#loro parque
Gender:Male
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at Loro Parque, Spain
Date of Capture: Born October 13, 2010
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: Loro Parque, Spain
On October 13, 2010, the captive-born female Kohana gave birth to her first calf at Loro Parque in Spain; a male named Adán sired by the captive-born male Keto.
Unfortunately, due to her being separated from her own mother at such a young age, Kohana never learned how to properly care for a calf and rejected Adán immediately. This resulted in staff having to hand-rear Adán, despite the abysmal failure of hand-reared captive calves in the past.
In addition to his mother rejecting him, Keto is not only Adán’s father, but he is also Kohana’s uncle; meaning that Adán is inbred and making him the second inbred calf in captivity.
As he’s grown, Adán seems to be progressing well, but due to the instability of Loro Parque’s social structure, he has sometimes been raked and displaced by the older whales. Kohana can be placed with Adán but does not play a maternal role to him. Adán was the first whale to be introduced to Morgan when she arrived in 2011 and the two seem to get along well; eventually, Adán was introduced to all of the other whales as well.
In August 2012, Kohana gave birth to her second calf by Keto; this time a female named Victoria, or Vicky for short. Once again, Kohana rejected her calf immediately and Vicky had to be hand-reared like her older brother. Adán and Vicky spent some time together and got along well. Unfortunately, Vicky died in June 2013 just 2 months shy of her first birthday.
Many people have also expressed concern over Adán and his health, as pictures taken at the park show he often looks sickly and has poor body condition.
Today, Adán is 4 years old and remains at Loro Parque where he participates in shows but otherwise spends most of his time with Tekoa and Morgan.
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Gender:Female
Pod: Norwegian P pod (?)
Place of Capture: Wadden Sea, Netherlands
Date of Capture: June 23, 2010
Age at Capture: Approx. 3 years
Current Location: Loro Parque Tenerife, Spain
On June 23, 2010, a fisherman spotted a very ill young Orca swimming in the Wadden Sea off the coast of the Netherlands. A team from the Dolphinarium Harderwijk rescued her and brought her to their facility where they administered emergency medical treatment for extreme starvation as well as dehydration, and she was named Morgan.
The permit they were granted for her rescue also detailed that she was to be released as soon as possible. However, the Dolphinarium claimed that Morgan’s family could not be located, and so release would be impossible.
Many organizations, including the Free Morgan Foundation, continued advocating for her release and in 2011, released a report showing that 77.7% of Morgans call types were matched to Norwegian P pod, meaning that a release was, indeed, a possiblity.
However, due to the small size of the tank at Dolphinarium Harderwijk, they began searching for a new facility for her to stay at; though her stay at the Dolphinarium was extended a whole year due to lengthy court battles. Eventually, the court ruled that Morgan was to be moved to a new facility, resulting in her move to Loro Parque in Spain.
Upon her arrival, Morgan was introduced to Adán and Skyla. Eventually, she was introduced to the oldest female, Kohana, and the parks older males, Tekoa and Keto. In 2012, Loro Parque announced that Morgan is partially deaf and “barely responds” to whistle cues; but can be seen in YouTube videos performing behaviors, and often responding to whistle cues immediately.
While activists continued the legal fight to try and release Morgan, New Zealand Orca researcher, Dr. Ingrid Visser, visited Loro Parque in June 2012 and documented multiple instances of aggression directed mainly towards Morgan. Visser photographed Morgan self-mutilating by banging her head against tank walls and chewing on the concrete. Photographs from Visser also show Morgan being attacked relentlessly by Kohana and Skyla. Morgan has also sometimes been locked in a tank alone with Keto, who is extremely sexually aggressive toward Morgan and will consistently chase her around the tank in an attempt to penetrate her.
Unfortunately, on April 23, 2014, after yet another lengthy court battle, the Council of State ruled that Morgan’s transfer to Loro Parque was legal. They also ruled that since her family had not been located and Morgan was very young, it was unclear if Morgan could survive if she were to be released. For the time being, Morgan is to remain at Loro Parque while activists attempt to come up with a new plan for her.
Today, Morgan is approximately 8 years old and remains at Loro Parque where she progresses in her training every day and has even begun performing in shows.
