Yeah, Right, Whatever

... a "wholphin" of a story, that is...

The only whale-dolphin mix in captivity has given birth to a playful female calf, officials at Sea Life Park Hawaii said Thursday.

The calf was born on Dec. 23 to Kekaimalu, a mix of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Park officials said they waited to announce the birth until now because of recent changes in ownership and operations at the park.

The young as-yet unnamed wholphin is one-fourth false killer whale and three-fourths Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Her slick skin is an even blend of a dolphin's light gray and the black coloring of a false killer whale.

The calf still depends fully on her mother's milk, but sometimes snatches frozen capelin from the hands of trainers, then toys with the sardine-like fish.

I haven't been able to find any photos of the baby yet (there was a video clip on FoxNews, but nothing on the internet) , but here's a pic of Mama:

She is jumbo-sized compared to purebred dolphins, and is already the size of a one-year-old bottlenose.

Hmm... she looks like... well, like a dolphin. That might be because her father, a false killer whale, isn't really a whale- it's a type of dolphin. So... since Kekaimalu is 100% dolphin (although 2 different species, and she really shouldn't have been able to reproduce- think "mule") and the calf's father is thought to be an Atlantic Bottlenose... then the new calf should look, at the most, like a slightly off-color snub-nose dolphin. Right?

Awwww... I just saw the video of the calf. She's a cutey!!! Unlike many baby animals, baby sea mammals come into the world looking like mini-versions of their parents. None of this eyes-still-shut-hairless-ugly-little-thing for these guys! Nope- marine mammals arrive ready for their close-ups.

Hmmm... wonder what the odds are of me getting to see this "little" one up close and personal? It is a little far for a road trip. Oh, well...