The Brookfield Zoo in Chicago is celebrating the birth of a new dolphin calf.

The 35- to 40-pound, three-and-a-half-foot-long male was born to first-time mom Allison, age 9, around on Friday, officials said.

This is the zoo's eighth bottlenose dolphin. The staff witnessed a number of milestones, including nursing and slipstreaming in which a calf hugs the side of the female as she moves. The mother makes a wave if the calf does so and lets the calf tuck in next to her.

Like Us on Facebook

"We are encouraged with the behavior we are seeing from both Allison and the calf. However, we remain cautiously optimistic as the first 30 days are extremely critical in the calf's life," said Rita Stacey, curator of marine mammals for the Chicago Zoological Society.

Bill Zeigler, senior vice president in charge of animal programs at Brookfield Zoo, said the first 30 days are critical in the life of the dolphin calf.

Currently, Allison and her calf are happily swimming together in the zoo's Seven Seas main habitat. They swim together with experienced mom Tapeko, 33; Merlin, Tapeko's one-year-old son and Magic, Merlin's one-year-old half-brother.

The Seven Seas main habitat is closed indefinitely to give Allison and her calf more time to bond.

The group to which the calf belongs imitates what's happening in the wild. According to Stacey, dolphins are gregarious and create fluid social groupings in their lives.

A typical bottlenose dolphins group consists of two to 15 individuals. Offshore herds sometimes number around several hundred individuals. Dolphins are the most recognized species of marine mammals.

Earlier in December, a dolphin was born at Brookfield Zoo but died soon after.

Tagsbaby dolphin, dolphin calf, bottlenose dolphin, Brookfield Zoo, animal kingdom, newborn bottlenose dolphin, marine mammals, Dolphins, bottlenose dolphins