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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Florida
Date of Capture: Born February 9, 2004
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: Loro Parque Tenerife, Spain
On February 9, 2004, the captive born female Kalina gave birth to her fifth calf at SeaWorld Orlando; a female named Skyla sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum. While Skyla was close with her mother, she also became very close with her half-siblings Ikaika and Kohana.
However, in February of 2006, when Skyla was just 2 years old, she was moved with Kohana, Keto, and Tekoa to Loro Parque in Spain. Because they were all very young at the time, none of them ever learned how a pod’s social structure works; nor did Kohana or Skyla learn proper mothering skills. Due to the lack of stability at the park, there have been countless aggressive incidents between the whales at the park.
In the spring of 2009, Skyla began pushing a trainer around the pool and up against the wall during a show. As a result, limitations on waterwork and a mandate that only senior trainers work with her was put in place. Since this incident, no other altercations between Skyla and her trainers have been reported.
Today, Skyla is 11 years old and remains at Loro Parque, performing shows daily with the other whales.
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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of California
Date of Capture: Born on May 3, 2002
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: Loro Parque Tenerife, Spain
On May 3, 2002, captive born female Takara gave birth to her first calf at SeaWorld San Diego, a female named Kohana sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum via Artificial Insemination. Kohana would become the second captive Orca ever to be born through AI.
Takara and Kohana became inseparable. At first Kohana was shy, compared to her mother who would often spend time interacting with guests through the underwater viewing, but became more open and playful around the time she was a year old. In 2004, when Kohana was 2 years old, she and Takara were both moved to the Orlando park where Kohana met some of her half-siblings.
However, in February 2006 when Kohana was just 3 years old, she was moved to Loro Parque in Spain with three other closely-related young whales known as Skyla, Keto, and Tekoa. Being the oldest female at the park, Kohana often shows dominance over the others, but with a lack of an experienced matriarch, the social structure at Loro Parque is unstable and often results in aggression between the whales.
In October 2010, Kohana gave birth to her first calf at just 8 years old, a male named Adán sired by Keto, who is also Kohana’s uncle. Unfortunately, due to being separated from her mother at such a young age, Kohana never learned necessary maternal skills and rejected Adán immediately, paying no mind to her new calf. This resulted in staff having to bottle-feed Adán, despite the abysmal failure of hand-raised captive calves in the past. Soon enough, Adán was introduced to the other whales and reintroduced to his mother. They all get along, but Kohana plays no maternal role to him.
In August 2012, Kohana gave birth to her second calf, a female named Victoria - Vicky for short - also sired by her uncle Keto. Once again, Kohana rejected Vicky immediately, and reportedly became aggressive towards her, forcing staff to separate the pair and hand-raise Vicky as well. For a short while, Vicky was reportedly doing well, but took a turn for the worse and died in June 2013 at just 11 months old.
Today, Kohana is 13 years old and still resides at Loro Parque, acting as the dominant female despite her inexperience.
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Gender:Male
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Florida
Date of Capture: Born on November 8, 2000
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: Loro Parque, Spain
On November 8, 2000, captive born female Taima gave birth to her second calf, a male named Tekoa sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum.
Taima was a good mother for the most part, but after some months, began displaying aggression towards Tekoa like she did with her first son, Sumar. This resulted in the pair being separated, and after various unsuccessful attempts at reuniting the pair, they were separated permanently.
However, the captive born female Kalina, who had just given birth to a calf of her own, a male named Tuar, took it upon herself to care for Tekoa. The two calves became close friends until they were both moved to the Texas park in April 2004 where they met many new whales.
In February 2006, Tekoa was moved to Loro Parque in Spain with 3 other young whales; Skyla, Keto, and Kohana. Tekoa is one of the more submissive whales at the park, and can often be seen with rake marks covering his body.
On October 6, 2007, Tekoa was involved in an incident with trainer Claudia Vollhardt. It was reported that Tekoa crashed into Vollhardt before dragging her down. He then proceeded to grab her arm, bringing her down again before bringing her to the surface. Two fellow trainers were able to pull her from the water, but not before she suffered several serious injuries including two breaks to one of her forearms and injuries to her right lung. After this incident, certain protocols were put in place that restricted what trainers could do with Tekoa.
Today, Tekoa is 14 years old and still remains at Loro Parque.
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Gender:Male
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Florida
Date of Capture: Born June 17, 1995
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: Loro Parque Tenerife, Spain
On June 17, 1995 captive born female Kalina gave birth to her second calf at just 9 years old at SeaWorld Orlando. The calf was a male named Keto sired by the Icelandic male Kotar.
