List of captive orcas
Encyclopedia
This article gives a partial list of captive orcas, or Killer Whales, large predatory marine mammals that were first captured live and displayed in exhibitions in the 1960s, or were subsequently born in captivity. They soon became popular attractions at public aquariums and aquatic theme parks due to their intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness in captivity and sheer size. As of March 2011, 42 orcas are held captive at facilities in North and South America, Europe and Japan, providing entertainment for the theme park visitors.
Corky (II) is a female orca from the A5 Pod
in British Columbia
, Canada
. She currently lives at SeaWorld San Diego
in California
. Corky became the first Orca to become pregnant and give birth in captivity. On February 28, 1977, the first calf to be born alive in captivity was born at Marineland to Corky and Orky. The calf was a male and died after eighteen days. Corky went on to give birth six more times, but the longest surviving calf lived only a total of 47 days. The calf, a female, was named Kiva.
In 1989, the dominant Orca at the park, Kandu V, attempted to "rake" Corky, showing dominance by forcefully scratching with her teeth. Kandu charged at Corky, attempting to rake her, she missed and continued swimming into the back pool, where she ended up ramming the wall, rupturing an artery in her jaw.
Corky is easily identified thanks to her tall, straight dorsal fin, her pointed eyepatches, and her large size for a female. She also tends to swim upside down in the pools. Corky is now approximately 43 years old, about middle age
for an orca. She has lived in captivity for more than 40 years, the longest period of captivity of any orca. Calls to release her have been heard since the early 1990s.
and caused an infection and show cancellations, the exhibitors decided to move the smaller whale to the newly opened SeaWorld San Antonio. On September 20, 1990 Kanduke died of unknown circumstances. He has since become a grandfather with the births of Sumar, Tekoa, and Malia.
at the Miami Seaquarium
. She was a member of the L pod
. When she was about four years old she was captured on August 8, 1970 at Penn Cove, Puget Sound
, off the coast of Washington, and is now the oldest captive Orca. The Penn Cove Capture became controversial due to the large number of wild Orcas that were taken (seven) and the number of deaths that resulted: four juveniles died, as well as one adult female who drowned when she became tangled in a net while attempting to reach her calf.
When she first arrived at Miami Seaquarium, Lolita was put in the 'Whale Bowl'. Miami Seaquarium had another orca, Hugo, who lived in a different tank, called the 'Celebrity Bowl', which now houses manatees. The two orcas would vocalise to each other, and Hugo was later moved into the Whale Bowl with Lolita. At first, they were aggressive with each other, but then became more compatible with each other and more aggressive towards their trainers. Lolita and Hugo mated several times, and it was reported that Lolita was pregnant from this. However, she never delivered a live offspring. In 1980, during a show, Hugo slammed his head into a tank wall, causing a brain aneyrism, breaking the glass on the side of the tank (which ripped off his 'nose', or rostrum), and had to have his rostrum sewn back on. Later, he died and Lolita was left all alone. Hugo's body was put in the Miami Dade Dump. Lolita does not live with any other orcas currently. She vocalizes in captivity, in the unique calls used only by her pod. She is still apparently healthy. She is a large Orca, measuring 22 feet (6.7 m) long and weighing 7800 pounds (3,538 kg). This makes her one of the largest female orcas in captivity. Since Lolita arrived at the Miami Seaquarium, she has lived in their Whale and Dolphin Stadium, where she performs 1–2 shows daily. Lolita is the subject of the documentary Lolita: Slave to Entertainment released in 2008. Various groups consider that Lolita should be released into the wild.
in 1965, Shamu was intended to be a companion for the orca Namu in Griffin's Seattle aquarium. Shamu was however quickly leased and eventually sold to SeaWorld
in San Diego. She performed in several SeaWorld shows and eventually died on August 23, 1971. The name Shamu has since been used for many different orcas in SeaWorld shows.
that changed some people's attitudes toward orcas. In June 1965, William Lechkobit found a 22 foot (6.7m) male orca in his floating salmon net that had drifted close to shore near Namu, British Columbia
. The orca was sold for $8,000 to Ted Griffin
, a Seattle
public aquarium owner. Griffin swam and performed with Namu in the Seattle exhibit and Namu survived one year in captivity before dying in his pen on July 9, 1966.
When the US Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 effectively stopped the capture of Pacific orcas, most subsequent captures were made in Iceland
ic waters.
ic female Orca
who lived at Dolfinarium Harderwijk in the Netherlands
and at Sea World
Orlando
in Florida
. Gudrun was caught close to the coast of Iceland on 25 October 1976. She was kept in captivity in the Dolfinarium Harderwijk in the Netherlands, where she was the main attraction. In 1987, Gudrun was moved to SeaWorld Orlando
in Florida, United States
. Gudrun gave birth to Taima on 11 July 1989 at 16:45 EST during a thunderstorm. Gudrun gave birth to Nyar on 31 December 1993. Nyar suffered with illness often. She was so both mentally and physically ill, it was reported that Gudrun tried to drown her during several shows. Nyar died at two years old in April of 1996. On 21 February 1996 Gudrun went into labour with her last calf, where chains and a crane were used. Trainers attached the chain around the calf's fluke and attempted to pull the calf out using this, Gudrun was there for over 20 hours, in the end Trainers pulled a stillborn out of Gudrun, where she made a horrific screeching noise, Gudrun died herself 4 days after on 25 February .
In 1982, Gudrun was the subject of an experiment in two-communications, designed to see if she could learn new words and incorporate them into her vocabulary.
ic Orca, caught in 1977 and kept at SeaWorld San Diego
in California
. In August 1989, she attempted to rake a newcomer Orca, Corky II, with her mouth during a live show. Instead she missed and ended up slamming into a wall. The blow severed an artery near Kandu V's jaw, and she began spouting blood. The crowd was quickly ushered out, and after a 45-minute hemorrhage, Kandu V died. Her daughter, Orkid, was 11 months old at the time of the accident.
gave birth to her first calf, a female born May 3, 2002, named Kohana. Takara gave birth a second time, on November 23, 2005, to a male named Trua in SeaWorld Orlando.Takara gave birth to her third calf, a female born January 7, 2010, named Sakari. Kasatka was separated from Takara and Kohana on April 24, 2004, when they were moved to SeaWorld Orlando. Kasatka became a great grandmother on October 13, 2010 when Kohana gave birth to her first calf Adán.
Kasatka has shown aggression to humans. In 1993 Kasatka tried to bite a trainer during a show, and again in 1999. On November 30, 2006, Kasatka grabbed a trainer and dragged him underwater during their show. The trainer escaped with his life and was later in good condition despite being underwater for a "brief" amount of time.
Katina is a female who lives in SeaWorld Orlando. She was captured near Iceland at about two years of age on October 26, 1978. She is healthy and the most successful breeding female Orca in captivity. At 16 in 4 in (4.98 m) and about 5600 pounds (2,540.1 kg), Katina is small compared to other females, but she is rather bulky.
Upon her capture, Katina was purchased by Marineland (Ontario). In 1979, Katina was bought by SeaWorld and was sent to their park in San Diego. In 1982, Katina was moved to Sea World Ohio in Aurora, Ohio with another female named Kasatka
, with whom she was captured in 1978. For two years, the two would perform in the Ohio park during the summer months and then be moved back to San Diego for the winter. Finally, in 1984, Katina was transferred to the SeaWorld in Orlando.
Katina became pregnant in early spring of 1984 at SeaWorld San Diego from a male named Winston
. Soon after, she was moved back to Sea World Ohio for the summer. The trainers soon realized she was pregnant, so she was moved to Orlando at the end of the summer season, where she gave birth on September 26, 1985 to a female who was named Kalina. Although ten Orca calves had been born in captivity prior to Kalina, none had survived past a few weeks. Kalina was the first Orca calf to be successfully born and raised in captivity. Kalina was taken from her mother at 4 years 5 months and conducted on a trip around all four SeaWorld parks.
In early 1987, an adult male named Kanduke arrived in Orlando. He and Katina soon mated. Katina bore her second calf on November 4, 1988, a female named Katerina. In early 1991 at a very early age Katerina was transferred out of Orlando. Katerina died on May 5, 1999 at SeaWorld San Antonio at 10.5 years of age. A male named Tilikum
came to SeaWorld in January 1992. It wasn't long before Katina was pregnant again. She gave birth to her first son on September 9, 1993, named Taku. Katina's next calf came on December 27, 1996, a female named Unna. Her fifth calf was a male born on August 25, 2002 named Ikaika. Katina gave birth to her sixth calf, a female named Nalani, on September 18, 2006. She gave birth to her seventh calf, a male named Makaio on October 9, 2010 at 7:28 p.m. The great-grandmother went into labor at 6:47 p.m. and delivered a 7 feet (2.1 m)-long, 350-pound male calf. He swam to the surface moments later for his first breath
Katina is an excellent performer and is very reliable, putting on performances daily. Katina is sweet-natured and patient and has never been involved in any incidents with handlers. Being the matriarch of the Orcas, Katina is rather dominant. She can sometimes, although rarely, be stubborn and refuse to perform. When this happens, usually all of the other Orcas follow suit. Katina only lives with two of her seven calves (Nalani and Makaio) and one of her grandchildren (Trua). She is always with her calf, but is also with Nalani and Kayla quite often. She is grouped with her son Makaio, Trua, Malia, Nalani and Kayla.
Katina appeared on a That's My Baby episode, where she gave birth to Ikaika.
Keiko (1977 – December 12, 2003) was an orca
who starred in the first of three Free Willy
movies. Keiko died on December 12, 2003 after beaching himself during the night, pneumonia was later determined as the probable cause of death. Keiko was captured near Iceland
in 1979 and sold to the Icelandic aquarium in Hafnarfjörður
. Three years later, he was sold to Marineland Canada, where he first started performing for the public and developed skin lesion
s indicative of poor health. He was then sold to Reino Aventura
(now named Six Flags Mexico
), an amusement park
in Mexico City, in 1985. He was the star of the movie Free Willy
in 1993.
The publicity from his role in Free Willy led to an effort by Warner Brothers Studio
to find him a better home. Donations from the studio and Craig McCaw
led to the establishment of the Free Willy Keiko Foundation in February 1995. With donations from the foundation and millions of school children, the Oregon Coast Aquarium
in Newport, Oregon
spent over US $7 million to construct facilities to return him to health with the hope of returning him to the wild. He was airlifted by UPS
to his new home on January 7, 1996, weighing 3500 kilograms (7,716.2 lb). During his years in Oregon, he gained over a ton
in weight.
On September 9, 1998, he was flown to Klettsvik Bay in Vestmannaeyjar in Iceland, and gradually reintroduced to the wild, returning to the open sea in July 2002. Keiko died on December 13, 2003, at the age of 27 years. Following requests from fans of the orca and Free Willy, the Oregon Coast Aquarium held a memorial service for him on February 20, 2004. 700 people attended the service, at which the aquarium's veterinary chaplain said, "Keiko was not one of our kind, but nonetheless was still one of us." There is a memorial site for Keiko set up by the locals in Halsa
, Norway, where the famous orca spent the last year of his life.
