#seaworld orlando

Gender:Male
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Florida
Date of Capture: Born October 9, 2010
Age at Capture: Captive born
Current Location: SeaWorld of Florida

On October 9, 2010, the Icelandic female Katina gave birth to her seventh calf at SeaWorld Orlando; a male named Makaio sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum.

As Makaio was born in 2010 after the death of both Kalina and Sumar, as well as senior trainer Dawn Brancheau, his name was chosen because it means “gift of god” in Hawaiian.

He is very close with his mother, and has become more interactive with guests as he has grown. Makaio often spends time with his [older] nephew Trua, and older half-sisters Nalani and Malia, and has also begun training for shows.

There have been concerns over the state of Makaio’s teeth due to his young age, because it appears he has already begun wearing down his teeth enough to expose the pulp. He also came close to becoming stuck in a closing gate on December 13, 2014 during a show.

While he escaped incident that day, there was an Icelandic bull named Kotar who was killed in 1995 after a gate came down on his melon, crushing his skull; which has since caused many people to continually express concern over “gate play” with the whales.

Today, Makaio is 4 years old and still remains at the Orlando park with his mother and other family members.

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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 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 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 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:Male
Pod: N/A (Mother was Taima)
Place of Capture: Captive born
Date of Capture: Born May 14, 1998
Age at Capture: Captive born

On May 14, 1998, captive born female Taima gave birth to her first calf, a male named Sumar, sired by Tilikum at SeaWorld Orlando.

However, months after his birth, Taima began to attack Sumar and act unusually aggressive towards him. As a result, the two were permanently separated. Other females at the park, Katina and Kalina, reportedly cared for him until he was transferred to the San Diego park in March 1999.

Corky II, who by this time had already experienced the death of all 7 of her calves, became a surrogate mother to Sumar and was very close with him. Orkid, a captive born female, also befriended him and assisted in his care.

When the female named Bjossa arrived from the Vancouver Aquarium for medical treatment, she too seemed to take interest in Sumar. During his time at the San Diego park, he also befriended Ulises, Splash, Keet, Keto, and Nakai.

In April of 2000, Sumar was sent to the park in Aurora, Ohio with Keet and Keto. All 3 whales were sent back to the San Diego park in February 2001 when the Ohio park closed permanently.

Sumar was reportedly a very reliable performer and never showed aggression towards his trainers. He was used often for waterworks.

Unfortunately, Sumar died suddenly on September 7, 2010 due to Acute Intestinal/Mesenteric Volvulus.

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Gender:N/A
Pod: N/A (Mother was Kalina)
Place of Capture:N/A
Date of Capture:N/A
Age at Capture:N/A

Stillborn calf born to captive born female Kalina at SeaWorld Orlando on February 27, 1997.

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Gender:Male
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Togi, Iceland
Date of Capture: November 9, 1983
Age at Capture: Approx. 2 years

On November 9, 1983, three young whales were captured off the coast of Iceland and immediately transferred to the Hafnarfjordur Aquarium. Here, they were trained and put up for sale.

The following year, a 3 year old male was purchased by Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, Canada. He was later known as Tilikum, a Chinook Jargon word meaning “friends, relations, tribe, nation, common people”.

When he arrived at Sealand, he met the resident females, Haida II and Nootka IV who were more dominant and displaced Tilikum on a regular basis.

In 1982, a year before Tilikum arrived, Sealand housed a rescued female named Miracle who drowned after the nets were cut and she became entangled in them. This resulted in Sealand beginning to store the whales at night in the “module” - a roughly 20 x 30ft. metal pool - to prevent anymore whales from becoming entangled in the nets. According to former staff who appeared in the 2013 documentary Blackfish, when they arrived in the mornings, Tilikum would often be covered in rakes from the other whales.

The whales performed together for about 8 years until one incident caused Sealand to close down permanently.

On February 20, 1991, part-time trainer Keltie Byrne was carrying a cooler along the side of the pool before accidentally falling into the water. She attempted to climb out of the pool, but all three whales quickly swam over and pulled her away from the edge before proceeding to submerge her repeatedly until she was unconscious. Other trainers tried to distract the whales as well as pull Keltie out of the water, but were unsuccessful. Ultimately, Keltie drowned and emergency respondents were unable to retrieve her body for at least 2 hours.

