ATLANTA - 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. Swanagan said the aquarium would conduct a necropsy on Saturday to determine the cause of the whale's death, focusing on the whale's central nervous system.
The whale had stopped eating on Nov. 22 and had become disoriented, injuring her chin. She had been kept under 24-hour watch by aquarium staff and veterinarians. About 16 staff members and volunteers were in her pool when she died, he said.
Marina is the second-oldest of four beluga whales at the aquarium. Marina was part of three beluga whales that were transferred in November 2005 from Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium. A spokesman for the Wildlife Conservation Society and a spokeswoman for the New York Aquarium did not immediately return messages for comment Saturday.
The three other beluga whales at the Georgia Aquarium Nico, Maris and Natasha are eating normally, the aquarium said.
Another beluga whale, Gasper, was euthanized at the Atlanta aquarium on Jan. 2 after a long battle with bone disease and a weakened immune system. Two whale sharks among the aquarium's first stars when it opened in 2005 died in June and in January.
``We have to accept the whole life cycle here as biologists and our public does, too while you have all these births you also have deaths,'' Swanagan said. ``It's part of the living collection. It's hard on us.''
The aquarium is touted as the world's largest with more than eight million gallons of water.
On the Net:
Georgia Aquarium: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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