#seaworld
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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld Florida
Date of Capture: Born on March 12, 2007
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld Florida
On March 12, 2007, the captive-born female Taima gave birth to her fourth calf, her first daughter; a female named Malia sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum.
Much like her previous two calves, Taima began acting unusually aggressive towards Malia and soon enough, the pair were introduced to Tilikum who got along well with his daughter. However, in the summer of 2008, Malia and Taima had to be temporarily separated until they were reunited and kept with the captive-born female Kalina.
Unfortunately, in June of 2010, Taima died during the labor of her fifth calf - eerily similar to the death of her mother Gudrun. With the sudden loss of her mother, Malia was left alone but soon grew close to Trua and her [older] niece Nalani, who were close to her in age. Malia was also looked after by Kalina until her death in October 2010.
Based on SeaWorld’s history, many people have been speculating if Malia could be impregnated soon, as captive Orca seem to be impregnated at much younger ages than their wild counterparts. Just recently, one of SeaWorld’s captive-bred females, Kalia, gave birth to her first calf at just 9 years old.
Today, Malia is 8 years old and still resides at SeaWorld Orlando.
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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Florida
Date of Capture: Born on September 18, 2006
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of Florida
On September 18, 2006, the Icelandic female Katina gave birth to her sixth calf at SeaWorld Orlando; a female named Nalani and sired by the captive-born male Taku. However, Taku was also Nalani’s brother, as he was the son of Katina and Tilikum. This mother-son pairing made Nalani the first inbred calf in captivity.
When Nalani was just 9 days old, she began having trouble, however. Katina began showing less interest in her new calf, and more interest in her sons, Taku and Ikaika. The brothers also showed some level of aggression towards Nalani, though Ikaika’s aggression was often of a sexual nature as he had been observed trying to mate with the newborn Nalani on various occasions.
As a result, Katina, Taku, and Ikaika were placed on the drug Diazepam (Valium), a drug often used to decrease stress and cause light sedation. This caused outrage among some, as SeaWorld had given the drug to Katina already, though the drug is not meant for use on pregnant or nursing females, as it can cause birth and neonatal defects.
Eventually, Taku and Ikaika were both moved to different parks, which caused Katina to return her focus on Nalani and resume normal behavior observed from her in the past with her calves.
As she has grown, Nalani seems to be in good health and shows no adverse signs that are sometimes seen with inbred animals. She had learned and performed just as well as all the other whales, and often spends time with her younger brother Makaio, and her [younger] aunt Malia.
Today, Nalani is 8 years old and still resides at the Orlando park with her mother. Based on SeaWorld’s track record, many people have been questioning whether SeaWorld ever plans to breed Nalani.
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Gender:Male
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Florida
Date of Capture: Born November 23, 2005
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of Florida
On November 23, 2005, the captive born female Takara gave birth to her second calf at SeaWorld Orlando, a male named Trua sired by the captive born male Taku. Just like his mother Trua was very interested in the underwater viewing windows.
Trua also befriended many of the other whales including his aunt Malia and uncle Makaio, who both happen to be younger than him. In 2008, Trua and his mother were moved in with the Icelandic male, Tilikum; Trua’s grandsire.
In February of 2009, after becoming pregnant by Tilikum with her third calf, Takara was moved to the Texas park which left Trua alone at the Orlando park. After his mother was moved, Trua was mostly kept with Tilikum and the two began performing together. As most of the other whales at the park were aggressive towards Tilikum, Trua became his only companion as the two got along well.
Recently, photos surfaced from visitors showing Trua in the underwater viewing area with the other whales; raising questions about whether Tilikum was alone or not. Not long afterwards, a photo was released by SeaWorld showing Tilikum alongside the Icelandic female, Katina, and their son, Makaio.
Today, Trua is 9 years old and still remains at the Orlando park.
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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of California
Date of Capture: Born December 21, 2004
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of California
On December 21, 2004, the Icelandic female Kasatka gave birth to her third calf at SeaWorld San Diego; a female named Kalia sired by the captive bred male Keet. Though, Kalia is also sometimes known as “Great Grandbaby Shamu”, as Keet is the son of the first successfully bred Orca in captivity - Kalina who was also known as the “Original Baby Shamu”.
Being the daughter of the dominant female at the San Diego park, Kalia also seems to be rather dominant herself as she would often displace some of the other whales. However, after her younger brother Makani was born, Kalia seemed to calm down slightly, becoming a mother figure to Makani and helping to care for him.
