VANCOUVER – A whale calf that died last week at the Vancouver Aquarium perished when its heart failed, a fate veterinarians say likely could not have been predicted or prevented.
Three-year-old Tiqa (tee-ka), the third young beluga to die at the popular attraction in recent years, died from a massive build-up of fluid around its heart and lungs.
Vet Martin Haulena says the team hasn’t yet found an obvious cause, and so is also looking at whether there might have been a congenital defect or whether the whale might have consumed something staff didn’t know about.
He says the team will leave “no stone unturned” in the investigation, including looking at the possibility the deaths of Tiqa and a calf that died last year might be connected because they had the same father.
There are currently no plans to replace Tiqa.
Haulena says he doubts a break-in at the aquarium only an hour before the beluga’s death had any links.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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