The Vancouver Aquarium announced that Kavna, the beluga whale, who inspired the popular children's song "baby Beluga" by Raffi Cavoukian died on Monday. A postmortem revealed that Kavna was suffering from cancer.
Veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena told media that an autopsy revealed the 46-year-old whale had tumors which "are most consistent with cancer, and that is unfortunately a disease we associate with age," as reported by ABC News.
At the Vancouver Aquarium Kavna, enjoyed a rock-star status since 1976, with as many as 30 million tourists over the years coming in to see the whale that inspired singer and songwriter Cavoukian to write the well-known children's song "baby Beluga" in 1979. Cavoukian told Vancouver's News 1130, "She had a profound impact on me when I met her...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 weeks...That encounter inspired the song ..Life is complex and it brings us situations that have silver linings and give us something that they wouldn't ordinarily have given..I felt sad and I also felt a lot of joy for the privilege of having gotten to know her and the fact that she stirred me to write that song," as reported by ABC News.
Although the song talks about a free whale, Kavna spent most of her life in captivity at the aquarium. Kavan certainly outlived the average lifetime of her breed, the average life of a beluga whale is said to be between 25 to 30 years.
But Kavna will continue to live in the hearts and minds of her fans through the song as well as on the Canadian postage stamps created in 2006 to commemorate the aquarium's 50th anniversary.
Listen to the song Here.
