A newborn female dolphin has died at Brookfield Zoo, just a week after she was born, officials announced.



The calf, which had not yet been named, was born about 11 a.m. Friday to Allie, a 26-year-old bottle nose dolphin. She died about 11:45 a.m. Thursday after her health declined dramatically, according to zoo spokeswoman Sondra Katzen.



After the birth was made public early this week and the calf was shown off at a press viewing Wednesday, the calf began a rapid decline late Wednesday, zoo officials said. Staff performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the calf, they said.



The first 30 days of a dolphin calf's life are a difficult time and calves often struggle to make it past that landmark, officials said.



"We see it both, unfortunately, in the wild and within a zoo setting," said Dr. Michael Adkesson, vice president of clinical medicine for the Chicago Zoological Society. "It's a difficult situation with a young dolphin."



A necropsy will be done to determine the cause of death.



"We learn from every event here, good or bad," said Bill Zeigler, senior vice president of collections and animal care.

