CHICAGO (AP) — The baby beluga whale born at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is a girl.

Shedd officials also announced Tuesday that the whale weighs 205 pounds and is 5-feet long. The beluga was born Aug. 27 and makes her public debut on Friday, the day before she turns 2-months-old.

The aquarium says the whale is gaining between 12 and 15 pounds a week and regularly feeds from her mother, 1,200-pound Mauyak. She will be named in the next few months.

Animal care and animal health teams continue to monitor the calf around the clock. She is the sixth successful beluga birth at the aquarium since 1999.

Online: http://www.sheddaquarium.org

Posted 10/24/2012