, usually spelled Tillicum and also meaning "people/tribe" or "kin".
Tillikum was first sent to live at Sealand of the Pacific
near Victoria, British Columbia
. While living in British Columbia, Tilikum sired his first calf when he was about eight or nine years old. His first son, Kyuquot, was born to Haida II on December 24, 1991. Just a few months prior to the birth of Kyuquot, Tilikum was involved in an incident which resulted in the death of a female trainer. Because of his huge size, Seaworld requested an emergency transfer to their facility. Tilikum was moved to his current location at SeaWorld Orlando, Florida on January 9, 1992. Sealand of the Pacific closed soon thereafter.
Since his arrival at SeaWorld, Tilikum has sired many calves with many different females. His first calf, born in Orlando, was to Katina
. Katina gave birth to Taku on September 9, 1993. Taku died on October 17th, 2007. Tilikum's other calves are: Nyar (born 1993, died 1996), Unna (1996), Sumar (1998 - 2010), Tuar (1999), Tekoa (2000), Nakai (2001), Kohana (2002), Ikaika (2002), Skyla (2004), Malia (2007), Sakari (2010) and Makaio (2010). In 1999, Tillikum began training for artificial insemination
(AI). In early 2000, Kasatka
who resides at SeaWorld San Diego
was artificially inseminated using his sperm. She gave birth to Tilikum's son, Nakai, on September 1, 2001. On May 3, 2002, another female in San Diego, named Takara
, bore Tilikum's calf through artificial insemination
. Tilikum is also the first successful, surviving grandfather orca in captivity with the births of Trua (2005), Nalani (2006) and Adán (2010).
Tilikum was at the scene of a death on July 6, 1999. A 27-year-old male intruder was found floating naked in Tilikum’s pool, apparently killed by a combination of hypothermia
and drowning
. He had visited SeaWorld the previous day, stayed after the park closed, and evaded security to enter the Orca tank. Investigators determined that the man had been bitten by Tilikum either before or after death. This however, can't necessarily be classified either way, as Orcas generally use their "teeth" to inspect foreign objects in the same way a human would use their hands.
On February 24, 2010 Tilikum was involved in a third incident, when he killed a 40-year-old experienced trainer. The trainer was drowned following a popular Dine with Shamu show as at least two dozen tourists looked on from above a whale tank and from an underwater viewing area. Employees used nets and threw food at the whale in an attempt to distract him but one worker said it only made the animal more agitated.
Moving from pool to pool in the complex, they eventually captured Tilikum and released Ms Brancheau's body, before realizing that the whale still had her arm. A SeaWorld executive confirmed what witnesses saw, that the trainer was pulled into the water by Tilikum.
At present, Tillikum remains at SeaWorld Orlando, and has returned to performing; just in time for the parks new killer whale show "One Ocean". Contrary to numerous claims that he is kept alone and separated from the remaining whales, he has in fact been kept with his grandson Trua on numerous occasions, and can often be seen performing alongside of him during the show finales. On some occasions he can also be seen with Malia or both Trua and Malia in between shows.
was born to Kasatka, at the SeaWorld
park in San Diego in September, 2001. This technique lets park owner maintain a more healthy genetic mix in the small groups of orcas at each park, while avoiding the stress of moving orcas for breeding purposes.
) is a male Orca
born at SeaWorld Orlando
in Florida
on August 25, 2002. He is the offspring of Tilikum
(father) and Katina
(mother), making him Katina's fifth calf. To decide the name of the new born whale a poll
was taken. The following names were chosen to be on the poll: Ikaika (Hawaiian for "strong"), Mottaka (Icelandic
for "reception"), Ramu (in honor of the late whale by that name), Tsunami
(Japanese
) and Ramius (after the Captain
in "The Hunt for Red October
").
Ikaika no longer lives at Seaworld Orlando, Florida but was transferred to Marineland (Ontario)
Ontario, Canada on a breeding loan. His move was on November 18, 2006 in exchange for three male beluga whales — Juno, Aurek, and Klondike — whom joined Spooky within the Wild Arctic area. Ikaika is a growing male, his flukes have started to curl under, he is around 17 feet (5.2 m) long. In late September, it was confirmed that Ikaika would be returning to a SeaWorld facility, an obvious sign that his breeding loan has indeed been terminated with no signs of success.
On November 13, 2011, Ikaika was transported to his new home at SeaWorld San Diego, where he joins six other whales; Ulises, Corky, Orkid, Kasatka, Nakai and Kalia.
, and her father, Winston
(also known as Ramu III) was a Pacific Southern Resident, making Kalina an Atlantic/Pacific hybrid — a unique situation that would not have occurred in the wild. Kalina measures 17 in 9 in (5.41 m) and weighs approximately 6300 pounds (2,857.6 kg).
Kalina first appeared in shows at SeaWorld Orlando in 1987, billed as "Baby Shamu
", performing with her mother. On February 12, 1990, Kalina was transferred to SeaWorld Ohio. She was moved again in October of that year to SeaWorld San Diego, and again on May 30, 1991 to SeaWorld San Antonio. In October 1994, Kalina was moved back to SeaWorld Orlando, where she lived with eight other killer whales, including her mother and a half sister.
Kalina gave birth to her first calf, a male named Keet
, on February 2, 1993 at Sea World Texas. Kalina was only seven and a half years old at the time of Keet's birth — an extremely young age for an Orca to become a mother. Kalina became pregnant again shortly after Keet's birth, and was moved back to SeaWorld Orlando in October 1994, where she gave birth to her second calf, another male, Keto on June 17, 1995. She gave birth to another male, Tuar, on June 22, 1999. Kalina bore her fourth calf and first daughter, on February 9, 2004, named Skyla. Skyla is now at Loro Parque. Kalina was a gentle whale, learned quickly, and was used a lot in shows. She was used as a "starter whale" for new trainers. She never showed any signs of aggression towards her trainers or other orcas. Prior to Taima's unexpected death on June 6, 2010, Kalina could be seen swimming with her and Malia, Taima's calf and the youngest orca at Orlando. On Monday October 4, 2010, less than four months after Taima's death, Kalina died of Preacute Bacteremia Septicemia at the age of 25.
In November 1999, Kayla and Winnie were both transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio. Kayla and Winnie joined a female named Haida II and her son Kyuquot. A young male named Keto arrived in March 2001. Haida II died on August 1 of that year, making Winnie the new dominant female. Winnie died on April 11, 2002. Kayla became the new dominant Orca in the stadium and was until her relocation to Orlando in 2006. After the death of Winnie, only three whales were left in the park: Kayla, Kyuquot, and Keto. A young female by the name of Unna was moved to the park in December 2002 to settle down Kyuquot and Keto, because the two maturing males were constantly fighting over Kayla. In November 2006, Kayla was transferred to Sea World Orlando leaving behind a mate Keet
, and their daughter Halyn was raised by Unna immediately after Kayla's transfer. Once Kayla arrived, she immediately gave up her dominant role to Katina, who has been the dominant female there since 1988.
Kayla gave birth to her first calf on October 9, 2005, a female named Halyn. Halyn was moved to a special animal care facility to be hand raised. Kayla likely rejected her calf because she had never been exposed to a young calf before and did not know how to deal with one. Halyn lived in Animal Care in a different part of the park, and in May joined her SeaWorld Orca family at Shamu
Stadium. Halyn's father is Keet. On June 15, 2008, Halyn died unexpectedly.
Kayla is gentle and affectionate to her trainers, loves attention and is willing and quick to learn and please. Kayla can do many high-agility behaviors very well. Trainers do water work with her often. Kayla gets along well with other Orcas, but used to spend most of her time with Keet and/or Unna when she was at SeaWorld San Antonio. She has shown aggression towards other Orcas in the past, particularly Kalina, possibly fighting for dominance. Since Kayla is an experienced and reliable performer, she is frequently used in the live shows, formerly "Believe" and presently "One Ocean".
language. His parents are Kalina and Kotar
. Keet currently measures about 18 feet (5.5 m) and weighs 6000 pounds (2,721.6 kg). Keet is also known as Grandbaby Shamu because his mother is the first Orca to be born and raised under human care successfully.
When he was 1 year and 8 months of age, his mother was moved to SeaWorld Orlando
in Florida
to support her next pregnancy, Keet's brother Keto in 1995. Katerina, his aunt, was moved in from SeaWorld Ohio
. In 1995, his father, Kotar, died. On May 5, 1999, Katerina died. Five months later, two females named Kayla and Winnie were moved in. In November 1999, he was moved to SeaWorld San Diego
in California
. There, he met his brother, Keto, and his playmate, Sumar. All three whales were moved to SeaWorld Ohio in February 2000. On February 15, 2001, Keet was returned to California; Sumar followed three days later, while Keto was relocated to SeaWorld San Antonio
in Texas
. Keet's best friends were the bull Ulises and a maturing male named Splash. On April 24, 2004, Keet was moved to his birth place, meeting Kyuquot, Unna, Kayla, Keto, Tuar, and Tekoa. He is mostly with Kayla and Keto and also doing very well.
Keet is a gentle and agile performer. On December 21, 2004, he became a father for the first time when Kalia, his daughter, was born at Sea World San Diego. On October 9, 2005, his mate Kayla gave birth to his second daughter Halyn, at SeaWorld San Antonio. Keet is the lowest ranking adult orca in the dominance chain at Seaworld Texas. He is very sweet and is often used as a "starter whale" for new trainers along with a younger male named Tuar. On June 15, 2008, SeaWorld announced Halyn died unexpectedly; a necropsy was performed and the test results have been announced.
. Her parents are Takara and Tillikum
. On April 25, 2004, Kohana and her mother were moved to SeaWorld Orlando. On February 13, 2006, Kohana was moved to Loro Parque in Spain with three other Orcas: Tekoa, Keto, and Skyla. Kohana is a vibrant and playful whale. She often floats at the acrylic glass to interact with visitors. She is intelligent and eager, and learns quickly.
On October 13, 2010, Kohana gave birth to her first calf (a male) named Adán, in the parks "Orca Ocean" killer whale exhibit, after a four hour labor. The calf weighed around 150 kg (330 lbs), and was two meters long (6.5 ft). Kohana's calf is the first killer whale born in Loro Parque.
in Florida
. His mother was Taima and he was her first calf. Just six months after birth, an incident happened when, during a show, his mother attacked him, pushing him against the glass, trying to make him fall. The crowd was evacuated and the show canceled. The trainers tried to move Taima to another tank and finally separated her from her son. Since then, the two of them have been always separated and Kalina and Katina
became his surrogate mothers until he was transferred to SeaWorld San Diego
in California
on March 8, 1999. Afterwards, he spent a few months at now-closed SeaWorld Ohio
before being transferred back to the San Diego park. There, he was mothered by Corky II.
