Shamu

Shamu was the fourth killer whale (orca) ever captured (the second female) 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

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 the mid - late 1960s. After her death in 1971, the name Shamu continued to be used in SeaWorld "Shamu" orca shows

Shamu (SeaWorld show)

Shamu is the stage name given to the SeaWorld orca shows and to the "star" of those shows, beginning with the original Shamu in the late 1960s and early 1970s...

 for different killer whales in different 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,...

 parks.

History

Shamu represents the first successful intentional live-capture of a healthy orca. Three previous orca captures (including Moby Doll

Moby Doll

Moby Doll was the first captive orca displayed in a public aquarium exhibit.The 15 foot long, 1-ton male was captured in 1964 near East Point, Saturna Island in British Columbia. A sculptor, Samuel Burich, had been commissioned by the Vancouver Aquarium to kill an orca in order to construct a...

 and Namu

Namu (Orca)

Namu was only the second orca displayed in an aquarium exhibit and was the first orca to perform with a human together in the water...

) had been more opportunistic. The way Shamu got her name was from Namu, She+Namu=Shamu. The very young (14 foot / 4.25m, 2000 lb / 900 kg) Southern Resident

Southern Resident Killer Whales

The Southern Resident Killer Whales represent the smallest of four resident communities within the eastern North Pacific Ocean. It is the only Killer Whale population listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service...

 orca Shamu was captured by 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...

 in 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...

 in October, 1965 to be a companion for the orca Namu at Griffin's 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. But the new orca was soon leased to and then purchased by SeaWorld in San Diego in December 1965. She was retired from performing after an incident in which she grabbed and refused to release the leg of a female SeaWorld employee who was riding her as part of a filmed publicity event.

External links

• "Era of the Orca Cowboys" article by Daniel Francis and Gil Hewlett in The Tyee webzine, May 16, 2008