Captive Orca Population

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katinakalinakaterina said:
They've always claimed in their promotional material (and I am guessing displays to visitors) that these three were rescued from poachers. Could be financial issues behind the scenes caused by current world events, I am unsure who the people are behind these companies so that could be a problem?
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It certainly seems from the statement that they're against the holding of any orcas there. It makes me think they may not go and acquire any more from China and either let Naja remain there in solitude, or send her elsewhere.

It's very possible that the change on the stance of cetacean capture in recent years over in Russia may be behind this change by the Moskavarium. That, or maybe even new management who are against captures.
 
Previously I mentioned that Cookie at Shanghai was potentially pregnant and it turns out she was.

I recently learned that Cookie's second calf sadly passed away soon after birth a few days ago.

Although this hasn't officially been confirmed, it's been confirmed by multiple reliable sources in the ceta community and it likely will never be announced officially by Shanghai.

The stadium has now been reopened to the public with shows beginning to resume.
 
Oh dear, I had heard that she was pregnant and that the stadium had been closed but hadn't heard anything further. I'm guessing the father would have likely been 'Dylan' again.

Jambo said:
Previously I mentioned that Cookie at Shanghai was potentially pregnant and it turns out she was.

I recently learned that Cookie's second calf sadly passed away soon after birth a few days ago.

Although this hasn't officially been confirmed, it's been confirmed by multiple reliable sources in the ceta community and it likely will never be announced officially by Shanghai.

The stadium has now been reopened to the public with shows beginning to resume.
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Three orcas are confirmed to have arrived at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom's new exhibit, from the video it looks as though these animals are an adult male, an adult female and a young calf likely bred at Chimelong itself as opposed to being a wild caught individual. It will be interesting to see how many of the original 9 sent to Chimelong (5 males and 4 females) are still alive. The new exhibit may be open as early as July 28th but this has yet to be confirmed.
 
katinakalinakaterina said:
Three orcas are confirmed to have arrived at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom's new exhibit, from the video it looks as though these animals are an adult male, an adult female and a young calf likely bred at Chimelong itself as opposed to being a wild caught individual. It will be interesting to see how many of the original 9 sent to Chimelong (5 males and 4 females) are still alive. The new exhibit may be open as early as July 28th but this has yet to be confirmed.
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The young calf is certainly breed at Chimelong; it looks to be less than a year old imo.

Exciting news anyhow. It'll be intriguing to see how many orcas they do indeed have. I wouldn't be surprised if this calf isn't the only one; they may very well have the biggest captive pod worldwide.
 
A new video seems to show four orcas now - one adult male and three other individuals (possibly females) in the main, show pool.

Not sure if they're the same individuals from the previous video, but Chimelong 'apparently' has twelve orcas so it's really not confirmable yet.
 
Jambo said:
A new video seems to show four orcas now - one adult male and three other individuals (possibly females) in the main, show pool.

Not sure if they're the same individuals from the previous video, but Chimelong 'apparently' has twelve orcas so it's really not confirmable yet.
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Beat me to it! I would guess a male and three females, possibly a different male as the bending of the dorsal looks different to the male in the first video. Male in first video seems to have a more collapsed dorsal, male in the second video, the dorsal seems to have more of a 'fish hook' curve like Ulises in SD.

If they do indeed have twelve, the original nine captures and three calves, I wonder when the third calf was born. If I remember right it was speculated one was born in 2019 and one in 2021/22? Would also be interesting to know if the names that have been floating around (pun not intended) for a while are right too.
 
katinakalinakaterina said:
Beat me to it! I would guess a male and three females, possibly a different male as the bending of the dorsal looks different to the male in the first video. Male in first video seems to have a more collapsed dorsal, male in the second video, the dorsal seems to have more of a 'fish hook' curve like Ulises in SD.

If they do indeed have twelve, the original nine captures and three calves, I wonder when the third calf was born. If I remember right it was speculated one was born in 2019 and one in 2021/22? Would also be interesting to know if the names that have been floating around (pun not intended) for a while are right too.
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I agree; this is possibly a new grouping as the calf seen in the previous video is no longer present here.

That calf in question looked to be quite young; if indeed there were three calves born, this could’ve been the one born within the last few years.

It’ll also be interesting to see whether their rumoured names are in fact real, and going to be used or whether they’ll get Chinese names like the orcas at Shanghai.
 
Jambo said:
A new video seems to show four orcas now - one adult male and three other individuals (possibly females) in the main, show pool.

