Shedd Aquarium's baby beluga is a boy

CHICAGO, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- The whale's a male, officials at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium have determined in record time.

It often takes months to learn the gender of a newborn beluga whale but Shedd's animal care staff managed it in 30 days on the calf born Aug. 16 by using a new hands-off DNA testing procedure, the Chicago Tribune reported.

With the help of Joan Dubach, who works in the Brookfield Zoo's Genetics Lab, they were able to learn the calf's gender by performing a DNA test on the placenta of the calf's mother, Mauyak,

"By having the ability to perform a hands-off test of Mauyak's placenta, our team was able to determine the calf's gender without unnecessarily disrupting the bond development, nursing and other milestones," said Ken Ramirez, vice president of animal collections and animal training at the Shedd.