One of B.C.'s most famous residents is expecting a child.
Aurora, the Vancouver Aquarium's 20-year-old beluga whale, is pregnant.
This is Aurora's third pregnancy: The first resulted in the birth of daughter Qila in July 1995.
In 2002, Aurora gave birth to another whale, Tuvaq, but it died mysteriously three years later.
Qila's birth was historic because she was the first beluga to be conceived and born in a Canadian aquarium.
Qila gave birth to her own calf, Tiqa, in June 2008.
Tiqa's name was chosen out of 5,500 submissions in an online contest held last spring to name the calf.
The gestation period for beluga whales is between 14 to 16 months. Aquarium officials confirm Aurora is expected to deliver in June or July of this year.
The only male beluga at the aquarium is 20-year-old Imaq.
A whale of a time
The Vancouver Aquarium obtained its first whale, Kavna, in 1976, seven years after the animal was captured in the Hudson Bay off Churchill, Manitoba.
Imaq was taken from the same area in the late 1980s, as was another male beluga, Nanuq, who has since been transferred from the facility to Sea World in San Antonio.
The aquarium abandoned its direct-capture policy after it acquired Aurora, and now only accept whales and dolphins that have been injured or born in captivity.
Beluga whales can reach lengths of 5.5 metres and weigh between 700 to 1,600 kilograms for an adult male. This is larger than all but the largest dolphins, but is small compared to other toothed whales.
