Kiska the orca has died as a result of a bacterial infection at Marineland of Canada in Ontario. For more than a decade, Kiska the killer whale has swam alone in her tank. The Ontario government said the theme park informed the province of her death on Thursday.
According to the Dolphin Project, on Friday, a necropsy was performed on Kiska. The whale’s health had been reported to have recently been on the decline,
despite intensive interventions by her caregivers, Marineland’s veterinarian team and international veterinarians with expertise in supporting the health and well-being of cetaceans.
Niagara Falls Review
Kiska was caught in the North Atlantic ocean when she was three years of age.. She was sent to Iceland, where she lived with four other orcas, including Keiko, the star of the Free Willy movie. The two orcas were later shipped to Marineland, Canada. Keiko was sent to another aquarium in Aventura in Mexico, while Kiska remained at Marineland for the duration of her life.
Kiska appeared in shows at Marineland for years but has not performed for more than a decade. She spent that time in a large pool at Friendship Cove separated from a pod of belugas.
Global News
Kiska gave birth to five calves while at Marineland, but all died while young. Since 2011, Kiska has been alone. According to caretakers, Kiska had formed a close relationship with another orca Nootka. Tragically, when Nootka and Kiska’s calf, Athena died in 2008, the orca seemed to be extremely depressed and just full of sadness.
Between the years of 1992 – 2004 Gave birth to five calves –
- Unnamed (born in 1992)
- Kanuck (born in 1994)
- Nova (born in 1996)
- Hudson (born in 1998)
- Athena (born in 2004)
One of Kiska’s calves died so young it was unnamed.
Kiska was left with Ikaika, a young bull killer whale, who was eventually moved to SeaWorld in San Diego in 2011.
During the last few years, social media reacted to videos showing the orca thrashing her head at the side of the pool. An investigation of animals that have died at Marineland in recent years, including four walruses and an unknown number of beluga whales, continues.
In 2019, the federal government passed an anti-captivity law that made it illegal to import and keep killer whales captive. Kiska’s captivity was grandfathered, and so she never got to be free.
Rest in peace Kiska.
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THE ULTIMATE TRAGEDY OF LIVING ALONE IN CAPTIVITY!