The Orca's of Marineland Antibes.
Dear Blog
After our little adventure at Marineland, I wondered how many killerwhales in captivity there are.. With a little help of internet I sought some information about it..
Just to clarify, i'm not a big fan of killerwhales in captivity. It's just sad actually, I learned at marineworld: their 'training' is actually something they have to DO, because the killerwhales could be bored, go sad an die eventually. They have to have their brains trained, to compensate the stuff they would do in the wild, but cannot do cos they are in captivity. I never knew that. And i'm not sure if it's really true, but it had some logic though. Orca's are smarter than us, okay, they can't talk (like us in words) but there very intelligent and their brains works much more then ours. The trainers also said, no show is like the other, it's always different. (And I saw that too) not to have the same things over and over again.. they have to be challenged, every time.
So, here is my list of killerwhales in captivity (that are still alive):
Too know how many killerwhales there are, you have to know how many zoo/marinelands there are. Quite alot!
CANADA:
- Marineland Ontario (Canada): (2 killerwhales)
- Kiska: female 34 years (1979*), captured in Iceland, mother of Athena (died)
- Ikaika: male 8 years (2002), born in captivity, son of Katina.
USA:
- Sea World San Diego: (6 killerwhales)
- Corky II: female 43 year (1966) captured in British columbia Canada - no offspring (all of them died)
- Kasatka: female 33 years (1977) Mother of Takara (seaworld Texas/San Antonio), Nakai, and Kalia/ captured in Iceland in 1978
- Ulises: male 30 years. (1980) Captured in Iceland.
- Orkid: Female 22 years (1988) born in captivity/no offspring. (To Kandu V who Died in 89)
- Nakai: Male 9 years (2001) born in captivity (son of Kasakta)
- Kalia: Female 6 years (2004) born in captivity (daughter of Kasatka)
- Sea World Orlando: (7 killerwhales)
Katina: female 34 years (1978), captured in Iceland. Mother of Kalina, Katerina, Unna (Sea World San Antonio), Nalani, Taku 'M' (Sea World Antonio-Died) and Ikaika 'M' (Marineland Canada)
Kalina: female 24 years (1985), born in captivity, mother of Keet (M) (Sea World Antonio), Keto (M)(Loro Parque), Tuar(M) (Sea world Texas), Skyla (F) (Loro Parque) (and pregnant for 2011)
Tilikum: male 29 years (1983*), captured in Iceland, father of (F) Unna, Nyar (died), Skyla, Kohanna, Malia and (M)Kyoquot, Taku (died), Sumar (died), Tuar, Tekoa, Nakai, Ikaika,
Kayla: female 22 years (1988), born in captivity, mother of Halyn (died)
Trua: male 5 years (2005) born in captivity, grandson of Tilikum.
Nalani: female 4 years (2006)born in captivity, to father Taku and is granddaughter of Tilikum
Malia: female 3 years (2007) born in captivity) to mother Taima (died)
- Sea World San Antonio: (6 killerwhales)
Takara: female 19 years (1991) born in captivity, daughter of Kasakta
Sakari: female 3 months (july 2010) born in captivity, daughter of Takara
Kyuquot: Male 19 years (1991) born in captivity, son of Haida (died)
Keet: Male 17 years (1993) born in captivity, son of Kalina
Unna: female 14 years (1996)born in captivity daughter of Katina
Tuar: male 11 years (1999)born in captivity, son of Katina.
- Miami Seaquarium: (1 killerwhale)
Lolita (aka Tokitae): female 44 years (1970*) captured in the USA - no offspring
- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo California): (1 killerwhale)
Shouka: female 17 years (1993) born in captivity, daughter of Sharkane
SOUTH AMERICA:
- Mundo Marino: (San Clemente Del Tuyù, Argentina): (1 killerwhale.)
Kshamenk: male 22 years (1992*), captured in Argentina (stranded).
EUROPE:
- Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands): (1 killerwhale)
Morgan: female 3 years (2010*), captured in the Netherlands.
- Marineland Antibes (France): (4 killerwhales)
Freya: female 29 years (1982*), captured in Iceland, mother of Valentin.
Valentin: male 14 years (1996), born in captivity, son of Freya.
Inouk: male 11 years (1999), born in captivity, son of Sharkane
Wikie: female 9 years (2001), born in captivity, daughter of Sharkane (pregnant due 2011)
- Loro Parque (Puorto De La Cruz, Tenerife Spain): (4 killerwhales)
Keto: male 15 years (1995), born in captivity, son of Kalina
Tekoa: male 10 years (2000) born in captivity, son of Taima (died)
Kohana: female 8 years (2002) born in captivity, daughter of Takara
Skyla: female 6 years (2004) born in captivity, daughter of Kalina.
ASIA:
- Kamogawa Seaworld (Chiba, Japan): (7 killerwhales)
Bingo: male, 28 years (1984*), captured in Iceland.
Oscar (aka Wolfie): male 24 years (1987*), captured in Iceland.
Stella: female 24 years (1978*) captured in Iceland, mother of Lovey, Lara and Ran
Lovey: female 12 years (1998), born in captivity, daughter of Stella
Lara: female 9 years (2001), born in captivity, daughter of Stella.
Ran II: female 4 years (2006), born in captivity, daughter of Stella
Earth: male 2 years (2008), born in captivity, daughter of Lovey.
- Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium Japan: (1 killerwhale)
Nami: female 28 years (1985*), captured in Japan.
So.. in general, there are 41 killerwhales kept in capitivy. They are still alive, yet 195 orca's died in captivity, during the progress of capturing them, or died during complications at birth, ilnesses, diseases and so on.. that's really sad.. 195 kills. Unneccesary kills.
On the site mentioned on top, there are lots of pictures of every individual whale. It's the most informative site too find about 'killerwhales in captivity'.. this reminds me of somthing in Marineland, the trainer said a thing about theire new polar bears, he said, there is someone in the whole wide world who knows every polar bear in captivity, and decides how to breed, and where they have to be placed. There must be someone with the knowledge of killerwhales too, must be the person of this site or perhaps someone else :). If that person is retiring soon, I could replace him/her immidiatly! Thinks this could be a cool job, if you ask me.
Facts about Marineland what I also didn't know and learned at the VIPTour! :D
There are 4 killerwhales in marineland, a female Freya (about 20 years old? i'm not sure), then a male (Freya's son) Valentin who is almost the grownup, then another male Inouk, and another female Wikie. (the youngest). There is a very strict hierarchy in the orca world, Freya, the eldest is the 'boss' of the group. She is (as I understand it) the most grumpy one :P, she can easily tell the others of the group to not do a show, so, there could be no show, cos Freya wants that.
The second in row to be the next 'boss', is always the female, so in this case this will be 'Wikie', even though she is the youngest of the 'children' of the group.. quite funny hé?
There are so many handgestures to learn to these whales, as in difference with a dolphin, a killerwhale can do much more movements combined. So they have to do a couple of movements in the sametime of after eachother, another thing I didn't know about.. So dolphins do have less handgestures to see then killerwhales! It was quite impressive how many gestures the trainers did to do a couple of movements :)
One of the shows was quite shorter then the others, at the end you could see the trainers wanted the killerwhales to jump out of the water, in 3 different places (and even spouting water out) but you could notice they didn't do it, (or do it properly), the show ended quite abruptly and the trainers just went away, leaving the killerwhales no fish, and definitly no words our gestures they did good.. the killerwhales really picked it up and were left alone, you could see they didn't like that! After the people went away, I stayed.. (off course :P) and the trainers came back, you could clearly see there were not happy with the situation, as the killerwhales were/did wrong. You could see there turning their heads as saying 'NO' our even pushing them away! Wow, talk about tough love :P.. but that's consequent hé. After they asked again, the killerwhales didn't hesitated and did what the trainers wanted. They jumped simultanesly out of the water, around the bassin. Wow, quite impressive to see! :) They listen really good.
One of the zookeepers mentioned about the accident that happend at Seaworld in February of this year: (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/02/24/2010-02-24_killer_whale_kills_trainer_at_orlandos_sea_world.html) and they said about this certain killerwhale (Tillikum) he already had killed before. But why? He answered with this peticular whale, he was not used to persons getting into the water, (as others are used to contact with humans under water, but this whale didnt had). During a show 'Dining with Shamu' (You can do this too in Marineland btw) her long hair, at one point was into the water, as the killerwhale didnt know what it was, he tought his trainer wanted to PLAY with him, under the water.. so he dragged her under water as he wanted to play with her. But unfortunatly she drowned of this action.. thats what the guy of Marineland said to us. Is it true? The deceased trainer can't react no more! :S.. wow, the power of nature.. and I heard a couple of times being a trainer is a dangerous job.. (but wait, even teaching is quite dangerous too!) An unfortunate accident. But it learns us that you cannot trust a whale as you can (sometimes) trust a human. As of this accident of feb2010, there has been a law ever since, no trainer may not go into the water with a killerwhale during shows. This 'contact in the water' was ended from then on. Only in training sessions the trainer can go step by step back into the water again. At the end, the trainers came to us to have questions explained to us.. So yeah, I had a couple of questions, such as, do they ever stop training. As the answer was quite logical: No. :P
I learned quite a lot :D.. They even explained how to recognise the whales Freya, Valentin, Wikie and Inouk, I can only remember Wikie (the youngest female to still have her perfect dorsal fin but the smallest whale), Freya (the eldest female, has a crooked dorsal finn, slightly going to the side) Valentin (the eldest male, almost a grown-up with a crooked dorsal fin thats not straight anymore, and you know, the dorsal fin of a male is always much larger) and Inouk, I can't remember unfortunatly, but it still was a quite perfect one.. sorry if I may be mistaken :)
(*) Not nessicerely born on this day, captured in this year.
The beginning of the Verdon (the river that crosses the Gorges) 
it's about 169 euro's (but totally worth it!) and it's only for people about 12 was it? (or at least for persons over 1meter and a bit..) I really loved the killerwhales, they are soo gorgeous.. I just love them.. After the second show Mic came to a conclusion the killerwhales only had about 5 bassins (aquarium) for them to live in and thought that was quite sad.. I thought that too eventually.. ah well, luckely there aren't any more killerwhales catched to stick in seaworlds or marinelands.. Except the Dutch trainer mentioned about the killerwhale found in the Netherlands: she thinks it will be trained eventually, cos it was starving at the time they found him, the fed her and nurished her and she probably will come to Marineland.. I recommend Marineland, as it is the one and only parc/zoo that has 4 killerwhales. And I got on picture with them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D whiee.. now next is going to Vancouver Island to see them in real nature :)