Kiska, a live marine orca, was seen in the park in 2012 for entertainment purposes.
Tara Walton/Toronto Star via Getty Images
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Tara Walton/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Kiska, a live marine orca, was seen in the park in 2012 for entertainment purposes.
Tara Walton/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Kiska, the last captive orca in Canada — which is also called “the most deserted whale in the world” — has died, according to local media.
Orca, believed to be 47 years old, died on Thursday, Ontario solicitor general ministry spokesman Brent Ross confirmed to CBC. Kiska, who had spent four decades in captivity, lived in Marineland, a wildlife and amusement park in Niagara Falls, captured in Icelandic waters in 1979 alongside Keiko, the star of the movie; Free Willy, reported for publication.
The announcement comes four years after the country officially banned whaling, dolphins and porpoises from being bred in captivity. Although marine mammals such as Kiska were already held in captivity, they would remain so under the new legislation.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said Kiska “spent his last years isolated in a narrow tank, swimming in endless circles or sometimes lazily in the current.”
Kiska has led a life of perpetual isolation for the Whale Sanctuary Project, which describes her as “the most desolate whale in the world.”
Both animal rights groups reported that Kiska died of a bacterial infection. NPR has not independently confirmed the cause of death. Ross told the CBC that animal welfare officials conducted a necropsy on the mammal. Marineland did not return NPR’s multiple emails seeking comment.
According to PETA, Kiska has undergone a number of hardships while living in an amusement park. This included the deaths of all five calves and the departure of her only tankmate, Ikaika, in 2011, according to the animal rights organization. Footage of Kiska purportedly slamming her face against her tank multiple times as well They started to spread on social media in 2011.
Animal welfare activists responded to the news of the death with concerns about the orca’s treatment in captivity.
“It’s sad to know that Kiska will never have the opportunity to be placed at a whale sanctuary and experience the freedom that she so deeply deserves,” Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice, told the CBC.
At least 55 orcas were being held in captivity in marine parks around the world as of January 9, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation. SeaWorld, which has three marine parks in the United States, holds more orcas in captivity than any other single park.
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