Pregnant Dolphin Gives Birth During Live Show

A pregnant dolphin gave birth during a live show in front of hundreds of spectators - like a live, aquatic version of One Born Every Minute.

The amazing moment was caught on camera by visitor Sergey Georgiev at the Nemo Dolphinarium in Odessa in Ukraine.

In the clip the pregnant Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin can be seen swimming up and down the enclosure when a little tail appears. She continues swimming as the crowd begins to cheer before the little one eventually pops out and starts swimming about straight away. Nice work, mama dolphin.

Dolphin mums who work full-time don't get maternity leave, however, and at the end of the clip she can be seen continuing to swim and entertain the crowds. She needs to join a union.

It's unusual for dolphins to give birth in captivity like this, so the whole thing has been hailed in the media as a bit of a success and has been roundly celebrated.

In the wild a young dolphin - called a calf - would stay with its mum for three to five years.

Dolphins are not monogomous and often breed with several partners during their mating seasons. Alright for some, eh?

PA

Things are slightly different in captivity, though, according to the Change for Animals Foundation - they can't act the same way they would in the wild.

A spokesperson from the foundation said: "There are currently at least 2,360 cetaceans in captivity worldwide - about 2,000 dolphins, 227 beluga and 53 orca. However, more than 5,000 cetaceans have died in captivity since the 1950s.

"The industry is big business and is driven by the attraction for tourists to see these amazing and iconic animals up close and, in many cases, to swim or interact with them. But, life in a marine park is totally unsuitable for these animals.

"No captive facility can provide for the needs of whales and dolphins - social, intelligent and wide-ranging animals. Captivity presents a lack of the social, visual and auditory stimuli of their natural environment, and many suffer from the stress of confinement, often resulting in increased aggression, illness and death."

According to SOS Dolphins, in the wild bottlenose dolphins, like this one, would live for around 50-60 years, but in captivity this is usually halved. At least they wont get stranded on a beach tho.

CEN

These facts make many animal-lovers oppose aquariums, particularly ones that use wildlife for entertainment or allow visitors to touch or swim with the animals.

Topics: World News, Awesome, Interesting, Animals, dolphin

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19