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.
The young as-yet unnamed wholphin is one-fourth false killer whale and three-fourths Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Her slick skin is an even blend of a dolphin’s light gray and the black coloring of a false killer whale.
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.
