Nootka IV's calf was a 1-month-old male Icelandic killer whale calf who lived at Sealand of the Pacific. He was born there on February 4th, 1992. His mother was Nootka IV and his father was Tilikum. The calf passed away a little over a month later on March 9th, not having survived long enough to receive a name.
Birth and Early Life[]
At 5:05 am on February 4th, 1992, Nootka IV gave birth to a calf at Sealand of the Pacific. The labor lased approximately 55 minutes. Nootka and her calf were housed with the facility's other adult female, Haida II, and her own calf that had been born a few weeks prior. Due to Sealand's impending closure, there were plans to send all four whales to SeaWorld parks once the calves were weaned. [1]
Concerns were raised a few days later when the calf did not begin nursing, despite Nootka's attempts to present her mammary glands to him. [2]
Death[]
On March 9th, 1992, the calf died. The day before, he had begun swimming away from his mother, and swimming in circles. He was separated from the other killer whales and given antibiotics, but did not respond. Necropsy results showed that the calf had an extremely high white blood cell count, and may have been suffering from an infection present since birth. [3]