Not sure if they're the same individuals from the previous video, but Chimelong 'apparently' has twelve orcas so it's really not confirmable yet.
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Could you send a link to the video by any chance?
 
I’ve just been reading about an Orca that was captured in Japan in the 80’s called Benkei 3. He stayed at the Taji Whale Museum for 4 months and then was sold to a private owner, and died approx age 2.

Apparently he was the only Orca ever held in private hands, does anyone know anything more about that Orca and who bought him/how he was kept?

Seems crazy to think of a privately held Orca!
 
nedpepper said:
I’ve just been reading about an Orca that was captured in Japan in the 80’s called Benkei 3. He stayed at the Taji Whale Museum for 4 months and then was sold to a private owner, and died approx age 2.

Apparently he was the only Orca ever held in private hands, does anyone know anything more about that Orca and who bought him/how he was kept?

Seems crazy to think of a privately held Orca!
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Most sources state he died soon after his transfer into private hands; which is probably likely.

Another story that has been floated for a while was of a Japanese orca named 'Benkei' who initially lived at an aquarium and after being 'too aggressive' was secretly released back into the wild a few years after. For a while, I and most others had assumed this to be a rumor as the actual 'Benkei' died in 1989, but after revisiting this it's very possible this orca in question may have been 'Benkei 3'.
 
Tragic news from Miami today - Lolita has died aged about 57 years of age.

The plan was for her to be sent back to the Salish Sea; but I am glad she at least got to pass peacefully in a home she has known for many decades.

In the Facebook post, Miami stated she died from what was believed to be a renal infection.

May Lolita Rest In Peace.
 
Jambo said:
Tragic news from Miami today - Lolita has died aged about 57 years of age.

The plan was for her to be sent back to the Salish Sea; but I am glad she at least got to pass peacefully in a home she has known for many decades.

In the Facebook post, Miami stated she died from what was believed to be a renal infection.

May Lolita Rest In Peace.
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Well now we all know why they weren't prepping her for release after the initial announcement. I stick by my guns that she should've always gone to Orlando.
 
IcthyoRider said:
Well now we all know why they weren't prepping her for release after the initial announcement. I stick by my guns that she should've always gone to Orlando.
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Agreed - Orlando would've certainly been the best option for her, especially at her age. At least if she wasn't able to be grouped with the other orcas, she still would've been in a much better facility with much better care available.

It does seem like Miami weren't sharing a whole lot surrounding Lolita's health; it was a little bit weird to me that they weren't giving updates especially given the fact that the move was going to be very soon.
 
Jambo said:
Agreed - Orlando would've certainly been the best option for her, especially at her age. At least if she wasn't able to be grouped with the other orcas, she still would've been in a much better facility with much better care available.
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It was always the best option for her, and a real pity it never came to be. Though in some senses kept the bad press off of SeaWorld and now the Seaquarium will take the heat.

Jambo said:
It does seem like Miami weren't sharing a whole lot surrounding Lolita's health; it was a little bit weird to me that they weren't giving updates especially given the fact that the move was going to be very soon.
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I mean, this was from an article a month and a half ago -
“She is active, she is responsive, she’s just full of life, and she has demonstrated a will to live that frankly, almost no other whale has ever demonstrated," Vinick said. "Her veterinarians today have said she’s healthy enough for a transport, she can certainly be in a new environment."

But she's now died of apparent renal infection. Could well be that no updates were because she was took a downturn in health - the public couldn't see her so there was no way of knowing anything other than what was given to the press. Could equally have been overnight and they just weren't putting out much.
 
Though in some senses kept the bad press off of SeaWorld and now the Seaquarium will take the heat.
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I would have loved to see the media circus around that -- obviously either way we're getting some variation of the "orcas inevitably die in captivity because of captivity" argument, but it would have been an interesting flavor to see an orca that received care for decades at one institution be moved and immediately die at SeaWorld, as if mere contact with SW were fatal.

I'm sure 'stress from the move' would also be treated by activists as a major factor in that situation, although the stress from the movie to the sea pen would probably have been hand waved.
 
Jambo said:
In the Facebook post, Miami stated she died from what was believed to be a renal infection.
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Some articles are stating kidney failure, as well as her signs of discomfort starting early this week and not just two days before she passed. In 2021 it was reported on a USDA inspection that she was not receiving enough food and thus also water, and her bloodwork was abnormal - potentially a factor in this situation in addition to age.
 
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