One of Kalia’s favorite activities seems to be hunting the birds that often linger around the poolside, searching for scraps of fish.
However, Kalia has been shown to display rather troubling behavior sometimes. A video posted to YouTube by a park guest showed Kalia apparently “throwing a fit” - repeatedly thrashing herself upon the concrete slide out. Near the end, she begins thrashing so violently that she is forced to go back into the water. The original video has been taken down, so the upload date is unknown; though there have been others who have reposted the video on their own accounts.
Sometime in 2013, Kalia was artificially inseminated when she was just 8 years old. On December 2, 2014, she gave birth to her first calf; a female later named Amaya who’s sire is reported to be the Icelandic male Ulises, but has yet to be confirmed. At first, concerns arose over her interest in her calf, as Kasatka was originally seen looking after Amaya - though Kalia was later videoed and photographed nursing and swimming alongside Amaya.
In September 2014, nearing the end of Kalia’s pregnancy, she was videoed by a park regular apparently becoming stuck in a closing gate. SeaWorld responded to the backlash with a statement saying that Kalia often plays with the gates and nudges them open on her own.
Though it was a different type of gate, the Icelandic male Kotar, who was Kalia’s grandsire, also knew how to open the gates when he lived at the Texas park. This resulted in Kotar’s death on April 1, 1995 when a gate came down on him, crushing his skull and effectively killing him.
Today, Kalia is 10 years old and still resides at the San Diego park with her daughter, Amaya.
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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:Male
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Florida
Date of Capture: Born August 25, 2002
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of California
On August 25, 2002, Icelandic female Katina gave birth to her fifth calf at SeaWorld Orlando; a male known as Ikaika, sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum. When Ikaika was born, he became very quick friends with his older brother, Taku. He also became a favorite along park guests, as he was very interested in interacting in the underwater viewing area.
In September 2006, Katina gave birth to her sixth calf, a female named Nalani. However, Katina had mated with her son, Taku, which produced Nalani. About 9 days after her birth, Katina began showing less interest in her new calf and seemed to focus her interest on her sons, Taku and Ikaika. All three whales appeared to show some levels of aggression towards Nalani.
In Ikaika’s case, his aggression was often of a sexual nature in which he would attempt to mate with newborn Nalani. SeaWorld decided it best to place them on Valium in order to calm them down, as well as separate Taku and Ikaika from their mother. However, Nalani was less that 2 weeks old, and Valium is not recommended for pregnant or nursing females, as it can cause birth defects and interfere with the development of a nursing neonate. It was only after both Taku and Ikaika were moved to separate parks that Katina began properly caring for Nalani as she had with her other calves.
While Taku was sent to the Texas park, Ikaika was sent to Marineland Ontario in Canada on a “breeding loan” in November 2006, despite his being only 4 years old at the time. Male Orca are known to reach sexual maturity somewhere around 15 years old. When he arrived, he met three female Orca - Kiska, Nootka V, and Kiska’s calf Athena.
Unfortunately, Nootka V died in 2008 and Athena followed in 2009, leaving just Kiska and Ikaika at the park. Kiska reportedly became depressed after the death of her tankmate and calf, though Ikaika was still young and playful, bothering Kiska in an attempt to engage her in play, but Kiska was not interested. While he was with her, Ikaika was known to bite/rake Kiska, and so the pair had to be separated until Kiska recovered.
However, in November 2011, SeaWorld expressed concern over the quality of care Ikaika was receiving at Marineland, and requested that he be sent back to their park. When Marineland refused, SeaWorld took them to court in an attempt to regain custody; claiming that Marineland was not meeting their veterinary care, husbandry care, or training obligations while Ikaika was in their facility. SeaWorld won the case and Ikaika was returned to their care and transferred to the San Diego park that same month. Upon his arrival at the park, Ikaika was raked and attacked at first, but eventually befriended Corky II, Ulises, and Orkid.
Today, Ikaika is 12 years old and remains at the San Diego park where he performs daily.
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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 California
Date of Capture: Born on September 1, 2001
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of California
On September 1, 2001, Icelandic female Kasatka gave birth to her second calf at SeaWorld San Diego, a male named Nakai sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum via Artificial Insemination. Nakai was the first calf successfully conceived and born through AI.
Though Kasatka was a good mother, Nakai was never afraid to stray from her side. He could often be seen interacting with park guests through the underwater viewing area, but does not seem to be as interested now that he is older.