He was considered very gentle with other Orcas and trainers. Sumar spent a lot of time with Nakai. However, the dominant female Kasatka
had a tendency to pick on him time to time. At the time of his death he was one of three males at the park, and was seen as a possible breeding male in the future; Nakai, the younger male, is still too young to breed, and the older male Ulises seems to have a low sperm count. Sumar was approaching full size for a typical bull orca when he died: his dorsal fin was more and more leaning to its left and his flukes were beginning to curl under. He was about 4.6 m (15.3 feet) long and weighed around 5300 pounds (2,404 kg). He was often used for shows in the park. The theme of a June 2010 episode of Cupcake Wars
was Sumar's twelfth birthday.
Sumar died at SeaWorld
in San Diego, California
, on Tuesday, September 7, 2010, at the age of 12. Trainers noticed that the whale was not feeling well on Monday, September 6, 2010 which resulted in veterinarians being notified, blood samples drawn, and antibiotics administered. Despite measures taken by Sumar's veterinarian team, Sumar became increasingly ill by Tuesday. He died shortly before 1:45 PM (Pacific time). Sumar's death prompted the canceling of the park's Orca shows for the day. His death was determined to be as a result of a twisted intestinal tract (intestinal volvulus). He was set to be the next captive breeding bull orca, after his father Tilikum
.
ic hybrid female Orca who lived at Sea World Orlando in Florida
. According to SeaWorld, her name means crash of thunder in the Icelandic language
. She was born tail-first around 16:45 EST
during a thunderstorm.
Taima was born to mother Gudrun and father Kanduke. In 1990, Kanduke died at the age of 20 from a stomach
ailment; Gudrun gave birth to Taima's half-sister Nyar in 1993. Nyar suffered frequent illness and it was reported that Gudrun tried to drown her during several shows. Trainers believe that this confused Taima, as she witnessed this and thought this was how to raise a calf. She was later reported to have performed this on her own calves, Sumar, Tekoa, and Malia. Gudrun died in 1996 from stillbirth
complications, and Nyar died from an illness a few months later in April.
On May 14, 1998, Taima gave birth to a male calf named Sumar. They were separated when he was about eight months old because of the aggression between them. On one occasion while performing, Taima started biting Sumar, and throwing him out of the pool, onto the trainer’s platform. She then slid out herself and started biting him. The show was stopped, and Taima was pulled to the other swimming pool. A few months later Sumar was transferred to SeaWorld San Diego
in California
.
On November 8, 2000, at 3:47 pm, Taima gave birth to a male named Tekoa. He began feeding overnight and was estimated to be 7 feet (2.2 m) long and weigh 350 pounds (158.8 kg). During the birth, Kalina assisted Taima and helped the calf to the surface for its first breath. The two were separated after only nine months due to aggression between them. It was reported that Tekoa was swimming with Katina and Taima began to display signs of aggressive dominance and went after Tekoa. Katina, the dominant female at the park, became involved by trying to protect Tekoa. Taima then attacked Katina whom was pregnant at the time, which caused her immense physical and psychological stress nearly causing a miscarriage. Tekoa was sent to SeaWorld San Antonio
in 2005, and was later sent to Loro Parque
in Spain
in February 2006. After Tekoa's attack, Taima was separated from all other whales except Tilikum, until she gave birth again to her first daughter Malia in 2007. Seaworld announced on May 18, 2010 that Taima was pregnant again and should give birth in late May or early June.
Taima died from complications to a stillborn calf on June 6, 2010. Preliminary indications suggested that her death was caused by placenta previa, a condition in which the placenta is delivered before the calf.
in Florida
. After birth, Taku spent most of his time with his mother Katina
or Nyar, his half-sister. Three years later, Katina gave birth again to a female, Unna
. On August 25, 2002, Katina gave birth to her fifth calf: a male, Ikaika. Unna was later moved to SeaWorld San Antonio
in December 2002. Afterwards, Ikaika and Taku bonded to the point where Ikaika swam in mother-calf-position with Taku. On November 18, 2006 Taku was moved to SeaWorld San Antonio
whereas Ikaika was moved to Marineland Canada in Ontario
.
When Takara and her daughter Kohana arrived at SeaWorld, Taku immediately began showing an interest in her. Visitors were commenting on Taku's persistence in following Takara and Kohana everywhere after their arrival. Things settled down and Takara began to tolerate Taku's company. She would often initiate contact with him by swimming with him or rubbing. Takara soon became pregnant. On November 23, 2005 around 21:50 EST (4:50 PM), Takara went into labor with her second calf. Her daughter Kohana was at her side. An hour later around 22:22, Takara gave birth to a male calf (Taku's son/first calf) who was later to be named Trua.
Taku died unexpectedly on October 17, 2007, at the age of 14 and weighing over 7000 pounds (3,175.1 kg) and at 22 feet (6.7 m) long. Trainers were notified that Taku had been acting differently the Wednesday before his death. A necropsy was performed, and after a long awaited report, it was determined that Taku had died from a sudden case of pneumonia
, a common illness among captive orcas.
, a bull orca living on the other side of the country at SeaWorld Orlando.
Takara and Kohana were transferred to SeaWorld Orlando in 2004. A year later, Takara gave birth to her second calf, a male named Trua, fathered by Taku. Kohana was later transferred out of SWF to Loro Parque
, a Spanish amusement park in the Canary Islands
. During her time in Orlando, Takara was most often seen with an older female named Taima, and later her calf Malia, although she was easily seen with the other members of the pod as well.
Takara was transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio in February 2009 in a supposed effort to improve space at SeaWorld Orlando. It was later confirmed she was pregnant at the time (again from Tilikum). On January 7, 2010, Takara gave birth to another female calf in the main tank of SWT's "Shamu Theatre". On March 16, 2010 she was named Sakari which is an Inuit
word for "sweet".
Takara became a grandmother on October 13, 2010 when her calf Kohana gave birth to her first calf Adán.
(matriarch), Tilikum
, Kayla, Nalani, Malia and Makaio.
Trua, now six years old, is a very vibrant and playful whale. He is very interactive and has recently been learning water works. Trua's mother Takara was moved to SeaWorld San Antonio on February 5, 2009. Trua now spends a lot of time with Katina, Kayla, Tilikum, Malia and Nalani, and is learning behaviors fast. Trua is easily identified because of his two dots and belly freckles. Trua has a dot in his eyepatch, and a dot on his neck. Trua has a chip on the left side of his tail fluke.
(mother) and Tilikum
. She is Katina's fourth calf and also Tilikum's, and was the second calf to be born to the pair. Unna lived with her mother, father, siblings, and other whales at her birthplace in Orlando for the first six years of her life.
In August 2002, Katina gave birth to her fifth calf, a male named Ikaika. Unna was there to assist her mother during the labor.
In December 2002, Unna was transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio because the park only had three whales at the time: two males who were fighting over one female. In late April 2006, Unna gave birth to a stillborn
calf. Unna recovered well from her stillbirth. She currently lives with five other whales, Kyuqout (Ky), Keet, Sakari, Takara, and Tuar. Unna can frequently be seen swimming alongside Tiki (Takara) and Sakari at SWT, she is extremely energetic and does well with high energy behaviors. Unna seems to respond really well to secondary reinforcement. Currently there are Many rumors floating around that Unna is expecting. At the moment Nothing has been confirmed. However Unna has been a constant "auntie" to Takara's daughter.
and Taku (who is, due to inbreeding, also her brother). She is Katina's sixth calf, and was Taku's second. She is a very loving and curious youngster, but was very dependent on her mother in the first few years. She is learning fast, as she is used in shows regularly alongside Trua, Malia, Kayla, and Katina. An easy way to identify Nalani is how plump she is. She's chubby, like her mom and dad/brother, has round eyepatches, has a straight dorsal fin, and is the longest baby at SWF.
at SeaWorld Orlando on March 12, 2007. She was Taima's third calf and her name means "calm and peaceful" in Hawaiian. She is a very independent and playful whale and loves to interact with the crowds. She is learning new behaviors all the time and is used in shows daily along-side the other young Orcas at SeaWorld Orlando. Malia's mother Taima died in June 2010 after a difficult labor that resulted in a stillborn calf, many hope that the fact Malia was already quite independent from her mother even before her death, that the loss will not have a negative affect on her. Malia can often be seen with Trua and Nalani. Her eyepatches are long and skinny, and she has no marks, rakes, or chips in her tail fluke.
Adán is a result of inbreeding between Kohana and Keto (Keto and Kohana's mother, Takara, share the same father). Adán has so far been introduced to three of the four orcas residing at Loro Parque and spends a short time each day with at least one of them, but has been kept separate from Tekoa as there are concerns he would become too rough with him.
, to mother Stella and father Bingo/Thor. She was the first orca calf born successfully in Japan (there had been five calves born before her, but none lived for more than ten days). The only other orca at KSW at the time of her birth was Oscar, who would mate with her later on, once she was older. Her first calf was a male born on October 13, 2008 named Earth.
Lovey's stage name is Oyako, meaning "parent and child" in Japanese.
He has two aunts: Lara and Ran II.
North Eastern Pacific captures
The first North Eastern Pacific orca was captured in November 1961 by a collecting crew from Marineland of the Pacific, and over the next 15 years, around 60 or 70 Killer Whales were taken from Pacific waters for this purpose.Wanda
Wanda was captured by MarineLand California, now closed, in California on November 18th, 1961. She survived for two days in captivity before dying. She was the first killer whale to be captured and displayed in captivity.Corky
Corky (II) is a female orca from the A5 Pod
A5 Pod
A5 pod is a name given to a group of orcas found off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the northern resident population of orcas - a name given to the fish-eating orcas found in coastal waters ranging from mid-Vancouver Island up through the Queen Charlotte Islands of British...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. She currently lives at SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, and marine mammal park, located in San Diego, California, United States. The park is owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group....
in California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. Corky became the first Orca to become pregnant and give birth in captivity. On February 28, 1977, the first calf to be born alive in captivity was born at Marineland to Corky and Orky. The calf was a male and died after eighteen days. Corky went on to give birth six more times, but the longest surviving calf lived only a total of 47 days. The calf, a female, was named Kiva.
In 1989, the dominant Orca at the park, Kandu V, attempted to "rake" Corky, showing dominance by forcefully scratching with her teeth. Kandu charged at Corky, attempting to rake her, she missed and continued swimming into the back pool, where she ended up ramming the wall, rupturing an artery in her jaw.
Corky is easily identified thanks to her tall, straight dorsal fin, her pointed eyepatches, and her large size for a female. She also tends to swim upside down in the pools. Corky is now approximately 43 years old, about middle age
Middle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
for an orca. She has lived in captivity for more than 40 years, the longest period of captivity of any orca. Calls to release her have been heard since the early 1990s.
