WESTCOAST NEWS, Vancouver Sun
July 25, 2005

Aquarium welcomes new dolphin Facility had been seeking a companion for Spinnaker for some time

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Aquarium said goodbye to a whale and hello to a dolphin over the weekend.

Allua, a 21-year-old beluga whale who been at the Aquarium since 1985, was settling in at San Diego's SeaWorld after a flight south.

Meanwhile, Spinnaker, the Aquarium's 18-year-old lone male Pacific white-sided dolphin, appeared delighted to meet his new companion, Laverne, who was flown in from SeaWorld in San Antonio, Tex.

The aquarium had been seeking a companion for Spinnaker for some time.

The Aquarium said in the news release that since being introduced shortly after noon on Sunday the two have been "almost inseparable."

Laverne, 27, also a Pacific white-sided dolphin, arrived Saturday morning, but initially was kept separate from Spinnaker in the dolphin tank's medical pool the morning of July 23.

The Aquarium said she was adjusting nicely, eating herring provided by both her SeaWorld trainer and her new Vancouver Aquarium trainers.

"She's swimming around, exploring her surroundings, eating well and responding positively to her trainers," said Brian Sheehan, marine mammal curator at the Aquarium.

While it took a couple of hours for the two dolphins to get used to each other, by the end of the afternoon Sunday the pair were doing basic trained behaviours together at the dock in the main exhibit during regularly scheduled dolphin shows.

Meanwhile, Allua was accompanied by her trainer to help her settle in in San Diego, where she will be a companion for that facility's one male and two female beluga whales.

At the Vancouver Aquarium, Allua had demonstrated strong maternal instincts, earning her the nickname "Auntie Allua," but had never had her own offspring.

SeaWorld and the Vancouver Aquarium hope Allua will breed and have a calf of her own at the San Diego facility.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005