Global Captive Orca Population

Vaquita5 said:
Here’s a summarized update regarding Wikie and Keijo from a webinar by the Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP)…

The French Government is to decide their fate in the coming weeks. That decision will be made public by the government. Due to the spirit behind the legislation banning cetacean captivity in France and public outcry relating to the proposed Japan transfer, the government opened a period of time in the month of April for relevant parties to submit “expressions of interest” in regards to the future of Wikie and Keijo.

The webinar describes three of the proposed plans. From the way it’s worded in the webinar, it sounds like these are the three with the most momentum. However, in a news letter WSP released today, it’s stated that transfer to Lori Parque or a facility in Asia is also still on the table. I’ll summarize the three discussed proposals below in no particular order.

Proposal 1- Wikie and Keijo remain at Marineland Antibes on the condition that their current facilities are updated and improved.

Proposal 2- A sanctuary is built in the waters of Northern France. Much is unknown about the feasibility of such a sanctuary as no testing or site location research has been done. WSP states they notified the government that if this is the chosen path, WSP would be happy to assist in whatever capacity is needed.

Proposal 3- The orcas are transported to WSP’s sanctuary in Canada on an “accelerated plan” while the sanctuary is still being built. The whales would be moved to a “bay pen” which seems to be an updated version of what Keiko lived in upon first arriving to his cove in Iceland. The bay pen would be 10 times the size of their current facility in Antibes, divided into several pools, and feature a slide out, scale, and much of the other husbandry equipment at current land based captive orca facilities. The whales would remain in this pen while the entire sanctuary is completed. They make a point of noting this pen though already seemingly quite large, is just a fraction of the size of what the entire sanctuary will be. In the future this bay pen will be used to acclimate other newly arriving whales to the sanctuary. After months of preparation in Antibes, the whales would be transferred to Nova Scotia in Spring to Summer of 2025. It sounds like the bay pen is already in the process of being built regardless of the government’s decision with Wikie and Keijo.

The French Government has informed the WSP as well as other interested organizations that Marineland Antibes has agreed to abide by whatever decision the government makes. The government also said they would spend the month of May reviewing the proposals and release their decision in June.

Regarding the three proposals, I did not intend to show any bias towards one or the other. The reason three is so much longer than the other two is that they simply spent a lot more time talking about it as it is their own proposal.
I’d be happy to put my personal opinion in another post, but wanted to leave it out of this update.
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The WSP has been promising that bay pen, etc. since 2013. Three whales who could have been transferred there have died in the meantime. Before Inouk and Moanna died, they said Spring of 2024. Now, they have an "accelerated" date of Spring or Summer 2025? Wiki and Keijo will die waiting. I cannot understand why anyone trusts a group of old hippie activists to get their ducks in a row. The ones planning the bay pen in the Pacific Northwest are just as unreliable. Ask Lolita.
 
Reading this post again, it was curious for me to see “It sounds like the bay pen is already in the process of being built regardless of the government’s decision with Wikie and Keijo”.

What other whales do they expect to receive in this proposed sanctuary if they don’t receive Wikie and Keijo? SeaWorld is never giving their orcas up and I don’t see why any of the Asian facilities or Loro Parque would. Kshamenk is stuck due to Argentinian law but perhaps if the government hears he’s going to somewhere labeled as a sanctuary as opposed to a marine park they may allow it (this is a big big stretch). Naja may actually be possible as well. It wouldn’t solve the issue of her being alone though.
 
BlobfishBoy said:
Reading this post again, it was curious for me to see “It sounds like the bay pen is already in the process of being built regardless of the government’s decision with Wikie and Keijo”.

What other whales do they expect to receive in this proposed sanctuary if they don’t receive Wikie and Keijo? SeaWorld is never giving their orcas up and I don’t see why any of the Asian facilities or Loro Parque would. Kshamenk is stuck due to Argentinian law but perhaps if the government hears he’s going to somewhere labeled as a sanctuary as opposed to a marine park they may allow it (this is a big big stretch). Naja may actually be possible as well. It wouldn’t solve the issue of her being alone though.
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From what I understand, they're building it anyway for future application and other captive cetaceans. It's supposed to be a sanctuary with many pens, so it appears they won't only be used for the orcas.
 
Orca obsessed said:
I think that might be their only option…
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Honestly there’s a good chance Marineland would give up their whales. They’re currently trying to get out of keeping animals so it would make sense for at least some to go there (I know there were talks about Kiska before her passing). There is also Bella the beluga in Seoul. Really sad situation with her living alone in a mall. Though it remains to be seen if the plans will go through and talking about belugas in the orca thread is definitely off-topic ;).
 
Just to follow up on this. For those that don’t know the French president called a “snap election” in France a couple months ago. That is basically a spontaneous non scheduled election. In this process, the decision making process on the orcas has been entirely halted along with I’m sure much else. For the time being, staff has no idea what will happen to the orcas, but still are planning on eventually transferring them out of Antibes. Until that time comes, the whales are still being cared for by Antibes staff, preforming shows, etc. I was told this a few weeks ago so things could have changed since, but we would have likely heard more if it had.

Vaquita5 said:
Here’s a summarized update regarding Wikie and Keijo from a webinar by the Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP)…

The French Government is to decide their fate in the coming weeks. That decision will be made public by the government. Due to the spirit behind the legislation banning cetacean captivity in France and public outcry relating to the proposed Japan transfer, the government opened a period of time in the month of April for relevant parties to submit “expressions of interest” in regards to the future of Wikie and Keijo.

