The mother of Qila, the beluga whale who died at the Vancouver Aquarium this week, is suffering from the same symptoms her daughter exhibited in the days leading up to her death.
Aquarium staff announced the troubling news Thursday afternoon, saying Aurora is being kept in an isolated medical pool and monitored around the clock.
"The gang's working really hard. Aurora's our priority right now, and we've got a lot of folks that have put aside a lot of personal time to prioritize her, and Qila before her," the aquarium's veterinarian, Dr. Martin Haulena, told reporters.
Qila, who was the first beluga born in a Canadian aquarium, died Wednesday morning. Haulena said the 21-year-old whale started acting a little strangely last week, then her appetite decreased, and on Tuesday she went off food completely.
"We did lose Qila quite suddenly," he said. "The night before she'd actually been looking a bit better, more interactive with folks, starting to get interested in fish. So it was a very sudden and unexpected and unpleasant thing to have her pass away."
A necropsy was conducted the same day, but the initial results did not point to an obvious cause, the aquarium said. Many more tests are still being conducted.
Unfortunately, the lack of immediate answers has made caring for Aurora, who is the last beluga still residing at the aquarium, something of a guessing game.
"She is undergoing quite a lot of intensive treatment. We're covering as many bases as we can with her given that we don't have a smoking gun," Haulena said. "We have to assume that whatever Qila succumbed to is also what is affecting Aurora, but that might not be the case."
The necropsy did reveal on abscess in Qila's lung, though the aquarium said it was well-circumscribed, and would have been around for a while. Haulena said it's possible it suddenly went septic, leading to an infection.
The aquarium has also ordered tests to determine whether there were bacteria or biotoxins in the belugas' water or food that made them sick.
CEO John Nightingale said the loss of Qila and the downturn in Aurora's condition have been difficult on their staff and volunteers.
"Those animals are important to us," Nightingale said. "We’re all emotionally attached as well. It's been a hard 24 hours."
Aurora is believed to be at least 29 years old, and comes from the Western Hudson Bay beluga population, which has an average lifespan of 15 years in the wild, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Some can live as long as 50 years, however.
She was the last beluga acquired by the Vancouver Aquarium before it instituted its policy of only accepting cetaceans that were born in captivity.
Aurora gave birth to two other calves, both of whom later died. The aquarium has other belugas, though they are on loan to other facilities.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Maria Weisgarber
