It has been a long but, nonetheless, pleasant wait for all concerned. On Tuesday, July 20, at 3.30 p.m., Onda, a female bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) originally from Cuban waters and, since 2003, guest of the Mediterraneo Lagoon, gave birth to a calf weighing about 13 kg and one metre long.
This forms part of a species propagation programme in a monitored environment that Marineland Ltd, the company that runs the Mediterraneo Marine Park in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, has planned in Malta for some time.
Lucas, a 12-year-old from Cuba, is the father of the calf.
Veterinary surgeons, trainers, biologists, voluntary workers and all the staff at the park have followed the entire 12-month period of gestation of the young and inexperienced Onda, and contributed to this venture according to their role.
Onda’s body temperature and behaviour were carefully monitored, blood tests were taken and ultrasound check-ups were carried out by experts, all of which enabled the team to establish the precise moment of delivery.
It all started with the waters breaking and subsequent caudal fin-first delivery (normally the calves are born tail-first).
Though inexperienced, Onda, guided by a deep maternal instinct, behaved like a perfect mum.
It may seem strange but the first thing dolphins must do, after giving birth, is to keep the calf underwater and not guide it immediately to the surface.
It may seem as though the mother wants to drown the newborn but this is not the case. Keeping the calf underwater is akin to spanking a newborn baby. It allows the lungs to expand when the calf is taking its first breaths.
Onda, about 14 years old, passed her first test with flying colours but immediately another hurdle cropped up: feeding. The first milk, which is called colostrum, includes the antibodies necessary to protect the calf from fatal infections.
If the calf does not start nursing within the first 24 hours it cannot avail itself of the ‘vaccines’ that nature has foreseen.
Nursing can last up two years but when it is four months old the calf can already start to feed itself, setting in motion the weaning process.
Onda coaxes the young one, sometimes even brusquely, and always with an apprehensive movement turns on her side and offers her mammary slit. These are the most stressful hours for the observers who, with noses pressed against the underwater glass windows, are waiting to witness the first feed which takes place just a few hours after birth.
Now, mother and calf are swimming in the pool of the lagoon specially prepared for the birth. They are kept under 24-hour surveillance by the park’s veterinary surgeon, biologists, trainers and volunteers (Maltese, Portuguese and Italian students of Biology, Veterinary Medicine and other zoological sciences).
Whether in a monitored environment or in the open seas, dolphins giving birth for the first time are always at risk. In fact, the probability of success is below 60 per cent but increases day by day.
The team is aware of how crucial the first 30 days are and all are working hard and professionally.
During the calf’s first days of life the mother uses up an enormous amount of energy. To make up she must consume about 20 kg of fish a day, up from seven-eight kg a day.