On September 27, 2012, photos surfaced of Nakai with a “dinner-plate sized” chunk of flesh missing from his chin. The injury, which appeared to have exposed the lower jaw bone, was reportedly sustained sometime during a night show on September 20. SeaWorld contends that Nakai “came in contact with a portion of the pool” but did not give any other details, and have not spoken anymore on the matter since its occurrence.
In November of the same year, the USDA launched an investigation that concluded that Nakai’s injury appeared to have been caused by his jaw scraping the recessed track that holds watertight gates between two of the pools at Shamu Stadium, which they say was consistent with what SeaWorld park officials had told them.
Today, Nakai is 13 years old and his injury looks to have healed well.
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(NOTE: Last two links contain sensitive images of Nakai’s injury. Please proceed with caution.)
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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 on June 22, 1999
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of Texas
On June 22, 1999, captive born female Kalina gave birth to her fourth calf at SeaWorld Orlando, a male named Flash sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum.
The public did not seem to like the name Flash for the calf, and so the very first online-poll was held by SeaWorld to help name the calf. Tuar was the winning name, beating out two others - Illa, and Okkar.
The following year in November 2000, Tuar’s half brother was born to the captive born female Taima. However, Taima became unusually aggressive towards her calf, known as Tekoa, and as a result, Tekoa spent most of his time with Kalina and Tuar, with both young calves growing very close.
In April 2004, Tuar and Tekoa were both moved to SeaWorld San Antonio where they seemed to grow apart. Tekoa ended up being moved again in 2006 while Tuar remained at the Texas park.
While Tuar is not described as an aggressive whale, he has been involved in several incidents with trainers throughout the 2000′s; including clamping down on a trainer’s arm, clamping down on a trainer’s leg, coming out at trainers, as well as surfacing on top of trainers before.
Today, Tuar is 15 years old, has never sired a calf, and still remains at the SeaWorld Texas park.
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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
Place of Capture: Born at Marineland Antibes, France
Date of Capture: Born on February 25, 1993
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of California
On February 25, 1993, Icelandic female Sharkan gave birth to her first calf at Marineland Antibes, a female named Shouka, sired by the Icelandic male Kim II. While Sharkan was a good mother to her daughter, Shouka spent most of her time with her father, Kim II, and the two became very close.
However, staff at Marineland became concerned that the two might mate and produce a calf, so the decision was made to move Shouka to Six Flags Great Adventure in 2002 but was moved again in 2004 to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California.
Shouka was mostly kept alone at this park, apart from two Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins named Cupid and Merlin. The Argentinian male, Kshamenk, was supposed to join her in 2002, but the Argentinian government denied the move.
Shouka was a good performer but was also very dominant at Marineland, which has stayed with her and caused her to be separated from both Merlin and Cupid. This, however, presented a legal issue, as Orcas are required to be housed with at least one other Orca or cetacean species. After trying to send her to Marineland Ontario to be a companion to the Icelandic female Kiska, Six Flags decided to send her instead to SeaWorld San Diego on a breeding loan in August 2012.
In July, just a month before her move, Shouka was recorded by a park guest lunging repeatedly at a trainer. This resulted in her trainer being lifted into the air and thrown back through an open door that leads to the back of the stage. This was the first incident Shouka had been recorded being involved in, and the rest of the show was cancelled immediately afterwards.
When Shouka arrived at SeaWorld in August, she met many of the whales, including Corky II and the captive born male Keet, who has apparently attempted mating with Shouka various times. The two seem to get along well and can often be seen together.
Today, Shouka is 22 years old but does not have any calves of her own.
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Gender:Male
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Texas
Date of Capture: Born February 2, 1993
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of California
On February 2, 1993, captive born female Kalina gave birth to her first calf at just 8 years old at the SeaWorld San Antonio park. The calf was a male, later known as Keet, sired by the Icelandic male, Kotar. Keet’s birth marked him as the very first second generation calf to be born in captivity.
However, just 18 months after his birth, Kalina became pregnant with her second calf. To support her pregnancy, Kalina was moved to the Orlando park in 1994, leaving Keet alone at the Texas park. After Kalina’s move, Keet apparently became depressed until befriending the other resident whales at the park, including Haida II, Katerina, and Kyuquot.
In November 1999, Keet was moved to the San Diego park where he met many other whales, including his younger brother Keto. He remained here for about 6 months until being moved in April 2000 to the now defunct park in Aurora, Ohio with Keto and another male named Sumar, where they stayed until Sumar and Keet were moved back to the San Diego park in February 2001.
