‘Wholphin’ Hybrid Gives Birth to Calf

HONOLULU —  The world’s only known whale-dolphin hybrid has given birth to a playful female calf, officials at Sea Life Park Hawaii said Thursday.

The calf was born on Dec. 23 to Kekaimalu, the only known living hybrid of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Park officials said they waited to announce the birth because of changes in ownership and operations at the park.

The young, as yet unnamed “wholphin” is one-fourth false killer whale and three-fourths Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Her skin is an even blend of a dolphin’s light gray and the black coloring of a false killer whale.

She is already the size of a 1-year-old purebred bottlenose.

“It’s very significant in the scientific world that they are able to reproduce because it shakes family and class information on these two species of dolphins and whales,” said Renato Lenzi, general manager of Sea Life Park. “It’s interesting for us to observe the anatomical and behavioral development of this baby and how much she has inherited from the two different species.”

Kekaimalu, whose name means “from the peaceful ocean,” was born 19 years ago after a surprise coupling between a 14-foot, 2,000-pound false killer whale and a 6-foot, 400-pound dolphin. The animals were the leads in the park’s popular tourist water show.

Park researchers suspect that Kekaimalu mated with an 8-foot-long Atlantic bottlenose dolphin named Mikioi.