Orcas held at SeaWorld

There are currently 42 orcas held in captivity around the world, with the largest number held by SeaWorld at three public display facilities in the United States in Orlando, Florida; San Diego, California and San Antonio, Texas and also at the Loro Parque Zoo in the Canary Islands. Nineteen captive orcas are held at SeaWorld facilities in the United States and five at Loro Parque. Concern has recently surfaced about conditions at Loro Parque following the Harderwijk dolphinarium in the Netherlands’ application to send Morgan, a young female orca rescued from the Wadden Sea in June 2010, to the zoo, rather than allow her to enter a rehabilitation project for release supported by WDCS.

At least 137 orcas have been brought into captivity from the wild since 1961. 124 are now dead, surviving an average only four years in captivity. In the wild, male orcas live to an average of around 30 years (maximum 50-60 years) and females around 50 years (maximum 80-90 years).

Of the 32 orcas that have been born in captivity and have since died, they survived an average of 4.5 years. Forty-four orcas have died at SeaWorld.
Tilikum, a male captured from the wild in Iceland in 1983, was previously held at Sealand of the Pacific in Canada, moving to SeaWorld in 1992 after the death of trainer Keltie Byrne. She drowned after falling into the orca tank at the facility. In 1999, the body of Daniel Dukes, who had reportedly snuck into the park after dark, was found dead, draped over Tillikum’s back. In February 2010, trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed after she was pulled into the water by Tillikum. It is this tragedy that has led to September 2011’s SeaWorld hearing.

Other captive orcas at SeaWorld:

SeaWorld Florida
Katina, a female captured from the wild in Iceland in 1978.
Kayla, a female born at SeaWorld in 1988.
Trua, a male born at SeaWorld in 2005.
Nalani, a female born at SeaWorld in 2006.
Malia, a female born at SeaWorld in 2007.
Makaio, a male born at SeaWorld in 2010.

SeaWorld California
Corky, a female captured from the wild in British Columbia, Canada in 1969. Corky is the longest surviving orca in captivity.
Kasatka, a female captured from the wild in Iceland in 1978.
Ulysses, a male captured from the wild in Iceland in 1980.
Orkid, a female born at SeaWorld in 1988.
Nakai, a male born at SeaWorld in 2001.
Kalia, a female born at SeaWorld in 2004.

SeaWorld Texas
Takara, a female born at SeaWorld in 1991.
Kayuquet, a male born at SeaWorld in 1991.
Keet, a male born at SeaWorld in 1993.
Unna, a female born at SeaWorld in 1996.
Tuar, a male born at SeaWorld in 1999.
Sakari, a female born at SeaWorld in 2010.

Loro Parque, Tenerife (orcas on loan from SeaWorld)
Keto, a male born at SeaWorld in 1995. In December 2009, trainer Alexis Martinez was killed by Keto during a training session at Loro Parque.
Tekoa, a male born at SeaWorld in 2000.
Kohana, a female born at SeaWorld in 2002.
Skyla, a female born at SeaWorld in 2004.
Adán, a male born at Loro Parque in 2010.

Information about the medical and behavioural details of some of these orcas can be found in a revealing SeaWorld report published in the US media: http://www.wftv.com/pdf/29110302/detail.html