: Death at Vancouver aquarium Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
Named after the aurora borealis, or northern lights, Aurora immediately won hearts and inspired generations of visitors, employees and volunteers with her curious nature and gentle personality. Along with the other belugas at the Aquarium, including her daughter Qila, Aurora taught millions about her incredible species and its rapidly changing ecosystem in the wild. The whales have contributed to studies on their physiology, hearing and acoustic abilities; provided baseline data for studies in the wild; and helped scientists discover unique vocalizations between beluga whale mothers and calves, called contact calls. This groundbreaking research began at Vancouver Aquarium in 2002; beluga whales Aurora and Qila contributed to those early studies
2nd beluga whale dies at Vancouver Aquarium in less than two weeks Aurora's death at age 30 comes just nine days after her calf died suddenly Nov. 16 CBC News Posted: Nov 25, 2016 11:43 PM PT Last Updated: Nov 27, 2016 9:47 AM PT

Aurora, the last beluga at the Vancouver Aquarium, dies after battling stomach problems. Vancouver Aquarium officials have announced "with immense sadness" that Aurora died last night.

The 30-year-old whale had been sick for two weeks.Aurora, who is believed to be at least 30 years old, is from the Western Hudson Bay beluga population, which has an average lifespan of 15 years, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Some can live as long as 40 or 50 years.

"After a determined around-the-clock effort by animal care staff and the veterinary team, she slipped away this evening surrounded by the people who loved her, some whom have cared for her since she first arrived in 1990," the aquarium said in a statement. "To our team, Aurora was a part of our family and her loss is absolutely heartbreaking. The marine mammal care team working night and day to care for her are our true heroes, even if we lost the battle."

Veterinarian Martin Haulena will conduct a necropsy.
Aurora was the sixth cetacean associated with the Vancouver Aquarium to die within the last two years. Her daughter Qila died two weeks ago at the age of 21.

In August 2016, a harbour porpoise named Jack passed away.
In July of 2015, a beluga whale whose father is owned by the Vancouver Aquarium died at a SeaWorld facility in San Antonia, Texas. The calf was just three weeks old.

In May 2015, a dolphin named Hana—one of only two dolphins the Vancouver Aquarium held in captivity—passed away shortly after undergoing bowel surgery at the facility in Stanley Park. Before that, in February 2015, a beluga whale named Nanuq died while on loan to a SeaWorld facility in Orlando, Florida.

A July 2014 park board report revealed that the Vancouver Aquarium owns six other beluga whales. At the time, four were at Sea World facilities and two were at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. One of the whales at Sea World died in 2015.

Earlier this week, NPA park board chair Sarah Kirby-Yung told the Vancouver Sun that she plans on bringing forward a motion seeking a referendum in 2018. If approve by a majority of commissioners, it would ask voters if they want the Vancouver aquarium to keep whales and dolphins in its Stanley Park facility.
The Vancouver Aquarium insists that it does not capture cetaceans from the wild for display. It has pledged that it will only house:
cetaceans captured before 1996;
cetaceans already being kept in a zoo or aquarium before 1996;
cetaceans born in a zoo or aquarium;
cetaceans that were rescued from the wild and rehabilitated, but deemed nonreleasable.

Hudson Bay (Inuktitut: Kangiqsualuk ilua, French: baie d'Hudson) (sometimes called Hudson's Bay, usually historically) is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of 1,230,000 square kilometres (470,000 sq mi). It drains a very large area, about 3,861,400 square kilometres (1,490,900 sq mi) that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, and southeastern Nunavut, and parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. Hudson Bay's southern arm is called James Bay.

The Eastern Cree name for Hudson and James Bay is Wînipekw (Southern dialect) or Wînipâkw (Northern dialect), meaning muddy or brackish water. Lake Winnipeg is similarly named by the local Cree, as is the location for the city of Winnipeg. After Sir Henry Hudson, explorer
Named after the aurora borealis, or northern lights, Aurora immediately won hearts and inspired generations of visitors, employees and volunteers with her curious nature and gentle personality. Along with the other belugas at the Aquarium, including her daughter Qila, Aurora taught millions about her incredible species and its rapidly changing ecosystem in the wild. The whales have contributed to studies on their physiology, hearing and acoustic abilities; provided baseline data for studies in the wild; and helped scientists discover unique vocalizations between beluga whale mothers and calves, called contact calls. This groundbreaking research began at Vancouver Aquarium in 2002; beluga whales Aurora and Qila contributed to those early studies
2nd beluga whale dies at Vancouver Aquarium in less than two weeks Aurora's death at age 30 comes just nine days after her calf died suddenly Nov. 16 CBC News Posted: Nov 25, 2016 11:43 PM PT Last Updated: Nov 27, 2016 9:47 AM PT

Aurora, the last beluga at the Vancouver Aquarium, dies after battling stomach problems. Vancouver Aquarium officials have announced "with immense sadness" that Aurora died last night.

The 30-year-old whale had been sick for two weeks.Aurora, who is believed to be at least 30 years old, is from the Western Hudson Bay beluga population, which has an average lifespan of 15 years, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Some can live as long as 40 or 50 years.

"After a determined around-the-clock effort by animal care staff and the veterinary team, she slipped away this evening surrounded by the people who loved her, some whom have cared for her since she first arrived in 1990," the aquarium said in a statement. "To our team, Aurora was a part of our family and her loss is absolutely heartbreaking. The marine mammal care team working night and day to care for her are our true heroes, even if we lost the battle."

Veterinarian Martin Haulena will conduct a necropsy.
Aurora was the sixth cetacean associated with the Vancouver Aquarium to die within the last two years. Her daughter Qila died two weeks ago at the age of 21.

In August 2016, a harbour porpoise named Jack passed away.
In July of 2015, a beluga whale whose father is owned by the Vancouver Aquarium died at a SeaWorld facility in San Antonia, Texas. The calf was just three weeks old.

In May 2015, a dolphin named Hana—one of only two dolphins the Vancouver Aquarium held in captivity—passed away shortly after undergoing bowel surgery at the facility in Stanley Park. Before that, in February 2015, a beluga whale named Nanuq died while on loan to a SeaWorld facility in Orlando, Florida.

A July 2014 park board report revealed that the Vancouver Aquarium owns six other beluga whales. At the time, four were at Sea World facilities and two were at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. One of the whales at Sea World died in 2015.

Earlier this week, NPA park board chair Sarah Kirby-Yung told the Vancouver Sun that she plans on bringing forward a motion seeking a referendum in 2018. If approve by a majority of commissioners, it would ask voters if they want the Vancouver aquarium to keep whales and dolphins in its Stanley Park facility.
The Vancouver Aquarium insists that it does not capture cetaceans from the wild for display. It has pledged that it will only house:
cetaceans captured before 1996;
cetaceans already being kept in a zoo or aquarium before 1996;
cetaceans born in a zoo or aquarium;
cetaceans that were rescued from the wild and rehabilitated, but deemed nonreleasable.

Hudson Bay (Inuktitut: Kangiqsualuk ilua, French: baie d'Hudson) (sometimes called Hudson's Bay, usually historically) is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of 1,230,000 square kilometres (470,000 sq mi). It drains a very large area, about 3,861,400 square kilometres (1,490,900 sq mi) that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, and southeastern Nunavut, and parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. Hudson Bay's southern arm is called James Bay.

The Eastern Cree name for Hudson and James Bay is Wînipekw (Southern dialect) or Wînipâkw (Northern dialect), meaning muddy or brackish water. Lake Winnipeg is similarly named by the local Cree, as is the location for the city of Winnipeg. After Sir Henry Hudson, explorer


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