About
Belen
Belén was
captured on January 6, 1988 and was immediately purchased by Mundo
Marino. After
her
transfer, she met the park's
resident male, Milagro* and both got along well. Once Belen
was trained for shows, both orcas were used during
daily performances but when Milagro* died in 1991, Mundo Marino was
seeking
for another orca to replace him.
In
September 1992, two orcas were forced to strand on
a beach not too far away from Mundo Marino. The larger of the two orcas
first arrived at the facility, but the older
male died after one day in captivity; it's not known if Belén ever met
him. The other male, later named Kshamenk, arrived two days later and
became Belén's future tank
mate.
Both
orcas got along very well and when they
reached sexually maturity, they soon mated. Belén got
pregnant by the end of 1996 and In February 1998 she went into
labour;
unfortunately the baby was a stillborn.
In the fall of 1999, it was reported that Belén was expecting her second calf. Sadly Belén died on February
4, 2000, carrying a 4 month
old foetus.
Name Meaning & Bloodline:
- Belén's name means
"Bethlehem" in Spanish
-
The pronunciation of
Belen is:
bay-LEN
- Her Blood Type is: 100%
Argentinian
Family:
Belén's
family is unknown as she was captured in Argentina and there is no
information which community was from however she has had two calves
(both fathered by Kshamenk).
1998:
MM-OO-U9801
2000:
MM-OO-U0001
Transfers:
Mundo
Marino: January 6, 1988 - February
4, 2000
----