During his second stay at the San Diego park, Keet impregnated the Icelandic female Kasatka, but was moved back to the San Antonio park in April 2004. In December of 2004, Kasatka gave birth to Keet’s first calf, a female later named Kalia.
The following year, Keet sired his second calf with a female named Kayla at the San Antonio park. Unfortunately, Kayla rejected the calf, a female later named Halyn, resulting in staff having to separate the pair and bottle-feed Halyn.
When she was older, Halyn was introduced to Keet and the two got along well and kept each other company; Halyn would even perform in shows with Keet. Unfortunately, Halyn died in June 2008 and in February 2012, Keet was moved back to the San Diego park for a third time. Keet is also believed to have been the sire of a female named Unna’s stillbirth in 2006, as well as Kayla’s miscarriage in 2007.
Today, Keet is 22 years old and still resides at the San Diego park. He became a grandsire in 2014 when Kalia gave birth to her first calf, a female named Amaya.
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Gender:Male
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at Sealand of the Pacific
Date of Capture: Born December 24, 1991
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of Texas
On December 24, 1991, Icelandic female Haida II gave birth to her first calf, a male named Kyuquot, sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum.
While another female, Nootka IV, also gave birth to a calf by Tilikum, it died less than a month later. Kyuquot was born just several months after the 3 adult whales were involved with the death of trainer Keltie Byrne.
Following this incident, Tilikum was transferred to SeaWorld Orlando in 1992. In 1993, the others were transferred as well, with Nootka IV going to the Orlando park as well, while Haida II and Kyuquot were transferred to the San Antonio park where they met a number of new whales, including Kalina, Kotar, Keet, and many more later on.
Kyuquot was very close with his mother, and remained close to her until her death in August 2001. He has been known to be “moody” and refuse behaviors, but has only been involved in two reported incidents.
On August 1, 2003 during a portion of a show, Kyuquot refused to let a trainer exit the pool, refusing callback tones and slaps. While Kyuquot supposedly did not become aggressive, the trainer was only able to escape the incident after pulling himself over the glass wall.
During another incident on July 27, 2004, Kyuquot became aggressive during a show with trainer Steve Aibel. He began doing “bows” over Aibel, submerging him underwater multiple times, refusing to let Aibel exit the pool and ignoring callback tones and slaps from the other trainers. After a few minutes, when Aibel was in the middle of the pool, Kyuquot began to calm down, moving towards the stage while Aibel made a quick exit. A few days later, Aibel was back in the water with him, but following the 2010 ruling by OSHA, waterworks with any whales has since been stopped.
Today, Kyuquot is 23 years old and still resides at the Texas park. He has never sired any calves of his own.
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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of California
Date of Capture: Born July 9, 1991
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of Texas
On July 7, 1991, Icelandic female Kasatka gave birth to her first calf, a female named Takara and sired by the Icelandic male, Kotar.
Kasatka proved to be a very good mother, forming a close bond with her calf and teaching her how to be a mother following the birth of Kasatka’s second calf, Nakai, in 2001.
In 2002, Takara gave birth to a calf of her own, a female named Kohana who was sired by Tilikum via artificial insemination. Thanks to being kept with her mother, Takara was able to properly care for Kohana. However, Takara and Kohana were both moved to the Orlando park together in 2004.
According to former trainer John Hargrove in the 2013 documentary Blackfish, separating Takara from her mother, Kasatka, caused a great deal of distress for Kasatka, whom apparently called out repeatedly in a desperate attempt to locate her daughter.
When Takara and Kohana arrived in Orlando, they seemed to get along well with the other whales. An adult, captive born male named Taku seemed to take a liking to Takara and she soon became pregnant with his first calf, a male named Trua born in 2005. However, the following year, Kohana was transferred to Loro Parque in Spain when she was just 3 years old, while Takara and Trua remained at the Orlando park.
Soon enough, Takara and Trua were introduced to the adult Icelandic male Tilikum. The three seemed to get along well, as Takara was soon expecting her third calf but was moved to the Texas park in 2009. Trua was kept at the Orlando park and serves as a companion to his grandsire, Tilikum.
In 2010, Takara gave birth to her third calf, a female named Sakari, at the Texas park. The two fit in well, and soon enough, the captive born male Kyuquot began showing interest in Takara. She reportedly became pregnant again in 2011, but either suffered a miscarriage or a false pregnancy, as a sonogram failed to show any fetus, nor did she pass one.
