A bottlenose dolphin was born at Brookfield Zoo Chicago early Saturday. Courtesy of Brookfield Zoo Chicago
The delivery went swimmingly.
Brookfield Zoo Chicago is celebrating the birth of a bottlenose dolphin for the first time in more than a decade. Allie welcomed her calf at 12:22 a.m. Saturday in one of the pools in Seven Seas, the home of the zoo’s dolphin group.
“Good job Al,” a member of their elated care team said in a zoo video of the birth, shortly after the baby reached the surface for its first breath under the guidance of Allie and Tapeko, who is affectionately known as the matriarch of the group.
Veterinarians estimate the calf weighs between 33 to 37 pounds.
“This dolphin birth is a momentous occasion for Brookfield Zoo Chicago and is our first dolphin calf in over a de