K1/Taku
K1 was also named Taku. He was captured in August 1973 in Pedder Bay, British Columbia. While several other orcas he was caught with were sold to other marine parks K1 was too big to be sold. He was released on October 27 1973 with a radio tag attached to his dorsal fin. Two nicks were cut into his dorsal fin to make it easy to identify and find him. He was given the adoption name of Taku. K1 reunited with his pod and was seen many times. One of the researchers who worked with him was the late Dr Michael Bigg who cut the nicks into K1's fin. K1 disappeared in 1997 and was presumed to have died at the age of 41, as his year of birth was believed to be 1955. K1 was a full blooded Southern Resident orca. He was 23 feet and 7 meters long.Kanduke
Kanduke (can duke) was captured from T pod in British Columbia, Canada, in August 1975. When captured, he was about 14 ft (4.3 m) and weighed about 2600 pounds (1,179.3 kg), which made him about 4–5 years old. His mother is thought to be T 7. He was sent to Sealand, Victoria, and then sold to Marineland, Canada. In January 1987, he was sold and moved to SeaWorld Orlando. While at Marineland, he did water work with his trainers, but once at SeaWorld he was described as a "moody and unpredictable" whale and the water work stopped. At SeaWorld Orlando, Kanduke often fought with a younger Icelandic male named Kotar. The aggression became increasingly serious. After an incident in which Kotar bit Kanduke's penisPenis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
and caused an infection and show cancellations, the exhibitors decided to move the smaller whale to the newly opened SeaWorld San Antonio. On September 20, 1990 Kanduke died of unknown circumstances. He has since become a grandfather with the births of Sumar, Tekoa, and Malia.
Lolita
Lolita (Low lita), originally known as Tokitae (Toki tay), is an OrcaOrca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
at the Miami Seaquarium
Miami Seaquarium
The Miami Seaquarium is a oceanarium located on the island of Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is located near downtown Miami. It is the longest operating oceanarium in the United States. In addition to the marine mammals, the Miami Seaquarium also...
. She was a member of the L pod
Cetacea
The order Cetacea includes the marine mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Cetus is Latin and is used in biological names to mean "whale"; its original meaning, "large sea animal", was more general. It comes from Ancient Greek , meaning "whale" or "any huge fish or sea...
. When she was about four years old she was captured on August 8, 1970 at Penn Cove, Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
, off the coast of Washington, and is now the oldest captive Orca. The Penn Cove Capture became controversial due to the large number of wild Orcas that were taken (seven) and the number of deaths that resulted: four juveniles died, as well as one adult female who drowned when she became tangled in a net while attempting to reach her calf.
When she first arrived at Miami Seaquarium, Lolita was put in the 'Whale Bowl'. Miami Seaquarium had another orca, Hugo, who lived in a different tank, called the 'Celebrity Bowl', which now houses manatees. The two orcas would vocalise to each other, and Hugo was later moved into the Whale Bowl with Lolita. At first, they were aggressive with each other, but then became more compatible with each other and more aggressive towards their trainers. Lolita and Hugo mated several times, and it was reported that Lolita was pregnant from this. However, she never delivered a live offspring. In 1980, during a show, Hugo slammed his head into a tank wall, causing a brain aneyrism, breaking the glass on the side of the tank (which ripped off his 'nose', or rostrum), and had to have his rostrum sewn back on. Later, he died and Lolita was left all alone. Hugo's body was put in the Miami Dade Dump. Lolita does not live with any other orcas currently. She vocalizes in captivity, in the unique calls used only by her pod. She is still apparently healthy. She is a large Orca, measuring 22 feet (6.7 m) long and weighing 7800 pounds (3,538 kg). This makes her one of the largest female orcas in captivity. Since Lolita arrived at the Miami Seaquarium, she has lived in their Whale and Dolphin Stadium, where she performs 1–2 shows daily. Lolita is the subject of the documentary Lolita: Slave to Entertainment released in 2008. Various groups consider that Lolita should be released into the wild.
Shamu
Captured by Ted Griffin in Puget SoundPuget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
in 1965, Shamu was intended to be a companion for the orca Namu in Griffin's Seattle aquarium. Shamu was however quickly leased and eventually sold to SeaWorld
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature captive orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando,...
in San Diego. She performed in several SeaWorld shows and eventually died on August 23, 1971. The name Shamu has since been used for many different orcas in SeaWorld shows.
Namu
Namu was only the third orca captured and displayed in an aquarium exhibit, and was the subject of a filmNamu, the Killer Whale
Namu, the Killer Whale is a 1966 American film about a killer whale being studied by a local marine biologist and initially feared by local townspeople. The fictional story was filmed on location in the San Juan Islands and at Rich Cove near Port Orchard in the US state of Washington...
that changed some people's attitudes toward orcas. In June 1965, William Lechkobit found a 22 foot (6.7m) male orca in his floating salmon net that had drifted close to shore near Namu, British Columbia
Namu, British Columbia
Namu is a small fishing port, former cannery town and First Nations community on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is located about southwest of Bella Coola or SSE of Bella Bella, on the mainland shore of the Inside Passage ferry route directly opposite Hunter Island, and just south of...
. The orca was sold for $8,000 to Ted Griffin
Edward "Ted" Griffin
Edward Griffin, more commonly known as Ted Griffin, was an aquarium owner, entrepreneur and the first man to ever swim with a killer whale in a public exhibition. In 1965 Griffin purchased, displayed and performed with the orca, Namu, at Griffin's Seattle Marine Aquarium...
, a Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
public aquarium owner. Griffin swam and performed with Namu in the Seattle exhibit and Namu survived one year in captivity before dying in his pen on July 9, 1966.
Nepo
Nepo was captured with several other orcas on December 11 1969. He and a capture mate Yaka* were sold to a place called Marineworld Africa in California. The two orcas joined another female Kianu* who had been at the park since 1968. Kianu wanted Nepo all to herself and she would attack Yaka whenever the other female was with Nepo. Nepo who was very close to Yaka protected her from Kianu's attacks. It got so bad that Kianu was transferred to a park in Japan. Nepo and Yaka continued to bond and even starred in the 1977 horror film Orca. Sadly Nepo died from Pneumonia on July 10 1980. Yaka stayed by his side as he took his final breaths. Even when trainers arrived to take Nepo's body away Yaka refused to leave him and it took the trainers a while to separate the whales. Nepo was about 15 years old.Moby Doll
Moby Doll was the second captive orca displayed in a public aquarium exhibit. The 15 foot (4.6m) long, 1-ton male was captured in 1964 near East Point, Saturna Island in British Columbia after being harpooned and shot. He was towed to Vancouver and displayed publicly until he died three months after his capture. Moby Doll was popular locally and abroad and scientists took advantage of this first opportunity to study an orca and orca sounds up close.Icelandic captures
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic waters.
Kiska
Kiska is an Icelandic female who currently resides at Marineland of Canada and is the oldest at 35. She was captured in 1979 along with King, Caren and a no name female. Kiska and the female were sold to Marineland of Canada while King and Caren went to Kamogawa Sea World. The female soon died after her next transfer to Kamogawa. Kiska stayed at Marineland in King Waldorf Theatre and soon NootkaV, KanduVII and Junior arrived. Sadly Junior died in 1994. Kiska gave birth to 3 healthy calves sired by KanduVII in King Waldorf Theatre. MLC-OO-B9202 in 1992, died on October 25th 1992 (lived for 62 days) of drowning, Kanuck in 1994 died 1998 of Traumatic Shock, and Nova born 1996 died 2001 of pneumonia and starvation. In 1998, a larger habitat was built for the orcas and they were transferred there, it was called Friendship Cove. Kiska gave birth to Hudson in Friendship Cove in 1998, he died in 2004 of meningitis. Her last calf with KanduVII, Athena; who was her 1st daughter was born in 2004. Sadly, KanduVII died the next year on Christmas Eve. NootkaV was sent to be with Kiska and Athena, she tried to steal Athena from Kiska since all her calves are deceased. Ikaika was sent to MLC in 2006 and he and Athena got along very well despite being 2 years apart. Kiska was separated from Athena until NootkaV's passing in 2008. During the time Kiska, Ike and Athena spent together, trainers were thinking of resuming waterworks, however not in King Waldorf Theatre. Sadly Athena died in 2009 and was left with Ike. There was hope that Kiska could be impregnated by Ikaika. Kiska is fully retired from Splash Sessions now, being in Friendship Cove's back pool during the MLC on-season. Ikaika moved to SeaWorld San Diego on November 13, 2011. Kiska is the only orca now living at Marineland.Gudrun
Gudrun (Goo drun) was an IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic female Orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
who lived at Dolfinarium Harderwijk in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and at Sea World
Sea World
Sea World is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and theme park located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It includes rides, animal exhibits and other attractions, and promotes conservation through education and through the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. The...
Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Gudrun was caught close to the coast of Iceland on 25 October 1976. She was kept in captivity in the Dolfinarium Harderwijk in the Netherlands, where she was the main attraction. In 1987, Gudrun was moved to SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park, and marine-life based zoological park, near Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group...
in Florida, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Gudrun gave birth to Taima on 11 July 1989 at 16:45 EST during a thunderstorm. Gudrun gave birth to Nyar on 31 December 1993. Nyar suffered with illness often. She was so both mentally and physically ill, it was reported that Gudrun tried to drown her during several shows. Nyar died at two years old in April of 1996. On 21 February 1996 Gudrun went into labour with her last calf, where chains and a crane were used. Trainers attached the chain around the calf's fluke and attempted to pull the calf out using this, Gudrun was there for over 20 hours, in the end Trainers pulled a stillborn out of Gudrun, where she made a horrific screeching noise, Gudrun died herself 4 days after on 25 February .
In 1982, Gudrun was the subject of an experiment in two-communications, designed to see if she could learn new words and incorporate them into her vocabulary.
Kandu V
Kandu V was a dominant female IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic Orca, caught in 1977 and kept at SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, and marine mammal park, located in San Diego, California, United States. The park is owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group....
in California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. In August 1989, she attempted to rake a newcomer Orca, Corky II, with her mouth during a live show. Instead she missed and ended up slamming into a wall. The blow severed an artery near Kandu V's jaw, and she began spouting blood. The crowd was quickly ushered out, and after a 45-minute hemorrhage, Kandu V died. Her daughter, Orkid, was 11 months old at the time of the accident.
Kasatka
Kasatka is a female Orca who lives at SeaWorld San Diego and the mother of Takara, Nakai, and Kalia. She was captured off the coast of Iceland on October 26, 1978, at the age of one year. Her name probably comes from the Russian word Kasatka , a generic name for Orcas. She is 5 m (17 feet) long and weighs around 2.4 tonnes (5400 pounds (2,449.4 kg)). Kasatka became a grandmother for the first time when her daughter TakaraTakara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
gave birth to her first calf, a female born May 3, 2002, named Kohana. Takara gave birth a second time, on November 23, 2005, to a male named Trua in SeaWorld Orlando.Takara gave birth to her third calf, a female born January 7, 2010, named Sakari. Kasatka was separated from Takara and Kohana on April 24, 2004, when they were moved to SeaWorld Orlando. Kasatka became a great grandmother on October 13, 2010 when Kohana gave birth to her first calf Adán.
Kasatka has shown aggression to humans. In 1993 Kasatka tried to bite a trainer during a show, and again in 1999. On November 30, 2006, Kasatka grabbed a trainer and dragged him underwater during their show. The trainer escaped with his life and was later in good condition despite being underwater for a "brief" amount of time.