At the time of the incident, both Haida II and Nootka IV were pregnant by Tilikum, though Haida II’s calf was the only one to survive, and was later named Kyuquot.

In 1992, SeaWorld stepped in and bought all four whales. Tilikum and Nootka IV were sent to the Orlando park while Haida II and Kyuquot were sent to the San Antonio park. It didn’t take long before Tilikum proved himself to be SeaWorld’s most successful breeding male ever, having sired 21 calves, though only 10 are alive today.

On July 7, 1999, Tilikum was involved in yet another incident, though this was not with a trainer, but with a park guest.

Daniel P. Dukes had visited the park the previous day, but managed to hide in the park until after closing. He then proceeded to climb into Tilikum’s tank and was found the next morning naked, covered in bruises, bite marks, and abrasions, and draped over the whale’s back. The coroner’s report concluded that Dukes’ cause of death was drowning, but goes on to list various injuries including a number of contusions, abrasions, and wounds sustained whilst he was still alive as well as postmortem, a mild subarachnoid hemorrhage of the cerebellum, and avulsion (forcible separation or detachment) of his genitals. Toxicology reports confirmed that Dukes was not intoxicated at all at the time of his death, though there are claims that he had a history of mental illness.

Tilikum had also been known to lunge towards the control trainer when he became frustrated. His profile also warned trainers of his previous incidents with Miss Byrne and Mr. Dukes. Despite trainers having to exercise caution around Tilikum, he was involved in yet another death in 2010.

On February 24, 2010, after an afternoon show resulted in several whales becoming aggressive with each other and one female sustaining an injury just above her eye near the end of the show, senior trainer Dawn Brancheau was set to perform a “Dine with Shamu” show with Tilikum.

After the show was over, Dawn continued over to a slide out area where she can be seen, in a video taken by a park guest, laying on her stomach for a ‘relationship session’ with the bull Orca. Almost immediately after lying down, Tilikum grabbed Dawn by her left arm, pulling her into the pool and beginning to violently thrash her body about in the water while at least a dozen park guests looked on in horror.

Other trainers attempted to distract Tilikum by throwing food at him and using nets but were unsuccessful. Eventually, they were able to direct him to the medical pool where he released Dawn’s body and was able to be calmed. SeaWorld went on to claim that Dawn was pulled in by her ponytail, and that Tilikum may have mistaken it for a toy or she may have touched her hair after handling fish, leaving the scent on her hair; though witnesses to Dawn’s death stated that Dawn was pulled in by her arm.

The autopsy report concluded that Dawn’s cause of death was due to drowning as well as traumatic injuries. Her injuries included complete avulsion of the scalp from the head as well as complete avulsion of her left arm. She suffered lacerations to her right ear, liver, and extremities, along with a fracture to the 7th cervical vertebra.

In Blackfish, former SeaWorld trainers noted that after Dawn had asked Tilikum for a ‘perimeter pec wave’, he did perform the behavior correctly, but missed the whistle bridge and Dawn responded with a 10 second neutral response and dismissed giving him a reward for his behavior before proceeding to ask him for a different behavior. They also noted that Tilikum could likely hear that Dawn was beginning to run out of fish, signaling that they were coming to the end of session, potentially causing him to be less focused or motivated near the end of the show.

On August 23, 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), fined SeaWorld $75,000 for three safety violations. Most notably, one violation classified as a “willful” violation for “exposing employees to struck-by and drowning hazards when interacting with killer whales.”

SeaWorld issued a statement claiming that OSHA’s findings were “unfounded” and announced plans to contest the citation. OSHA said that trainers should not be allowed to swim with the remaining whales unless they are protected by a physical barrier or “through the use of decking systems, oxygen supply systems or other engineering or administrative controls that provide the same or a greater level of protection for the trainer.”

While SeaWorld attempted to contest the ban of waterworks, Tilikum was isolated and was not allowed to perform in shows until March 2011, and was often only seen performing in splash sessions with his grandson Trua - who was born in 2005 to the captive born female Takara. Tilikum was briefly removed from shows in December 2011 after becoming ill with Bronchitis, but recovered and resumed performances in the spring of 2012.

