Kavna, the baby beluga who inspired Raffi song, died
Raffi seen here with Kavna the beluga whale who inspired his children’s classic, “Baby Beluga.”
The beluga whale that inspired the Raffi Cavoukian classic, "Baby Beluga", has died.
Kavna the whale reportedly died from a possible cancer-related illness, the Huffington Post reported.
The 46-year-old whale lived a long and happy life in the Vancouver Aquarium. In fact, Aquarium workers told The Canadian Press that belugas typically live 25 to 30 years. Aquarium officials even believe that Kavna may have been even older than her estimated age.
In an interview with News 1130 in Vancouver, Cavoukian recalled his first interaction with Kavna. He said, "The folks at the aquarium brought me to poolside and the trainer helped me to play with Kavna. 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 of weeks!"
On Twitter this morning, Cavoukian expressed his sadness over her death saying, "My thoughts have been with Kavna all day. thanks #belugagrads for your continued support." Raffi later Tweeted his photo of his interaction with Kavna:
Cavoukian also told Vancouver’s News1130 “She had a profound impact on me when I met her in 1979." It is safe to say, both Kavna and Cavoukian have had the same affect on all of us.