Katina
Upon her capture, Katina was purchased by Marineland (Ontario). In 1979, Katina was bought by SeaWorld and was sent to their park in San Diego. In 1982, Katina was moved to Sea World Ohio in Aurora, Ohio with another female named Kasatka
Kasatka
Kasatka is a female Orca who lives at SeaWorld San Diego and the mother of Takara, Nakai, and Kalia. She was captured off the coast of Iceland on October 26, 1978, at the age of one year. Her name probably comes from the Russian word Kasatka , a generic name for Orcas...
, with whom she was captured in 1978. For two years, the two would perform in the Ohio park during the summer months and then be moved back to San Diego for the winter. Finally, in 1984, Katina was transferred to the SeaWorld in Orlando.
Katina became pregnant in early spring of 1984 at SeaWorld San Diego from a male named Winston
Ramu III (Winston)
Ramu III was an Orca who resided at the now-defunct Windsor Safari Park in Berkshire, England between 1970 and 1976, and later, at SeaWorld San Diego in California between 1976 and 1986...
. Soon after, she was moved back to Sea World Ohio for the summer. The trainers soon realized she was pregnant, so she was moved to Orlando at the end of the summer season, where she gave birth on September 26, 1985 to a female who was named Kalina. Although ten Orca calves had been born in captivity prior to Kalina, none had survived past a few weeks. Kalina was the first Orca calf to be successfully born and raised in captivity. Kalina was taken from her mother at 4 years 5 months and conducted on a trip around all four SeaWorld parks.
In early 1987, an adult male named Kanduke arrived in Orlando. He and Katina soon mated. Katina bore her second calf on November 4, 1988, a female named Katerina. In early 1991 at a very early age Katerina was transferred out of Orlando. Katerina died on May 5, 1999 at SeaWorld San Antonio at 10.5 years of age. A male named Tilikum
Tilikum (orca)
Tilikum , sometimes misspelled Tillikum, is a bull orca who lives in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. He has sired many offspring, and has been involved in the deaths of three people. Following a year long hiatus after his last incident, Tilikum returned to performing at SeaWorld Orlando on 30 March...
came to SeaWorld in January 1992. It wasn't long before Katina was pregnant again. She gave birth to her first son on September 9, 1993, named Taku. Katina's next calf came on December 27, 1996, a female named Unna. Her fifth calf was a male born on August 25, 2002 named Ikaika. Katina gave birth to her sixth calf, a female named Nalani, on September 18, 2006. She gave birth to her seventh calf, a male named Makaio on October 9, 2010 at 7:28 p.m. The great-grandmother went into labor at 6:47 p.m. and delivered a 7 feet (2.1 m)-long, 350-pound male calf. He swam to the surface moments later for his first breath
Katina is an excellent performer and is very reliable, putting on performances daily. Katina is sweet-natured and patient and has never been involved in any incidents with handlers. Being the matriarch of the Orcas, Katina is rather dominant. She can sometimes, although rarely, be stubborn and refuse to perform. When this happens, usually all of the other Orcas follow suit. Katina only lives with two of her seven calves (Nalani and Makaio) and one of her grandchildren (Trua). She is always with her calf, but is also with Nalani and Kayla quite often. She is grouped with her son Makaio, Trua, Malia, Nalani and Kayla.
Katina appeared on a That's My Baby episode, where she gave birth to Ikaika.
Keiko
Keiko (1977 – December 12, 2003) was an orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
who starred in the first of three Free Willy
Free Willy
Free Willy is a 1993 family film directed by Simon Wincer, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. The film stars Jason James Richter as a young boy who befriends an orca whale, named "Willy."...
movies. Keiko died on December 12, 2003 after beaching himself during the night, pneumonia was later determined as the probable cause of death. Keiko was captured near Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
in 1979 and sold to the Icelandic aquarium in Hafnarfjörður
Hafnarfjörður
Hafnarfjörður is a port town and municipality located on the south-west coast of Iceland, about 10 km south of Reykjavík....
. Three years later, he was sold to Marineland Canada, where he first started performing for the public and developed skin lesion
Lesion
A lesion is any abnormality in the tissue of an organism , usually caused by disease or trauma. Lesion is derived from the Latin word laesio which means injury.- Types :...
s indicative of poor health. He was then sold to Reino Aventura
Reino Aventura
Reino Aventura was an amusement park located in Tlalpan in the south-western part of Mexico City. It opened to the public in March 1982 as the biggest amusement park in Latin America.-History:...
(now named Six Flags Mexico
Six Flags México
Six Flags México is an amusement park owned by Six Flags Inc. and the only Six Flags park operating in Latin America. It is located in the Tlalpan forest and borough, on the southern edge of Mexico City, Mexico. Six Flags México has become one of the most important theme parks in Mexico and the...
), an amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
in Mexico City, in 1985. He was the star of the movie Free Willy
Free Willy
Free Willy is a 1993 family film directed by Simon Wincer, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. The film stars Jason James Richter as a young boy who befriends an orca whale, named "Willy."...
in 1993.
The publicity from his role in Free Willy led to an effort by Warner Brothers Studio
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
to find him a better home. Donations from the studio and Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw
Craig McCaw is a Seattle-area businessman and entrepreneur who achieved success as a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular and Clearwire Corporation.-Early life and cable TV beginnings:Craig is the second of four sons of Marion and John Elroy McCaw...
led to the establishment of the Free Willy Keiko Foundation in February 1995. With donations from the foundation and millions of school children, the Oregon Coast Aquarium
Oregon Coast Aquarium
The Oregon Coast Aquarium is an aquarium in Newport in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened in 1992, the facility sits on along Yaquina Bay near the Pacific Ocean. From January 1996 until September 9, 1998 when he was shipped to Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland this aquarium was home to Keiko, the orca who...
in Newport, Oregon
Newport, Oregon
Newport is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It was incorporated in 1882, though the name dates back to the establishment of a post office in 1868...
spent over US $7 million to construct facilities to return him to health with the hope of returning him to the wild. He was airlifted by UPS
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
to his new home on January 7, 1996, weighing 3500 kilograms (7,716.2 lb). During his years in Oregon, he gained over a ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
in weight.
On September 9, 1998, he was flown to Klettsvik Bay in Vestmannaeyjar in Iceland, and gradually reintroduced to the wild, returning to the open sea in July 2002. Keiko died on December 13, 2003, at the age of 27 years. Following requests from fans of the orca and Free Willy, the Oregon Coast Aquarium held a memorial service for him on February 20, 2004. 700 people attended the service, at which the aquarium's veterinary chaplain said, "Keiko was not one of our kind, but nonetheless was still one of us." There is a memorial site for Keiko set up by the locals in Halsa
Halsa
Halsa is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region. The administrative centre of Halsa is the village of Liabøen. Other villages in the municipality include Halsanaustan, Valsøyfjord, Engan, Hjellnes, and Valsøybotnen.-General information:Halsa was...
, Norway, where the famous orca spent the last year of his life.
Tilikum
Tilikum, sometimes misspelled Tillikum, is a bull Orca who lives at SeaWorld Orlando. He has been involved in three human deaths and is known for siring whales. He was captured near Iceland in November 1983 at about two years of age. Tilikum measures 22 in 6 in (6.86 m) long and weighs in at 12300 pounds (5,579.2 kg) (as of 2007). His pectoral fins are 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) long, his massive flukes curl under, and his 6 feet (1.8 m) is flopped completely to his left side, and weighs close to 200 pounds (90.7 kg). He is the largest Orca in captivity and also the most successful sire in captivity, with 14 offspring, 11 of which are still alive. His name means friend in Chinook JargonChinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
, usually spelled Tillicum and also meaning "people/tribe" or "kin".
Tillikum was first sent to live at Sealand of the Pacific
Sealand of the Pacific
Sealand of the Pacific was a public aquarium in Oak Bay, a suburb near the city of Victoria, in British Columbia, Canada. It was famous for its orcas, which were the main attraction....
near Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. While living in British Columbia, Tilikum sired his first calf when he was about eight or nine years old. His first son, Kyuquot, was born to Haida II on December 24, 1991. Just a few months prior to the birth of Kyuquot, Tilikum was involved in an incident which resulted in the death of a female trainer. Because of his huge size, Seaworld requested an emergency transfer to their facility. Tilikum was moved to his current location at SeaWorld Orlando, Florida on January 9, 1992. Sealand of the Pacific closed soon thereafter.
Since his arrival at SeaWorld, Tilikum has sired many calves with many different females. His first calf, born in Orlando, was to Katina
Katina (whale)
Katina is a female Orca who lives in SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. She was captured off Iceland at approximately two years of age on October 26, 1978. She is the most successful breeding female Orca in captivity.-Transfers:...
. Katina gave birth to Taku on September 9, 1993. Taku died on October 17th, 2007. Tilikum's other calves are: Nyar (born 1993, died 1996), Unna (1996), Sumar (1998 - 2010), Tuar (1999), Tekoa (2000), Nakai (2001), Kohana (2002), Ikaika (2002), Skyla (2004), Malia (2007), Sakari (2010) and Makaio (2010). In 1999, Tillikum began training for artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
(AI). In early 2000, Kasatka
Kasatka
Kasatka is a female Orca who lives at SeaWorld San Diego and the mother of Takara, Nakai, and Kalia. She was captured off the coast of Iceland on October 26, 1978, at the age of one year. Her name probably comes from the Russian word Kasatka , a generic name for Orcas...
who resides at SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, and marine mammal park, located in San Diego, California, United States. The park is owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group....
was artificially inseminated using his sperm. She gave birth to Tilikum's son, Nakai, on September 1, 2001. On May 3, 2002, another female in San Diego, named Takara
Takara
Takara Co., Ltd. was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955, that merged with another prominent Japanese toy company, Tomy Co., Ltd., on March 1, 2006 to form Takara Tomy, also known in English as TOMY Company Ltd....
, bore Tilikum's calf through artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
. Tilikum is also the first successful, surviving grandfather orca in captivity with the births of Trua (2005), Nalani (2006) and Adán (2010).
Tilikum was at the scene of a death on July 6, 1999. A 27-year-old male intruder was found floating naked in Tilikum’s pool, apparently killed by a combination of hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
and drowning
Drowning
Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by water entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia....
. He had visited SeaWorld the previous day, stayed after the park closed, and evaded security to enter the Orca tank. Investigators determined that the man had been bitten by Tilikum either before or after death. This however, can't necessarily be classified either way, as Orcas generally use their "teeth" to inspect foreign objects in the same way a human would use their hands.
On February 24, 2010 Tilikum was involved in a third incident, when he killed a 40-year-old experienced trainer. The trainer was drowned following a popular Dine with Shamu show as at least two dozen tourists looked on from above a whale tank and from an underwater viewing area. Employees used nets and threw food at the whale in an attempt to distract him but one worker said it only made the animal more agitated.
Moving from pool to pool in the complex, they eventually captured Tilikum and released Ms Brancheau's body, before realizing that the whale still had her arm. A SeaWorld executive confirmed what witnesses saw, that the trainer was pulled into the water by Tilikum.
