Dolphin at Shedd Aquarium is pregnant, due in spring

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 28-year-old dolphin at Shedd Aquarium is pregnant with her first calf and expecting to deliver in late spring, the aquarium announced Monday.

PHOTOS: Katrl the dolphin is pregnant

Katrl, whose name means "to breathe air" in the language of the Tlingit, is in her third trimester and progressing normally. She is a Pacific white-sided dolphin.

The daddy, er, sire is a male dolphin named Lii at Miami Seaquarium in Florida.

Katrl's calf was conceived naturally through a breeding partnership with the Seaquarium.

This past June, Piquet, one of Shedd's other Pacific white-sided dolphins, successfully gave birth to a calf named Makoa.

Piquet also has a 3-year-old. Both baby dolphins are at Shedd.

"We are feeling very positive, however we know that first time pregnancies both in human care and the wild are often unsuccessful," said Dr. Bill Van Bonn, vice president of animal care for Shedd Aquarium. "Katrl has spent a lot of time with Piquet and her calves Makoa and Sagu during the births and calf rearing over the last three years - we expect that to be very helpful for her own birth experience."