SAN ANTONIO - A baby beluga whale has a second chance at life thanks to quick rescue efforts and a 4,000-mile journey from Alaska to Texas.
The baby whale, named Tyonek, is settling into his new home at SeaWorld San Antonio after a massive rescue mission. He came late Friday night and has spent his first few days with the team.
SeaWorld's Animal Rescue Team worked with the Alaska SeaLife Center and NOAA Fisheries to make his journey possible.
He was less than a month old when he was found stranded in Cook Inlet, Alaska, by wildlife officials.
Experts believe his mother either abandoned him or died and that he was left stranded for several hours.
"Because calves stay with mom for up to two years and rely on her not only for nutrition but also social needs as well as showing him where to go and how to take care of himself, I knew his chances of survival on his own were zero," said Alaska SeaLife Center's Dr. Carrie Goertz.
They reported to network experts back in September 2017. Now, after months of monitoring his health 24/7 at the Alaska SeaLife Center, he has made his journey to his new home.
"He was a successfully raised rescue beluga whale. It's not very often we see these guys and they make it," said Eric Otjen with SeaWorld.
NOAA Fisheries determined that Tyoknek is nutritionally and socially dependent and cannot survive on his own in the wild.
"Fortunately, we have some really strong animals in our pod that are good moms, good surrogate moms, good co-parents, if you will, and we have some really good role models that he'll be able to follow. One of them being a young calf that is the same age as him. Hopefully they'll be little buddies and he'll get in the pool and think, 'Oh, there's somebody that looks just like me in here,'" said Katie Kolodziej with SeaWorld San Antonio.
NOAA selected SeaWorld San Antonio very specifically. They said it was the best location for this whale to thrive.
He's going to remain behind the scenes at SeaWorld San Antonio for several weeks as he acclimates to his new home.