Though in 2013, Takara gave birth to her fourth calf, another female named Kamea, sired by the Argentinian male Kshamenk via artificial insemination. Takara has also been involved in a few incidents with trainers, such as coming out at trainers and accidentally knocking a trainer off the slide out with her flukes.
Today, Takara is 23 years old, and remains at the Texas park with her two youngest calves, Sakari and Kamea.
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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Texas
Date of Capture: Born on November 26, 1988
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of Florida
On November 26, 1988, Icelandic female Kenau gave birth to her second calf, a female sired by the Northern Resident male Orky II, at SeaWorld San Antonio.
In 1991 at only three years old, Kayla was transferred to the Aurora park with another young female named Katerina. Kayla’s mother, Kenau, died that same year on August 6 after being moved to the Orlando park in January and suffering a miscarriage.
Katerina and Kayla preformed at the Ohio park alone until 1994 when an adult female named Winnie took Katerina’s place, while Katerina was transferred to the San Antonio park where she remained until her death in 1999.
Kayla and Winnie were moved to the park in 1999 just after Katerina’s death, where they met the dominant female Haida II who ended up sharing dominance with Winnie. It was only until after both Winnie and Haida II died that Kayla took over the role as dominant female. When a male named Keet arrived in 2004, Kayla grew close to him and soon became pregnant by him.
On October 9, 2005, she gave birth to her first calf, a female named Halyn, at the San Antonio park. Unfortunately, due to being separated from her mother at such a young age, Kayla never learned how to care for or raise a calf, and rejected Halyn immediately, reportedly even becoming aggressive towards her. The two were forced to be separated, and Halyn was hand reared by SeaWorld staff. Halyn spent a lot of time in the company of her father, but she suddenly died in June 2008.
Kayla had been transferred to the Orlando park in 2006 where staff apparently hoped that she would learn mothering skills from the older, more experienced females but she suffered a miscarriage sometime in 2007. Since then, despite attempts to impregnate Kayla, she has been unable to conceive another calf.
Apart from her short history as a mother, Kayla has also bee involved in a number of incidents with trainers. She often refuses separations and has come out at trainers on several occasions. In October 2006, Kayla lunged at a male trainer, making contact and throwing him several feet.
In 2013, a video surfaced of a family’s visit to SeaWorld in 1995 while Kayla and Winnie were still together at the Aurora park. In the video, the whales do not seem to be cooperating with trainers. Around the 2-minute mark, Kayla can be seen attempting to propel herself onto the slide out to get closer to the crowd, but does not have enough momentum. She slides back into the pool before propelling herself onto the slide out and over a barrier wall with her head within reach of small children in the audience, who reach out to touch her. A staff member quickly moves to clear the area before Kayla slides back into the water and returns to trainer control.
Today, Kayla is 26 years old and resides at the Orlando park.
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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of California
Date of Capture: Born September 23, 1988
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of California
On September 23, 1988, Icelandic female Kandu V gave birth to her second calf; a female sired by the Northern Resident male Orky II. Unfortunately, Orky II died just 3 days after his daughter’s birth, so the calf was named Orkid - meaning “Orky’s kid”.
However, after Orkid’s birth, there was a great deal of tension between Kandu V and another female named Corky II, who had previously given birth to 7 calves, none being able to live more than two months. As a result, Corky II attempted to steal Orkid away from Kandu V on various occasions.
This led to a deadly incident between the two females on August 21, 1989 when Orkid was just 11 months old. Corky II and Orkid were performing a show while Kandu V was in one of the back pools. When Kandu V was let out of the back pool, she immediately swam into the show tank, ramming Corky II.
Corky II reportedly suffered a gash on her stomach, but Kandu V ended up fracturing her jaw, which cut major arteries in her nasal passages, causing her to bleed out over a period of about 45 minutes while Orkid stayed by her mother’s side.
After Kandu V’s death, Corky II and Orkid formed a strong bond, with Corky II acting as a surrogate mother to the orphaned calf. Orkid seemed to befriend many of the new whales this way, as Corky II cared for a number of younger whales. One other whale Orkid became close with was a young male named Splash; a male transferred to SeaWorld in 1992 from Marineland Ontario in order to receive better care for his epilepsy and seizures. When he suffered a seizure and ran head first into a gate in 1995, Orkid was one of the whales who helped him to the surface and into the medical pool for treatment.
