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How big is a wholphin?
Wholphin can reach 12 to 22 feet in length and around 600 pounds of weight. Wholphin grows very fast and reaches the size of one-year-old dolphin only few months after birth.
What is a wholphin a mix of?
A wholphin (portmanteau of whale + dolphin) is an extremely rare cetacean hybrid born from a mating of a female common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) with a male false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens).
What is a wholphin and how is it unique?
A wholphin or wolphin is a dolphin that is born from a bottlenose dolphin mating with a false killer whale. The name “Wholphin” comes from a mixture of the false killer whale and bottlenose dolphin names, however the false killer whale scientifically belongs to the dolphin family.
Why was the wholphin created?
The wholphin was produced as the result of an ”unplanned union” between the park`s stars, I`anui, a false killer whale; and Punahele, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Punahele and I`anui performed together with several other dolphins in the daily Sea Life Park shows for some time.
Is wholphin natural?
It’s also only the third confirmed instance of a wild-born hybrid between species in the Delphinidae family. The label “wholphin” has stuck for a hybrid born in 1985 at Hawaii’s Sea Life Park of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottle-nose dolphin.
Where is a wholphin found?
Scientists are touting the first sighting of a hybrid between a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin in the ocean off Hawaii. But don’t call it a “wholphin,” they say.
How was the wholphin discovered?
Last year, ocean researchers with the nonprofit Cascadia Research Collective were on a trip to study marine mammals in the waters around the Hawaiian island of Kauai, when they spotted a sea creature that seemed to have a mix of features shared by two distinct species.
Are there wholphins in the wild?
The male hybrid was seen swimming off Kauai and immediately attracted interest because of its unique appearance. Scientists have spotted what they believe to be the first ever hybrid between a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin near Hawaii.
Where are wholphin found?
The label “wholphin” has stuck for a hybrid born in 1985 at Hawaii’s Sea Life Park of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottle-nose dolphin. The hybrid named Kekaimalu still lives at the marine mammal park, where she helps teach children about genetics.