If you go their website, there is a sub-heading for their 'focus' whales and they reference Hargove a fair bit for most of the SW orca. In fact, they reference his book, 'Beneath the Surface'. So I don't believe they're directly connected with him, but at the very least they do cite things from him.
If I remember correctly, John stated that he took a break from all internet and moved to a cabin for a few years. This could be why he is not on the team, but instead WSP just quotes him on things. However many members of the Blackfish team are on WSP's team, such as John Jett and, Samantha Berg. I'm not sure how I feel about both of them, however some things they said in Blackfish were for sure, questionable. I listen to Mark Simmons the most, simply because I think his opinions are more neutral, plus he has a ton of experience.
I do agree re. Mark Simmons; he was a lead trainer apart of Keiko's move back to Iceland, and so therefore also has experience in that department as well, of which majority of these other trainers don't.
There were plans to send over to the US over two decades ago (following the death of his initial mate, Belen). Six Flags offered to outright buy him to pair him with Shouka, and Mundo Marino agreed but the Argentinian government refused to have him sent elsewhere. Unfortunately, I doubt we'll ever see Kshamenk leave Mundo Marino.I don’t really like Mundo Marino as they feed Kshamenk ground up fish balls so yeah..even worse than Loro Parque. It’s a shame he didn’t come to the US
I wouldn’t be surprised if she simply never conceived. I know Keet did engage in sexual behavior with her when she first arrived at SeaWorld but I’m unsure if she was ever receptive or if this behavior continued.
She did breed, and it seems like she's in a similar boat to Orkid. Not sure what it can be drawn to exactly but obviously something was preventing either from successfully conceiving. Both mated numerous times with proven males.
That's a very intriguing possibility as even Corky only ever conceived with Orky, and later went 'post reproductive' around the time of his death. The only hybrids we've seen in captivity have been born to resident males and icelandic females, with resident females struggling to conceive.
Halyn was on the wrong foot from birth, and struggled a lot. She was noted to suffer from an array of physical and mental issues, such as having poor motor skills, something only one other Seaworld calf has had (Nyar).
Halyn was primarily moved as the animal hospital was a better place to provide her the care that she required. As Kayla rejected Halyn, Halyn didn't have any place with San Antonio's pod at the time, and would've likely spent most, if not all of her time in the med pool (which could have been disruptive for the other whales). Kayla was sent to Orlando to learn mothering skills as a result.
Orkid is not a Northern Resident but rather a pure North Atlantic Type 1 as both her parents were from Iceland.
Her father is Orky 2 who is a northern resident. Is there some error there?