The webinar describes three of the proposed plans. From the way it’s worded in the webinar, it sounds like these are the three with the most momentum. However, in a news letter WSP released today, it’s stated that transfer to Lori Parque or a facility in Asia is also still on the table. I’ll summarize the three discussed proposals below in no particular order.

Proposal 1- Wikie and Keijo remain at Marineland Antibes on the condition that their current facilities are updated and improved.

Proposal 2- A sanctuary is built in the waters of Northern France. Much is unknown about the feasibility of such a sanctuary as no testing or site location research has been done. WSP states they notified the government that if this is the chosen path, WSP would be happy to assist in whatever capacity is needed.

Proposal 3- The orcas are transported to WSP’s sanctuary in Canada on an “accelerated plan” while the sanctuary is still being built. The whales would be moved to a “bay pen” which seems to be an updated version of what Keiko lived in upon first arriving to his cove in Iceland. The bay pen would be 10 times the size of their current facility in Antibes, divided into several pools, and feature a slide out, scale, and much of the other husbandry equipment at current land based captive orca facilities. The whales would remain in this pen while the entire sanctuary is completed. They make a point of noting this pen though already seemingly quite large, is just a fraction of the size of what the entire sanctuary will be. In the future this bay pen will be used to acclimate other newly arriving whales to the sanctuary. After months of preparation in Antibes, the whales would be transferred to Nova Scotia in Spring to Summer of 2025. It sounds like the bay pen is already in the process of being built regardless of the government’s decision with Wikie and Keijo.

The French Government has informed the WSP as well as other interested organizations that Marineland Antibes has agreed to abide by whatever decision the government makes. The government also said they would spend the month of May reviewing the proposals and release their decision in June.

Regarding the three proposals, I did not intend to show any bias towards one or the other. The reason three is so much longer than the other two is that they simply spent a lot more time talking about it as it is their own proposal.
I’d be happy to put my personal opinion in another post, but wanted to leave it out of this update.
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In that video they specifically mention being in talks with several beluga holders in Asia. The one they talk about in most detail is a lone beluga on display at a mall in South Korea. In the video, they say they are interested in both Kshamenk and Naja as well, but Argentinian Law would not allow for a transfer out of the country unless some sort of exemption can be made. That would spark a whole other debate about wether it would be in his best interest to go to the sanctuary where he would likely be alone, or go to a SeaWorld facility (though far from perfect) they are the leaders and most knowledgeable in orca husbandry. It would at least still give him more space, but also allow him to live with conspecifics, which is something that may not happen at the sanctuary. At least for the time being it could be the most ideal outcome for him. As for Naja, Moskavarium had expressed interest in building her a sanctuary in Russia, but I’m not aware of much follow up publicly. If any at all

BlobfishBoy said:
Reading this post again, it was curious for me to see “It sounds like the bay pen is already in the process of being built regardless of the government’s decision with Wikie and Keijo”.

What other whales do they expect to receive in this proposed sanctuary if they don’t receive Wikie and Keijo? SeaWorld is never giving their orcas up and I don’t see why any of the Asian facilities or Loro Parque would. Kshamenk is stuck due to Argentinian law but perhaps if the government hears he’s going to somewhere labeled as a sanctuary as opposed to a marine park they may allow it (this is a big big stretch). Naja may actually be possible as well. It wouldn’t solve the issue of her being alone though.
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Orca obsessed said:
This TikTok account has claimed that Ran has miscarried the calf TikTok - Make Your Day
It seems true as she is looking thinner than previously I wonder if the transfer to Suma had anything to do with it…:(
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We can't know for sure but considering the move wasn't that long ago, it's a possibility. There's been a fair few cows who have miscarried calves after transfers in the past so it's not a new phenomenon too.
 
Orca obsessed said:
This TikTok account has claimed that Ran has miscarried the calf TikTok - Make Your Day
It seems true as she is looking thinner than previously I wonder if the transfer to Suma had anything to do with it…:(
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What a pity... They could have delayed the transfer, but only care about the bussiness. And for what I have read, they are inseminating Lovey again non stop.
 
Perhaps we’ll see a transfer from China to Japan at some point? With the Marineland transfer to Japan being dead, AI not being successful, and Earth being related to every other female, it seems like without any Chinese whales coming into the country the population isn’t going to be able to continue.
 
BlobfishBoy said:
Perhaps we’ll see a transfer from China to Japan at some point? With the Marineland transfer to Japan being dead, AI not being successful, and Earth being related to every other female, it seems like without any Chinese whales coming into the country the population isn’t going to be able to continue.
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Chimelong especially have a huge surplus of males, which is what the Japanese facilities desperately need. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two are transferred across in the near future.
 
Jambo said:
Chimelong especially have a huge surplus of males, which is what the Japanese facilities desperately need. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two are transferred across in the near future.
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I don’t think that any Russian males would fit in the Grandvista tanks as they are very large and I think that Chimelong wouldn’t want to transfer to a smaller facility but they do have a abundance of males so idk…
 
Orca obsessed said:
I don’t think that any Russian males would fit in the Grandvista tanks as they are very large and I think that Chimelong wouldn’t want to transfer to a smaller facility but they do have a abundance of males so idk…
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Maybe we would see Kamogawa getting an expansion? Grandvista may have to do it if it means they’ll be able to receive more males.

Port of Nagoya could theoretically receive more whales but I’m unsure if they want to mess with the social structure by having an unknown male mix with Earth + Lynn.
 
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