In April 2014, after a long court battle, a U.S. appeals court panel upheld the ruling by OSHA that SeaWorld violated its duties by exposing trainers to “recognized hazards” when working with the whales, and must limit whale-trainer contact during shows. This ban effectively removed trainers from the water and prohibits them from interacting with the whales without supervision and physical barriers in the form of removable metal bars. Though it sparked outrage among faithful SeaWorld supporters, so far, SeaWorld has chosen not to file an appeal with the United States Supreme Court.

In early March of 2016, SeaWorld announced that Tilikum was seemingly in failing health due to a bacterial infection in his lungs. Over the course of the year, updates on the bull Orcas health were scarce - though it seems that he did appear in some shows.

Unfortunately, on January 6, 2017, SeaWorld made the announcement that the 36-year old whale had died as a result of a bacterial lung infection.

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Gender:Female
Pod:N/A
Place of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of Florida
Date of Capture: Born on December 27, 1996
Age at Capture: Captive born

On December 27, 1996, the Icelandic female Katina gave birth to her fourth calf at SeaWorld Orlando; a female named Unna sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum. As she grew, Unna spent a lot of time with her mother, as well as with her brother Taku, and half-siblings, Kalina and Tuar.

In 2002, Unna was transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio in Texas. Here, she met some of her nieces, nephews, and half-siblings. Her half-brother Tuar joined her at the park in 2004, and in 2006, Unna gave birth to her first calf; though the calf was, unfortunately, a stillborn. It is unknown whether she was artificially inseminated or was impregnated by one of her relatives living at the park with her.

While Unna is known to be gentle with trainers and has never had a recorded incident with anyone, she has reportedly displayed harmful stereotypical behavior in the past. According to former SeaWorld trainer John Hargrove, Unna was ‘obsessed’ with picking at the paint at the bottom of the show pool. “Unna used to destroy her face. Sometimes it would get so bad she wasn’t allowed in the front pool until her face healed,” Hargrove said. “Then we would let her out and try to prevent it. Sometimes she would leave it but eventually her focus would always go back to it. And once her focus went back to it it was an obsession, and she would do it until she injured herself.”

Unna apparently peeled such large patches of paint off the floor that it became a problem for trainers during waterwork, who often depended on the floor drains to locate themselves correctly in the pool for specific stunts. The dark patches looked so much like the pool drains that trainers had a hard time positioning themselves.

On September 22, 2015, SeaWorld posted to their SeaWorld Cares blog, stating that Unna had become ill and was under 24 hour watch due to suspected cystitis caused by a fungal infection. Less than a month later, another update was posted that mentioned a new treatment would be administered to Unna. Her condition had not improved, and veterinarians decided to try a medical treatment that had worked for humans for over a decade, but had not yet been used on an animals such as a Killer Whale.

As time went on, SeaWorld continuously posted updates regarding Unna’s care and her condition, but she did not seem to be improving, and was still under 24 hour intensive care.

Finally, on December 21, 2015, Unna unfortunately died after battling a resistant strain of Candida fungus. Necropsy results released by SeaWorld on February 6, 2016 reveal that Unna’s ultimate cause of death was due to a Systemic Bacterial Infection, also known as Septicemia/Sepsis.

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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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Gender:N/A
Pod: N/A (Mother was Taima)
Place of Capture:N/A
Date of Capture:N/A
Age at Capture:N/A

Stillborn calf of unknown gender born to captive born female Taima on June 6, 2010 at SeaWorld Orlando.

Taima went into labor on June 5th, her labor lasting into the next day as she struggled to expel the calf; though it unfortunately resulted in her death.

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Gender:Male
Pod: N/A (Mother was Kayla)
Place of Capture:N/A
Date of Capture:N/A
Age at Capture:N/A

Stillborn calf born to Kayla at SeaWorld Orlando sometime in April 2007. Kayla had been pregnant during her 2006 transfer from the Texas park to the Florida park; it is unknown if this contributed to the death of her unborn calf.

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