Draft:Kiska (orca)
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Kiska was a captive orca housed at Marineland of Canada. She was nicknamed the World's Loneliest Orca because she spent the last 12 years of her life completely alone. Kiska was the last captive orca to be held in Canada as a result of the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act.[1]
Tank[edit]
The tank used by Marineland for Kiska was an estimated 40 metres (130 ft) x 20 metres (66 ft) wide. Kiska would travel the perimeter of her tank 879 times daily; the total distance of these laps would be approximately 100 km (the minimum distance most wild orca pods travel per day). Kiska developed ritualistic, repetitive behaviours that indicate stress and are abnormal for wild orcas such as floating motionless in a single spot. Before Kiska was kept alone in her tank, she shared it with her calves, Keiko (known for being the orca used to film Free Willy), Kandu VII, Junior and Ikaika.[2] Junior and Keiko did not get along well, leading Marineland to place him in a warehouse with no natural sunlight or air, occasionally sharing the tank with dolphins.[3] All five of Keiko's calves were fathered by Kandu VII, none of which survived past six years old. Her first calf went unnamed but the others were known as Kanuck, Nova, Hudson, and Athena.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Tretheway, Laura. "Death of 'world's loneliest orca' sparks calls for change". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ a b Moon, Jenna. "The Last Orca". Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ Diebel, Linda (25 August 2012). "Marineland: Readers, activists, demand change regarding care of sea mammals". Toronto Star. Retrieved 11 March 2022.