WHOLPHIN - Hybrid of Whale and Dolphin
Kekaimalu, a female, was born at the sea park where her mother, Punahele, a dolphin, and Tanui Hahai, a false killer whale, shared the same pool. Kekeimalu has an appearance that is intermediate between her two parents. She is darker in color than her dolphin mother, and she has 66 teeth, as opposed to the 88 of a bottlenose dolphin and 44 of a false killer whale.
In the animal world, hybrids are often sterile, but Kekaimalu has had 3 calves since her birth. One died after a few days, one lived to the age of 9, and the most recent, a female named Kawili'Kai, born Dec. 23, 2004, is five years old. Kawaili'Kai is more dolphin than her mother, as she was sired by a bottlenose dolphin. While she may still be considered a wholphin, she is 3/4 bottlenose dolphin and one quarter false killer whale. She is more dolphin-like than her mother, but larger than a typical bottlenose dolphin.
Wholphins have been reported to exist in the wild, but their existence is difficult to verify in the absence of DNA evidence. Some species have been known to interbreed in the wild, such as wolves and coyotes, mule deer and white-tailed deer, and barred owls and spotted owls. As a curiosity, wolphins take their place with the other unusual man-assisted crosses, such as ligers (lion & tiger hybrids) and zorses (zebra & horse hybrids).
Disclaimer : All the information is collected from different websites and sources.
Category: Intresting, Science & Technology