Many people who grew up in the Vancouver area and made regular trips to Stanley park and the Aquarium will have memories of the Beluga whales, like whales spitting water onto the spectators surrounding their pool and many other endearing qualities of these very intelligent creatures.
Children
come alive looking into their eyes and seeing the cartoon-like faces in
the underwater viewing stations or topside at the whale pool .
Children express such joy at seeing so animated and gentle turn and look
into their child's eyes, seeming to recognize them.
The Aquarium is an extraordinary education for young people who gaze into fantastic giant aquariums teaming with life and absorb learning in enjoyable and subtle ways. The Beluga pool is a favorite stopping place for many visitors to the aquarium to have a quiet meditation on the gentleness and vulnerability of these wonderful creatures. Kavna will be missed by many of the many regular visitors to this oasis within the busy city of Vancouver.
'Baby Beluga' Dies: Animal That Inspired Popular Raffi Children's Song Passes Away
Kavna,
the beluga whale that inspired the beloved children's song "Baby
Beluga" by Raffi, passed away from a possible cancer-related illness on
Monday afternoon at the Vancouver Aquarium.
The 46-year-old whale spent her life in captivity, according to the Vancouver Sun, but lived well beyond the life expectancy of her species. Aquarium workers told The Canadian Press that belugas typically live 25 to 30 years, and that Kavna may have been even older than her estimated age.
Raffi pays a poignant tribute to the lovable Kava
Kavna had been with the aquarium since 1975. Four years after her arrival, prolific children's singer/songwriter Raffi Cavoukian visited the aquarium. His interaction with Kavna inspired him to write "Baby Beluga," a song about a baby whale who swims and plays at sea:
Raffi took to Twitter Monday to express his condolences, posting this picture of Kavna and him from 1980:
"She was just so beautiful," Raffi told the Sun, "She was so playful and she had a very pure spirit and you could swear she smiled at you."
"On a day like this, I'm mostly thinking about the joy of knowing Kavna and the profound impact of the close encounter that would not have been possible in any other way," he told News 1130.
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LINK: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/baby-beluga-raffi-whale-dies_n_1755750.html
The 46-year-old whale spent her life in captivity, according to the Vancouver Sun, but lived well beyond the life expectancy of her species. Aquarium workers told The Canadian Press that belugas typically live 25 to 30 years, and that Kavna may have been even older than her estimated age.
Kavna had been with the aquarium since 1975. Four years after her arrival, prolific children's singer/songwriter Raffi Cavoukian visited the aquarium. His interaction with Kavna inspired him to write "Baby Beluga," a song about a baby whale who swims and plays at sea:
Baby beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale on the go.
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale on the go.
Raffi recalled his first interaction with Kavna in an interview with News 1130 in Vancouver.
"The folks at the aquarium brought me to poolside
and the trainer helped me to play with Kavna. Kavna even came out of
the water and placed a gentle, graceful kiss on my cheek and I couldn't
stop talking about it for a couple of weeks!"
Raffi took to Twitter Monday to express his condolences, posting this picture of Kavna and him from 1980:
Kavna and me in1980. in '81 CBC TV did a 30min special: Raffi, Belugas and Friends. note Baby Beluga button #belugagrads pic.twitter.com/mqCrTSAB
"On a day like this, I'm mostly thinking about the joy of knowing Kavna and the profound impact of the close encounter that would not have been possible in any other way," he told News 1130.
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The Huffington Post
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By Allie Compton