Orkid was also very close with another male, Sumar, who was born in 1998 to Taima at the Orlando park. Taima was rather aggressive towards her calves, resulting in her being separated from them as well as Sumar’s move to the San Diego park in 1999 when he was just a year old. Soon after, Corky II became a surrogate mother to him, and Orkid befriended the young whale. Unfortunately, Splash died in 2005 due to a perforated stomach, as well as Sumar in 2010 due to a twisted intestine.
Much like her mother, Orkid also became somewhat of an aggressive whale, having been involved in 17 recorded incidents starting from the time she was just a year old. According to her SeaWorld profile, Orkid has been recorded bumping, mouthing, pushing, jaw popping, and pulling trainers underwater on multiple occasions.
One of the most notable instances was on August 7, 2002. A female trainer named Tamaree was sitting by the edge of a back pool interacting with both Orkid and Splash. In a video taken by a park guest, Tamaree can be seen talking to the whales and repeatedly placing her foot on Orkid’s rostrum and taking it off without another trainer present, which is against safety policies. Before long, Orkid can be seen seizing Tamaree’s foot before pulling her into the water.
According to former trainer John Hargrove in the 2013 documentary Blackfish, another trainer came along, taking a chain off the gate to give the precursor to Orkid that the older and more dominant female Kasatka was coming in. Orkid and Splash then released Tamaree who escaped the incident with nothing more than a broken arm.
Some aggressive incidents have also occurred as a result of trainers preforming artificial insemination procedures on her. Orkid seems to dislike AI procedures, and caused minor injuries to a trainer in 2007 after swiping her head and making contact with him, knocking him over a wall. Orkid has mated naturally with males before, and has been AI’ed numerous times, but so far has failed to become pregnant.
Today, Orkid remains at the San Diego park and preforms shows regularly. She is 26 years old.
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(WARNING:The last two links contain mildly graphic footage that may upset some viewers; view at your own risk.)
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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of California
Date of Capture: Born December 2, 2014
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of California
On December 2, 2014, captive born female Kalia gave birth to her first calf; a female later named Amaya and possibly sired by the Icelandic male Ulises - though DNA testing is still required in order to confirm if Ulises is the father.
Due to Kalia having only been 9 years old when her pregnancy was announced, some controversy and intense criticism ensued and some began questioning what kind of a mother she would be at this age, as well as why SeaWorld had been Artificially Inseminating such a young whale.
However, Kalia is still housed with her mother, Kasatka, who has helped Kalia become a good mother to her calf.
Today, Amaya is less than a year old and can often be seen with her uncle, Makani, or off on her own exploring other areas of the tanks.
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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Texas
Date of Capture: Born December 6, 2013
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of Texas
On December 6, 2013, the captive born female Takara gave birth to her fourth calf; a female named Kamea sired by the Argentinean male Kshamenk via Artificial Insemination.
Kamea can often be seen swimming alongside her mother and sister Sakari, as well as Unna, but will can also be seen with any of her other tank mates.
Today, Kamea is 1 year old and still resides at the Texas park.
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Granny’s Pod
The World’s Oldest Orca (103 years Old)By Ben Guarino
Despite being a 103-year-old great-grandma, the orca named J2 – or, more affectionately, Granny – is in great shape. In little over a week, Granny and her pod have traveled 800 miles.
This weekend, Granny was spied swimming off the coast of Canada, after a trek up from northern California. The centenarian cetacean can be identified by a white marking on her back and a notch in her fin.
Michael Harris, the director of Pacific Whale Watch Association, tells Canadian newspaper The Province that her life span is an estimate based on her children’s ages. Whale experts have also confirmed Granny in photos dating back to the 30s.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wild female orcas usually live for about 50 or 60 years – although killer whales as old as 90 are not unheard of. SeaWorld, however, contends that “No one knows for sure how long killer whales live.”
That might be because impressive ages like Granny’s have never been mirrored in captivity. For whales born at SeaWorld and other aquaria, says the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, the average life span – excluding stillborn orcas – is only 4.5 years.
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They come here every year - first time I saw them I was in a canoe. The ocean at alder cove was like a mirror. For a moment time stood still, the pod broke the the surface for a moment, and I wondered if I just imagined what I saw. Then they were just jumping and cutting the water and their fins were racing, cutting the water like a knife. One last leap, and they were gone. About 45 seconds that I will never forget. It is amazing what greed makes people do. To lock up such an amazing creature (the orca people), … hurts my being.
Image:environmentalaska.us/orcas
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☽✪☾
The Dance at Alder Cove -Youth/Father/Geezer - I see you
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