Beluga whale at the Georgia Aquarium. (File photos/Dave Bender)
Marina, a female beluga whale that had fallen ill at the Georgia Aquarium, died early Saturday morning, aquarium officials said. The female whale died about 2 a.m. Saturday, said Jeff Swanagan, the aquarium's president and executive director.
"She was showing increased disorientation in her swimming behavior. Then she stopped swimming and stopped breathing," he said.Officials do not know why the whale died. The aquarium was to have conducted a necropsy on Saturday to determine the cause of the whale's death, focusing on the whale's central nervous system.
Marina was the second-oldest of four beluga whales at the aquarium. She was one of three whales that were transferred in November 2005 from Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium.
"We are saddened by the death of Marina," officials from the New York Aquarium said in a statement. "Georgia Aquarium's staff worked very hard to care for Marina during this critical time."
Belugas at the Georgia Aquarium. (File photo/Dave Bender)
The three other beluga whales at the Georgia Aquarium — Nico, Maris and Natasha — are eating normally, the aquarium said.
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(The Associated Press)