However, Keto only stayed at the Orlando park for little more than 3 years before being transferred to the San Diego park in 1999 where he met his older brother, Keet. In April of 2000, Keto was moved again to the park in Aurora, Ohio with his brother Keet and another male named Sumar.
Keto was moved once again in February of 2001 to the San Antonio park where he grew very close to the female named Kayla, and would reportedly fight with a male named Kyuquot over her. He was reunited with his brother Keet in 2004, but in February of 2006, Keto and 3 other young whales were transferred to Loro Parque in Spain. The four were sent on a breeding loan and therefore are owned by SeaWorld; though they were scrutinized for the move, as Keto, Kohana, Tekoa, and Skyla are all related.
The combination of these relatively young whales also presented a problem in terms of social structure, as the group lacked a dominant matriarch and still does. This has led to aggression issues between the whales, and sometimes aggression towards trainers. However, Keto had already been displaying issues with trainers before his move to Loro Parque.
In September of 1998 he pushed his trainer around the pool, open mouthed, and swam into another trainer open mouthed in both March of 1999 and August 2002, as well as snapping at his trainer during a training session in December 1999. Keto’s aggression seemed to escalate, however, on December 24, 2009.
During a 10:30am training session for the Christmas Special, 29 year old trainer Alexis Martínez was struck and killed by Keto. At first, it was said that Alexis had drowned due to being unconscious and held underwater for several minutes. The autopsy revealed that Alexis’ death was actually more violent, and went on to state that he suffered multiple cuts and bruises, the collapse of both lungs, fractures to the ribs and sternum, a lacerated liver, severely damaged vital organs, and puncture marks consistent with the teeth of an Orca.
The autopsy concluded that the immediate cause of death was drowning due to fluid in the lungs, but that the fundamental cause was “mechanical asphyxiation due to compression and crushing of the thoracic abdomen with injuries to the vital organs”, meaning that Keto had to have slammed into Alexis with enough force to cause Alexis’ chest to cave in.
Eerily enough, Alexis’ death occurred exactly two months prior to the death of senior SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau who was killed on February 24, 2010 by the Icelandic male Tilikum. Being a SeaWorld trainer, Dawn’s death seemed to get much more publicity than Alexis’ death, and the incident between Alexis and Keto was quickly swept under the rug for the most part.
In October 2010, Kohana gave birth to the first calf to be conceived at Loro Parque. The calf, known as Adán, was sired by Keto who is Kohana’s uncle. Kohana rejected Adán due to her never learning proper mothering skills, requiring staff to bottle feed Adán instead.
In 2012, Kohana gave birth to hers and Keto’s second calf, a female named Victoria, or Vicky for short. Once again, Kohana rejected her calf, forcing staff to separate the pair and bottle feed her. Unfortunately, Vicky died at just 10 months old.
Today, Keto is 19 years old and currently resides at Loro Parque.
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Gender:Female
Pod: N/A (Mother was Kohana)
Place of Capture: Captive born
Date of Capture: Born August 3, 2012
Age at Capture: Captive born
On February 13, 2006, four young Orcas were sent from SeaWorld to Loro Parque in Spain.
Keto, Tekoa, Kohana, and Skyla had been sent to the park on a breeding loan, though many were shocked at these choices, as all four whales were closely related. The two females were only 2 and 3 years old at the time as well, meaning they had never learned the skills on how to properly raise their own calves from their mothers.
However, the park persisted in breeding their whales and on August 3, 2012, Kohana gave birth to her second calf, sired by her uncle Keto, when she was just 10 years old.
Just like her first calf, a male named Adán, also sired by Keto and born when Kohana was only 8 years old, Kohana immediately rejected her second calf; a female known as Victoria, or Vicky.
Kohana paid no attention to Vicky and staff had to step in to hand-rear Vicky just like they had with Adán.
Vicky seemed to do well, however. She was eating well, playing with her older brother in the medical pool. Though, the majority of her life was spent alone with inflatable toys and trainers as her companions.
However, she began exhibiting changes in her behavior, and a SeaWorld veterinarian had been flown out to the park.
Unfortunately, on June 16, 2013, Vicky died due to Intestinal Complications at only 10 months old.
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