newborn killer whale at Sea World (Orlando, FL)

i've been fortunate enough over the past couple days to spend a few hours observing the less-than-three-days-old orca calf swimming around in Shamu Stadium with her mother, Taima. capturing the baby is quite a challenge, but eventually i got the timing down. here is a set of 37 photos which i think turned out well. for those of you who don't feel like looking through that many, here are some of my favorites:

[Arpe]

Cool. Nice to see some different baby shots! Some really neat shots there.

[Alvin]

What a wonderful set of shots! Just wandering through the 37 right now

[roentarre]

Really cute - almost like the swimming buoys used during swimming lessons!

The images are relatively clear given the water is murky somehow.

[rojaba]

which settings do you use to make the water splashes come out so nicely?

did you try to set it free, like free willie?

[vievetrick]

Lucky you nice shots.

[GLThorne]

That's cool! I never knew that their white spots weren't really white at birth. Kind has a red-ish brown ting to them.

[clarenceclose]

Good stuff. Really like the third shot 'clearing the blowhole'.

[Flaco]

Wow, those are some "killer" shots.. And ever more great shots on your flickr page.

[NaClH2O]

Thanks for sharing these with us. Wonderful shots. I must admit to a bit of envy. But I'm definitely glad for the photos.

NaCl(a different kind of baby pic indeed)H2O

[Evolution]

Thanks everyone. It really is awesome to watch the pair swim around and interact with each other. I had no idea Sea World was even expecting. Some family came in from the northeast and we spent Monday at Sea World. During the afternoon they announced the 6:30 Believe show was canceled because a new orca calf had just been born. Of course I had to go back Tuesday to see the baby and didn't mind at all going back Wednesday when my mom wanted to see it as well.

The trainers said the babies usually lose their red-yellowish tint sometime toward the end of the first year. Also, Taima's moving in all the feeding shots because the baby doesn't have the coordination yet to stay still, so mom keeps moving to keep the baby comfortable. Taima gets fed and rubbed down on the move while the baby swims at her side.

I think the newborn is more exciting than anything else at the park, but I actually heard a few people complaining that they didn't get to see the Believe show. I even heard one woman tell her little boy "well, mommy didn't pay a lot of money to see a couple of whales swim in a circle." I don't get it, but maybe that's because I've seen Believe before and don't find it all that exciting. Hmm...

[xfraser]

What a great opportunity, and you did a wonderful job with the pictures. I really like the 2nd, 4th, and last one of the set you posted. Now I'm off to look at all 37!

Thanks for sharing