At present, Tillikum remains at SeaWorld Orlando, and has returned to performing; just in time for the parks new killer whale show "One Ocean". Contrary to numerous claims that he is kept alone and separated from the remaining whales, he has in fact been kept with his grandson Trua on numerous occasions, and can often be seen performing alongside of him during the show finales. On some occasions he can also be seen with Malia or both Trua and Malia in between shows.
Orcas born in captivity
A growing number of theme-park orcas have been born in captivity. Nakai, the first orca conceived through artificial inseminationArtificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
was born to Kasatka, at the SeaWorld
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature captive orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando,...
park in San Diego in September, 2001. This technique lets park owner maintain a more healthy genetic mix in the small groups of orcas at each park, while avoiding the stress of moving orcas for breeding purposes.
Baby Shamu II
Baby Shamu II was born at SeaWorld San Diego in California on January 5 1986. Her parents were Kenau* the mother and Winston* the father. Because she was the second orca born at a SeaWorld park she was nicknamed Baby Shamu II. Ironically the original Baby Shamu aka Kalina* was her older half sister though Kalina had a different mother. Baby Shamu II never got a real name as she died on January 16 1986 just 12 days after she was born. The cause of death was a heart defect. Baby Shamu II was half Icelandic orca and half Southern Resident orca. She was 7feet (2.1m) long and she weighed 135kg (297lb). Her only living relative is her half sister Kayla, who had the same mother.Ikaika
Ikaika ' onMouseout='HidePop("75770")' href="/topics/Hawaiian_language">HawaiianHawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
) is a male Orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
born at SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park, and marine-life based zoological park, near Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group...
in Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
on August 25, 2002. He is the offspring of Tilikum
Tilikum (orca)
Tilikum , sometimes misspelled Tillikum, is a bull orca who lives in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. He has sired many offspring, and has been involved in the deaths of three people. Following a year long hiatus after his last incident, Tilikum returned to performing at SeaWorld Orlando on 30 March...
(father) and Katina
Katina (whale)
Katina is a female Orca who lives in SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. She was captured off Iceland at approximately two years of age on October 26, 1978. She is the most successful breeding female Orca in captivity.-Transfers:...
(mother), making him Katina's fifth calf. To decide the name of the new born whale a poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
was taken. The following names were chosen to be on the poll: Ikaika (Hawaiian for "strong"), Mottaka (Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
for "reception"), Ramu (in honor of the late whale by that name), Tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
(Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
) and Ramius (after the Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
in "The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October is a 1984 novel by Tom Clancy. The story follows the intertwined adventures of Soviet submarine captain Marko Aleksandrovich Ramius and CIA analyst Jack Ryan.The novel was originally published by the U.S...
").
Ikaika no longer lives at Seaworld Orlando, Florida but was transferred to Marineland (Ontario)
Marineland (Ontario)
Marineland is a themed amusement and animal exhibition park in the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada...
Ontario, Canada on a breeding loan. His move was on November 18, 2006 in exchange for three male beluga whales — Juno, Aurek, and Klondike — whom joined Spooky within the Wild Arctic area. Ikaika is a growing male, his flukes have started to curl under, he is around 17 feet (5.2 m) long. In late September, it was confirmed that Ikaika would be returning to a SeaWorld facility, an obvious sign that his breeding loan has indeed been terminated with no signs of success.
On November 13, 2011, Ikaika was transported to his new home at SeaWorld San Diego, where he joins six other whales; Ulises, Corky, Orkid, Kasatka, Nakai and Kalia.
Kalia
Kalia was born at Sea World San Diego on December 21, 2004 at 9:22 a.m. in Shamu Stadium's main show pool following a little more than two hours of labor and was estimated to weigh between 300 pounds and 500 pounds and measure 6 to 7 feet. Her parents are Kasatka and Keet. She is also known as GreatGrandbaby Shamu. Her siblings are Takara (1991) Nakai (2001) and Halyn (2005–2008). The name Kalia means "beauty" in Hawaiian.Kalina
Kalina (September 26, 1985 – October 4, 2010) was the first captive-born Orca calf to survive more than a few days. Kalina's mother is an Icelandic female named KatinaKatina (whale)
Katina is a female Orca who lives in SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. She was captured off Iceland at approximately two years of age on October 26, 1978. She is the most successful breeding female Orca in captivity.-Transfers:...
, and her father, Winston
Ramu III (Winston)
Ramu III was an Orca who resided at the now-defunct Windsor Safari Park in Berkshire, England between 1970 and 1976, and later, at SeaWorld San Diego in California between 1976 and 1986...
(also known as Ramu III) was a Pacific Southern Resident, making Kalina an Atlantic/Pacific hybrid — a unique situation that would not have occurred in the wild. Kalina measures 17 in 9 in (5.41 m) and weighs approximately 6300 pounds (2,857.6 kg).
Kalina first appeared in shows at SeaWorld Orlando in 1987, billed as "Baby Shamu
Shamu
Shamu was the fourth killer whale ever captured and was the third orca ever displayed in a public exhibit. She was the first orca to survive more than 13 months in captivity and was the star of a very popular killer whale show at SeaWorld San Diego in the mid - late 1960s...
", performing with her mother. On February 12, 1990, Kalina was transferred to SeaWorld Ohio. She was moved again in October of that year to SeaWorld San Diego, and again on May 30, 1991 to SeaWorld San Antonio. In October 1994, Kalina was moved back to SeaWorld Orlando, where she lived with eight other killer whales, including her mother and a half sister.
Kalina gave birth to her first calf, a male named Keet
KEET
KEET is a digital-only public television station in Eureka, California, broadcasting locally on channel 11 as a PBS member station. Founded in 1969, the station is owned by Redwood Empire Public Television, Inc...
, on February 2, 1993 at Sea World Texas. Kalina was only seven and a half years old at the time of Keet's birth — an extremely young age for an Orca to become a mother. Kalina became pregnant again shortly after Keet's birth, and was moved back to SeaWorld Orlando in October 1994, where she gave birth to her second calf, another male, Keto on June 17, 1995. She gave birth to another male, Tuar, on June 22, 1999. Kalina bore her fourth calf and first daughter, on February 9, 2004, named Skyla. Skyla is now at Loro Parque. Kalina was a gentle whale, learned quickly, and was used a lot in shows. She was used as a "starter whale" for new trainers. She never showed any signs of aggression towards her trainers or other orcas. Prior to Taima's unexpected death on June 6, 2010, Kalina could be seen swimming with her and Malia, Taima's calf and the youngest orca at Orlando. On Monday October 4, 2010, less than four months after Taima's death, Kalina died of Preacute Bacteremia Septicemia at the age of 25.
Kayla
Kayla is a female born on November 26, 1988 at SeaWorld San Antonio. Her parents were Kenau and Orky II, both now deceased. Kayla is about 18 feet (5.5 m) long and weighs about 6000 pounds (2,721.6 kg). Kayla only lived with her mother for the first two and a half years of her life. Kenau was moved to SeaWorld Orlando in January 1991, and Kayla was moved to SeaWorld Ohio in April 1991. Kayla lived there for the next eight years with another young female, named Katerina, who was just three weeks older than she was. After Katerina was moved out, another much older female named Winnie was moved in.In November 1999, Kayla and Winnie were both transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio. Kayla and Winnie joined a female named Haida II and her son Kyuquot. A young male named Keto arrived in March 2001. Haida II died on August 1 of that year, making Winnie the new dominant female. Winnie died on April 11, 2002. Kayla became the new dominant Orca in the stadium and was until her relocation to Orlando in 2006. After the death of Winnie, only three whales were left in the park: Kayla, Kyuquot, and Keto. A young female by the name of Unna was moved to the park in December 2002 to settle down Kyuquot and Keto, because the two maturing males were constantly fighting over Kayla. In November 2006, Kayla was transferred to Sea World Orlando leaving behind a mate Keet
KEET
KEET is a digital-only public television station in Eureka, California, broadcasting locally on channel 11 as a PBS member station. Founded in 1969, the station is owned by Redwood Empire Public Television, Inc...
, and their daughter Halyn was raised by Unna immediately after Kayla's transfer. Once Kayla arrived, she immediately gave up her dominant role to Katina, who has been the dominant female there since 1988.
Kayla gave birth to her first calf on October 9, 2005, a female named Halyn. Halyn was moved to a special animal care facility to be hand raised. Kayla likely rejected her calf because she had never been exposed to a young calf before and did not know how to deal with one. Halyn lived in Animal Care in a different part of the park, and in May joined her SeaWorld Orca family at Shamu
Shamu
Shamu was the fourth killer whale ever captured and was the third orca ever displayed in a public exhibit. She was the first orca to survive more than 13 months in captivity and was the star of a very popular killer whale show at SeaWorld San Diego in the mid - late 1960s...
Stadium. Halyn's father is Keet. On June 15, 2008, Halyn died unexpectedly.
Keet
Keet is a bull Orca who was born on February 2, 1993 in SeaWorld San Antonio, where he still resides. The word "Keet" means orca in the TlingitTlingit language
The Tlingit language ) is spoken by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska and Western Canada. It is a branch of the Na-Dené language family. Tlingit is very endangered, with fewer than 140 native speakers still living, all of whom are bilingual or near-bilingual in English...
language. His parents are Kalina and Kotar
Kotar (whale)
Kotar was a male killer whale captured off the southeast coast of Iceland in October 1978. At the time of his capture he was only 210 cm long and because of this it is believed that he is/was the youngest killer whale taken into captivity from the wild that survived.He was bought by SeaWorld...
. Keet currently measures about 18 feet (5.5 m) and weighs 6000 pounds (2,721.6 kg). Keet is also known as Grandbaby Shamu because his mother is the first Orca to be born and raised under human care successfully.
When he was 1 year and 8 months of age, his mother was moved to SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park, and marine-life based zoological park, near Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group...
in Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
to support her next pregnancy, Keet's brother Keto in 1995. Katerina, his aunt, was moved in from SeaWorld Ohio
SeaWorld Ohio
SeaWorld Ohio was a park in the SeaWorld chain of marine animal theme parks. The park opened in 1970 directly across from Geauga Lake in Aurora, Ohio, USA....
. In 1995, his father, Kotar, died. On May 5, 1999, Katerina died. Five months later, two females named Kayla and Winnie were moved in. In November 1999, he was moved to SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, and marine mammal park, located in San Diego, California, United States. The park is owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group....
in California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. There, he met his brother, Keto, and his playmate, Sumar. All three whales were moved to SeaWorld Ohio in February 2000. On February 15, 2001, Keet was returned to California; Sumar followed three days later, while Keto was relocated to SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld San Antonio is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and animal theme park, located in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio, Texas. It is the largest of the three parks in the SeaWorld chain owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group, and the world's...
in Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. Keet's best friends were the bull Ulises and a maturing male named Splash. On April 24, 2004, Keet was moved to his birth place, meeting Kyuquot, Unna, Kayla, Keto, Tuar, and Tekoa. He is mostly with Kayla and Keto and also doing very well.
