Whale of a Child

Brooklyn nurses a baby beluga

At birth it weighed 140 lbs. and measured 5 ft. 3 in. from snout to tail. Name: Nyci (pronounced Nicky), an acronym for "New York City's first." The big, blubbery infant is a beluga whale, and if it survives, it will be the first of these small, white, toothed marine mammals from the icy waters near the Arctic Circle successfully bred and born in captivity.

The birth occurred last month in a 50,000-gal. tank at the New York Aquarium, just off the boardwalk at Brooklyn's Coney Island. Both parents are performing belugas that regularly entertain visitors with such antics as retrieving objects and bussing their keepers. Because of their intelligence, size and docility, belugas (their name means white in Russian) have long been a favorite of aquariums and aquatic shows. At least three other baby belugas have been born in captivity, but none survived longer than a few weeks.

Nyci's parents have been no help at all. The father began taking mock bites at the newborn calf, and had to be put in a separate pen. The mother showed no desire to feed her firstborn. Nyci downs two quarts of a formula--milk, heavy cream, casein, Lactaid and vitamins--piped daily into her stomach by keepers who have to swim out after her and pull her to the side of the pool for a feeding.

Scientists know almost nothing about raising young belugas--when, for example, to wean the calf and begin giving it a regular diet of mackerel and herring.

Aquarium Director George Ruggieri, a marine biologist and Jesuit priest, acknowledges that he and his colleagues will need a lot of help, heavenly and otherwise, to ensure Nyci's survival.

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