Subic records first live birth of captive dolphin in the country

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines - Ocean Adventure Subic announced Sunday that one of its bottlenose dolphin gave birth last week  (July 7) to a healthy calf making it the first live birth of a captive dolphin in the country.

In a statement, Ocean Adventure said Vi, an 11-year-old bottlenose dolphin gave birth to a healthy 1-meter long calf which weighs approximately 12 kilos.

Vi’s regular ultra sound in February revealed that she was pregnant.

Vi trained with a special dolphin “puppet” to encourage nursing behavior throughout her 12-month pregnancy.

Ocean Adventure said that at present, the mother and calf are doing fine but added that the next 30 days will be critical for the baby dolphin.

Experts were brought in by Ocean Adventure to supervise the birth last week and said that they are keeping a watchful eye to monitor and care for the new addition to their growing dolphin family.