Keet is a gentle and agile performer. On December 21, 2004, he became a father for the first time when Kalia, his daughter, was born at Sea World San Diego. On October 9, 2005, his mate Kayla gave birth to his second daughter Halyn, at SeaWorld San Antonio. Keet is the lowest ranking adult orca in the dominance chain at Seaworld Texas. He is very sweet and is often used as a "starter whale" for new trainers along with a younger male named Tuar. On June 15, 2008, SeaWorld announced Halyn died unexpectedly; a necropsy was performed and the test results have been announced.
Kohana
Kohana is a female born at SeaWorld San Diego on May 3, 2002. She was the second orca to be conceived through artificial inseminationArtificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
. Her parents are Takara and Tillikum
Tilikum (orca)
Tilikum , sometimes misspelled Tillikum, is a bull orca who lives in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. He has sired many offspring, and has been involved in the deaths of three people. Following a year long hiatus after his last incident, Tilikum returned to performing at SeaWorld Orlando on 30 March...
. On April 25, 2004, Kohana and her mother were moved to SeaWorld Orlando. On February 13, 2006, Kohana was moved to Loro Parque in Spain with three other Orcas: Tekoa, Keto, and Skyla. Kohana is a vibrant and playful whale. She often floats at the acrylic glass to interact with visitors. She is intelligent and eager, and learns quickly.
On October 13, 2010, Kohana gave birth to her first calf (a male) named Adán, in the parks "Orca Ocean" killer whale exhibit, after a four hour labor. The calf weighed around 150 kg (330 lbs), and was two meters long (6.5 ft). Kohana's calf is the first killer whale born in Loro Parque.
Nyar
Nyar was born at SeaWorld Orlando Florida on New Years Eve (31st of December) 1993. She was born to parents Gudrun* and Tilikum. Nyar suffered from many health problems. Sometimes trainers would have to separate Gudrun and Nyar because the mother would try to drown her daughter. They had some bonding moments togther. Nyar was not able to perform in shows as she was a very slow learner. She was even put with her father Tilikum sometimes. He was very gentle with her. Sadly Nyar lost her life on April 1 1996. She was 2 years 4 months and 1 day old. The cause of death was Immune System Failure. Nyar's name meant "Summer" in Hungarian.Orkid
Orkid was born September 23, 1988 in SeaWorld San Diego, California. Orkid’s parents are Kandu V (her mother), and Orky II (her father). Orkid is a favorite among most of San Diego as she was the first killer whale born in the San Diego Sea World Park. Orky II died only three days after Orkid was born. She was named Orkid, in memory of her father (Orkid means Orky’s Kid). In August 1989, there was a accident where Kandu V charged Corky II, during a live show. The blow broke Kandu V's jaw, and she began spouting blood with every breath she took. 45-minutes later Kandu V sank to the bottom of the pool and died. Orkid witnessed her mother’s death. For weeks after the incident, she would circle the tanks calling out and vocalizing for her mother. Corky II became Orkid's surrogate mother. Orkid has had other close relationships, one was a male orca named Splash, and the other was a young male named Sumar. Both now are deceased, and died at a young age. Orkid has been artificially inseminated many times, but (so far) has not gotten pregnant yet. Orkid was said to have been scheduled to be artificially inseminated in late June 2011. She was later seen having an ultrasound performed in mid August 2011. Orkid is highly intelligent (having been affectionately nicknamed by trainers 'The Rocket Scientist'), and knows hundreds of behaviors. Only the most senior trainers are to work with her, as she has shown aggression toward trainers in the past. Orkid in her life has seen a lot of her close friends and family die. In a video of Sumar’s body being hauled from the pool, Orkid was seen very close to him, not letting him out of her sight.Sakari
Sakari was born on January 7, 2010, at Sea World San Antonio. Her mother is Takara and her father is Tillikum. Siblings on mother's side include Kohana and Trua. "Sakari" means " sweet " in the Inuit language. She is most often seen with her mother Takara and half-sister Unna during shows, though spends a lot of time with the other pod members as well.Sumar
Sumar (May 14, 1998 — September 7, 2010) was a male Orca born at SeaWorld OrlandoSeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park, and marine-life based zoological park, near Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group...
in Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. His mother was Taima and he was her first calf. Just six months after birth, an incident happened when, during a show, his mother attacked him, pushing him against the glass, trying to make him fall. The crowd was evacuated and the show canceled. The trainers tried to move Taima to another tank and finally separated her from her son. Since then, the two of them have been always separated and Kalina and Katina
Katina (whale)
Katina is a female Orca who lives in SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. She was captured off Iceland at approximately two years of age on October 26, 1978. She is the most successful breeding female Orca in captivity.-Transfers:...
became his surrogate mothers until he was transferred to SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, and marine mammal park, located in San Diego, California, United States. The park is owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group....
in California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
on March 8, 1999. Afterwards, he spent a few months at now-closed SeaWorld Ohio
SeaWorld Ohio
SeaWorld Ohio was a park in the SeaWorld chain of marine animal theme parks. The park opened in 1970 directly across from Geauga Lake in Aurora, Ohio, USA....
before being transferred back to the San Diego park. There, he was mothered by Corky II.
He was considered very gentle with other Orcas and trainers. Sumar spent a lot of time with Nakai. However, the dominant female Kasatka
Kasatka
Kasatka is a female Orca who lives at SeaWorld San Diego and the mother of Takara, Nakai, and Kalia. She was captured off the coast of Iceland on October 26, 1978, at the age of one year. Her name probably comes from the Russian word Kasatka , a generic name for Orcas...
had a tendency to pick on him time to time. At the time of his death he was one of three males at the park, and was seen as a possible breeding male in the future; Nakai, the younger male, is still too young to breed, and the older male Ulises seems to have a low sperm count. Sumar was approaching full size for a typical bull orca when he died: his dorsal fin was more and more leaning to its left and his flukes were beginning to curl under. He was about 4.6 m (15.3 feet) long and weighed around 5300 pounds (2,404 kg). He was often used for shows in the park. The theme of a June 2010 episode of Cupcake Wars
Cupcake Wars
Cupcake Wars is a Food Network reality-based competition show hosted by Justin Kredible based on creating unique and professional-style cupcakes that began airing in June 2010. The show is similar to its successful Chopped show in that it starts with 4 contestants who are eliminated one by one in 3...
was Sumar's twelfth birthday.
Sumar died at SeaWorld
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature captive orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando,...
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, on Tuesday, September 7, 2010, at the age of 12. Trainers noticed that the whale was not feeling well on Monday, September 6, 2010 which resulted in veterinarians being notified, blood samples drawn, and antibiotics administered. Despite measures taken by Sumar's veterinarian team, Sumar became increasingly ill by Tuesday. He died shortly before 1:45 PM (Pacific time). Sumar's death prompted the canceling of the park's Orca shows for the day. His death was determined to be as a result of a twisted intestinal tract (intestinal volvulus). He was set to be the next captive breeding bull orca, after his father Tilikum
Tilikum (orca)
Tilikum , sometimes misspelled Tillikum, is a bull orca who lives in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. He has sired many offspring, and has been involved in the deaths of three people. Following a year long hiatus after his last incident, Tilikum returned to performing at SeaWorld Orlando on 30 March...
.
Taima
Taima (July 11, 1989 – June 6, 2010) was a transient/IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic hybrid female Orca who lived at Sea World Orlando in Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. According to SeaWorld, her name means crash of thunder in the Icelandic language
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
. She was born tail-first around 16:45 EST
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
during a thunderstorm.
Taima was born to mother Gudrun and father Kanduke. In 1990, Kanduke died at the age of 20 from a stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
ailment; Gudrun gave birth to Taima's half-sister Nyar in 1993. Nyar suffered frequent illness and it was reported that Gudrun tried to drown her during several shows. Trainers believe that this confused Taima, as she witnessed this and thought this was how to raise a calf. She was later reported to have performed this on her own calves, Sumar, Tekoa, and Malia. Gudrun died in 1996 from stillbirth
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
complications, and Nyar died from an illness a few months later in April.
On May 14, 1998, Taima gave birth to a male calf named Sumar. They were separated when he was about eight months old because of the aggression between them. On one occasion while performing, Taima started biting Sumar, and throwing him out of the pool, onto the trainer’s platform. She then slid out herself and started biting him. The show was stopped, and Taima was pulled to the other swimming pool. A few months later Sumar was transferred to SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, and marine mammal park, located in San Diego, California, United States. The park is owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group....
in California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
.
On November 8, 2000, at 3:47 pm, Taima gave birth to a male named Tekoa. He began feeding overnight and was estimated to be 7 feet (2.2 m) long and weigh 350 pounds (158.8 kg). During the birth, Kalina assisted Taima and helped the calf to the surface for its first breath. The two were separated after only nine months due to aggression between them. It was reported that Tekoa was swimming with Katina and Taima began to display signs of aggressive dominance and went after Tekoa. Katina, the dominant female at the park, became involved by trying to protect Tekoa. Taima then attacked Katina whom was pregnant at the time, which caused her immense physical and psychological stress nearly causing a miscarriage. Tekoa was sent to SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld San Antonio is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and animal theme park, located in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio, Texas. It is the largest of the three parks in the SeaWorld chain owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group, and the world's...
in 2005, and was later sent to Loro Parque
Loro Parque
Loro Parque is a zoo located on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, Spain where it houses an extensive and diverse reserve of animal and plant species...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in February 2006. After Tekoa's attack, Taima was separated from all other whales except Tilikum, until she gave birth again to her first daughter Malia in 2007. Seaworld announced on May 18, 2010 that Taima was pregnant again and should give birth in late May or early June.
Taima died from complications to a stillborn calf on June 6, 2010. Preliminary indications suggested that her death was caused by placenta previa, a condition in which the placenta is delivered before the calf.
Taku
Taku (September 9, 1993 – October 17, 2007) was a male Orca, who was born at SeaWorld OrlandoSeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park, and marine-life based zoological park, near Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group...
in Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. After birth, Taku spent most of his time with his mother Katina
Katina (whale)
Katina is a female Orca who lives in SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. She was captured off Iceland at approximately two years of age on October 26, 1978. She is the most successful breeding female Orca in captivity.-Transfers:...
or Nyar, his half-sister. Three years later, Katina gave birth again to a female, Unna
Unna
Unna is a town of around 67,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna district.-Geography:Unna is situated on an ancient salt-trading route, the Hellweg road. Trade on this route and during the period of the Hansa Trade Route came from as far as London...
. On August 25, 2002, Katina gave birth to her fifth calf: a male, Ikaika. Unna was later moved to SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld San Antonio is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and animal theme park, located in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio, Texas. It is the largest of the three parks in the SeaWorld chain owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group, and the world's...
in December 2002. Afterwards, Ikaika and Taku bonded to the point where Ikaika swam in mother-calf-position with Taku. On November 18, 2006 Taku was moved to SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld San Antonio is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and animal theme park, located in the Westover Hills area of San Antonio, Texas. It is the largest of the three parks in the SeaWorld chain owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group, and the world's...
whereas Ikaika was moved to Marineland Canada in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
When Takara and her daughter Kohana arrived at SeaWorld, Taku immediately began showing an interest in her. Visitors were commenting on Taku's persistence in following Takara and Kohana everywhere after their arrival. Things settled down and Takara began to tolerate Taku's company. She would often initiate contact with him by swimming with him or rubbing. Takara soon became pregnant. On November 23, 2005 around 21:50 EST (4:50 PM), Takara went into labor with her second calf. Her daughter Kohana was at her side. An hour later around 22:22, Takara gave birth to a male calf (Taku's son/first calf) who was later to be named Trua.
Taku died unexpectedly on October 17, 2007, at the age of 14 and weighing over 7000 pounds (3,175.1 kg) and at 22 feet (6.7 m) long. Trainers were notified that Taku had been acting differently the Wednesday before his death. A necropsy was performed, and after a long awaited report, it was determined that Taku had died from a sudden case of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, a common illness among captive orcas.
Takara
Takara (Japanese for "treasure") was born on July 9, 1991, at SWC to Kasatka and Kotar, who lived out in SeaWorld San Antonio, Texas up to his death in 1995. She was the second "Baby Shamu" born at SWC, after Orkid in 1988. She gave birth to her first calf, a female named Kohana on May 3, 2002. She was conceived via artificial insemination, the father being TilikumTilikum (orca)
Tilikum , sometimes misspelled Tillikum, is a bull orca who lives in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. He has sired many offspring, and has been involved in the deaths of three people. Following a year long hiatus after his last incident, Tilikum returned to performing at SeaWorld Orlando on 30 March...
, a bull orca living on the other side of the country at SeaWorld Orlando.
Takara and Kohana were transferred to SeaWorld Orlando in 2004. A year later, Takara gave birth to her second calf, a male named Trua, fathered by Taku. Kohana was later transferred out of SWF to Loro Parque
Loro Parque
Loro Parque is a zoo located on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, Spain where it houses an extensive and diverse reserve of animal and plant species...
, a Spanish amusement park in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
. During her time in Orlando, Takara was most often seen with an older female named Taima, and later her calf Malia, although she was easily seen with the other members of the pod as well.
Takara was transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio in February 2009 in a supposed effort to improve space at SeaWorld Orlando. It was later confirmed she was pregnant at the time (again from Tilikum). On January 7, 2010, Takara gave birth to another female calf in the main tank of SWT's "Shamu Theatre". On March 16, 2010 she was named Sakari which is an Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
word for "sweet".
Takara became a grandmother on October 13, 2010 when her calf Kohana gave birth to her first calf Adán.
Trua
Trua is a male Orca born at SeaWorld Orlando on November 23, 2005. His parents are Takara and Taku. Takara and Kohana had just been moved to SeaWorld Orlando when she and Taku met. At the time of Trua's birth, Kohana was by Takara's side and thus acted as the midwife. Trua currently lives at Sea World Orlando with six other orcas: KatinaKatina (whale)
Katina is a female Orca who lives in SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. She was captured off Iceland at approximately two years of age on October 26, 1978. She is the most successful breeding female Orca in captivity.-Transfers:...
(matriarch), Tilikum
Tilikum (orca)
Tilikum , sometimes misspelled Tillikum, is a bull orca who lives in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. He has sired many offspring, and has been involved in the deaths of three people. Following a year long hiatus after his last incident, Tilikum returned to performing at SeaWorld Orlando on 30 March...
, Kayla, Nalani, Malia and Makaio.
Trua, now six years old, is a very vibrant and playful whale. He is very interactive and has recently been learning water works. Trua's mother Takara was moved to SeaWorld San Antonio on February 5, 2009. Trua now spends a lot of time with Katina, Kayla, Tilikum, Malia and Nalani, and is learning behaviors fast. Trua is easily identified because of his two dots and belly freckles. Trua has a dot in his eyepatch, and a dot on his neck. Trua has a chip on the left side of his tail fluke.
Spooky
Spooky was born to parents Corky II and Orky II* at Marineland of the Pacific on the 31st of October 1978. He was the second calf conceived between the pair. He was named Spooky because he was born on Halloween. Spooky was in good health. But it wasn't to last. Due to the circular tank the orcas were kept in Corky had trouble nursing her son. Trainers took over and bottle fed Spooky hoping to help him survive. Spooky died 11 days later on November 10 1978 from pneumonia and colitis. Spooky's breed was 100% Northern Resident orca.Unna
Unna is a female Orca. She was born on December 27, 1996 at SeaWorld Orlando. Her parents are KatinaKatina (whale)
Katina is a female Orca who lives in SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. She was captured off Iceland at approximately two years of age on October 26, 1978. She is the most successful breeding female Orca in captivity.-Transfers:...
(mother) and Tilikum
Tilikum (orca)
Tilikum , sometimes misspelled Tillikum, is a bull orca who lives in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. He has sired many offspring, and has been involved in the deaths of three people. Following a year long hiatus after his last incident, Tilikum returned to performing at SeaWorld Orlando on 30 March...
. She is Katina's fourth calf and also Tilikum's, and was the second calf to be born to the pair. Unna lived with her mother, father, siblings, and other whales at her birthplace in Orlando for the first six years of her life.
In August 2002, Katina gave birth to her fifth calf, a male named Ikaika. Unna was there to assist her mother during the labor.
In December 2002, Unna was transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio because the park only had three whales at the time: two males who were fighting over one female. In late April 2006, Unna gave birth to a stillborn
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
calf. Unna recovered well from her stillbirth. She currently lives with five other whales, Kyuqout (Ky), Keet, Sakari, Takara, and Tuar. Unna can frequently be seen swimming alongside Tiki (Takara) and Sakari at SWT, she is extremely energetic and does well with high energy behaviors. Unna seems to respond really well to secondary reinforcement. Currently there are Many rumors floating around that Unna is expecting. At the moment Nothing has been confirmed. However Unna has been a constant "auntie" to Takara's daughter.
Nalani
Nalani is a young female Orca who currently resides to SeaWorld Orlando, where she was born on September 18, 2006. Her parents are KatinaKatina (whale)
Katina is a female Orca who lives in SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. She was captured off Iceland at approximately two years of age on October 26, 1978. She is the most successful breeding female Orca in captivity.-Transfers:...
and Taku (who is, due to inbreeding, also her brother). She is Katina's sixth calf, and was Taku's second. She is a very loving and curious youngster, but was very dependent on her mother in the first few years. She is learning fast, as she is used in shows regularly alongside Trua, Malia, Kayla, and Katina. An easy way to identify Nalani is how plump she is. She's chubby, like her mom and dad/brother, has round eyepatches, has a straight dorsal fin, and is the longest baby at SWF.
Malia
Malia was born to Taima and TilikumTilikum (orca)
Tilikum , sometimes misspelled Tillikum, is a bull orca who lives in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. He has sired many offspring, and has been involved in the deaths of three people. Following a year long hiatus after his last incident, Tilikum returned to performing at SeaWorld Orlando on 30 March...
at SeaWorld Orlando on March 12, 2007. She was Taima's third calf and her name means "calm and peaceful" in Hawaiian. She is a very independent and playful whale and loves to interact with the crowds. She is learning new behaviors all the time and is used in shows daily along-side the other young Orcas at SeaWorld Orlando. Malia's mother Taima died in June 2010 after a difficult labor that resulted in a stillborn calf, many hope that the fact Malia was already quite independent from her mother even before her death, that the loss will not have a negative affect on her. Malia can often be seen with Trua and Nalani. Her eyepatches are long and skinny, and she has no marks, rakes, or chips in her tail fluke.
Makaio
Katina delivered her 7th calf on October 9, 2010 after a short 45 minute labour. The father is Tilikum. It was announced on November 3, 2010 that the calf was a healthy boy. The calf has interacted with all the other members of the pod except Tilikum, and plays well with them. His name was decided by a poll with three names to vote for on SeaWorld Orlando's official facebook page. The names were Nico, Greek for "Victory," Makaio, Hawaiian for "Gift of God," or Haruki, Japanese for "Shining Brightly." Makaio was the name chosen. Many believe that Makaio is their "Gift of God" because of all the bad events SeaWorld had in 2010. Makaio weighs 550 pounds and is 7 feet long (December 2010). He plays around near Katina while she performs during shows. He has learned to jump a little, swim upside down, shake and nod his head, squirt a little, and mimics what Katina does. He can be seen in SeaWorld's new killer whale show One Ocean.Adán
Adán (Spanish variation of "Adam") measured about 6.6 feet (2 m) and weighed in at 330 pounds at birth. He was born on October 13, 2010, at Loro Parque. His mother, nine-year-old Kohana, showed no maternal interest in him at birth. As a result Adán had to be bottle fed by staff until May 2011 when he was permanently moved onto fish.Adán is a result of inbreeding between Kohana and Keto (Keto and Kohana's mother, Takara, share the same father). Adán has so far been introduced to three of the four orcas residing at Loro Parque and spends a short time each day with at least one of them, but has been kept separate from Tekoa as there are concerns he would become too rough with him.
Lovey
Lovey was born on January 11, 1998, at Kamogawa Sea WorldKamogawa, Chiba
is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 35,257 and a population density of 184 persons per km². The total area was 191.30 km²...
, to mother Stella and father Bingo/Thor. She was the first orca calf born successfully in Japan (there had been five calves born before her, but none lived for more than ten days). The only other orca at KSW at the time of her birth was Oscar, who would mate with her later on, once she was older. Her first calf was a male born on October 13, 2008 named Earth.
Lovey's stage name is Oyako, meaning "parent and child" in Japanese.
Earth
Earth was born at Kamogawa Sea World Japan on October 13, 2008. His mother is Lovey and his father is Oscar. Earth is growing up fast and does show with his parents and other park orcas. His name was decided by a poll. He is also known as Asu. Like many calves Earth is very curious and playful.He has two aunts: Lara and Ran II.
Moana
On March 16, 2011, Wikie gave birth to Moana, her first calf in Marineland Antibes. Initially, it was stated that the calf was a girl so they had a naming contest on Facebook and Moana won which means "ocean", but a report in July confirmed that she was in fact a he. Marineland confirmed that his name will not be changed. It is also confirmed that Ulises of Sea World San Diego is the father. The calf was conceived via artificial insemenation.See also
:Category:Individual killer whales- Captive killer whales#Issues with captivity
- KeikoKeiko (orca)Keiko was a male orca / actor who starred in the film Free Willy and was perhaps the most famous of captive orcas.- History :...
, the star of the 1993 movie Free WillyFree WillyFree Willy is a 1993 family film directed by Simon Wincer, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. The film stars Jason James Richter as a young boy who befriends an orca whale, named "Willy."... - SeaWorldSeaWorldSeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature captive orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando,...
- ShamuShamuShamu was the fourth killer whale ever captured and was the third orca ever displayed in a public exhibit. She was the first orca to survive more than 13 months in captivity and was the star of a very popular killer whale show at SeaWorld San Diego in the mid - late 1960s...