A KILLER whale who was separated from her mum when she was just two years old died years later from the “trauma” of captivity, animal activists claim.
Skyla the killer whale died when she was 17 after spending her whole life in captivity when she was ripped away from her mum Kalina, SeaWorld’s original “Baby Shamu”.
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She died earlier this year at the Loro Parque zoo in Tenerife, Spain, after suffering from gastric torsion which led to septicemia.
Animal activists at Peta – as part of their ongoing SeaWorld of Hurt project – have argued the condition may have brought on by “trauma” or other abnormal behaviour linked to being held captive.
Loro Parque however have argued the orca was in “perfect condition” right up until the time of her untimely demise.
Orcas can live between 30-50 years in the wild, while a female’s life expectancy is between 80 and 100 years.
Animal activists claim that killer whales can suffer from stress, depression, physical discomfort and other problems when kept in captivity. These animals swim up to 40 miles per day and dive to depths of 500ft.
They also have the second-largest brain of any animal, 6kgs. This is four times larger than that of humans who weigh 1.5kg.
Peta blamed Skyla’s death on her captivity and said she had been “kidnapped” from her mum – with many orcas staying with their parents well into adulthood in the wild.
“While the cause of intestinal torsion is elusive in a lot of cases, it has been linked to chronic gastrointestinal disease, dietary indiscretion, trauma, and frantic or erratic behavior in cetaceans and an array of other species,” Peta said on SeaWorld of Hurt.
“While it’s possible for intestinal torsion to develop suddenly and lead rapidly to death, it’s unlikely that her condition wasn’t precipitated by some other malady (like chronic or acute infection), trauma, or abnormal behavior.”
Skyla’s father, the famous Tilikum orca – the subject in the documentary BlackFish was the orca who was the largest captive whale and was responsible for three deaths.
BlackFish was released in 2013. It highlighted the suffering of orcas in captivity.
SeaWorld saw an increase in visitors and had to alter some policies due to the movie.
Skyla, then just two years old, was taken from her mother in Florida by SeaWorld and shipped thousands of miles across the Atlantic to the Canary Islands.
She was flown thousands of miles in a transport plane before being hoisted by a crane into her new tank while on “loan” from SeaWorld.
She spent her lonely days in isolation in a tank-like prison, where she longed to see her mother until she died in March.
‘PERFECT CONDITION’
According Peta, experts have identified health problems and psychological distress in the orcas at zoos around the world.
Orcas kept in captivity in small tanks are often forced to swim in circles and sometimes die from stress by the concrete walls of their tanks.
Pro-captivity supporters argue that orcas in captivity are unsafe to release into the wild.
The day following Skyla’s death, Loro Parque zoo released a statement claiming the whale had been in “perfect condition” before her untimely demise.
“Skyla was in perfect condition until yesterday when she began to show some signs of discomfort, which immediately mobilized our team of experts,” Loro Parque zoo said in a statement.
“Despite all the effort, the veterinarians were only able to certify her demise.”
The day after Skyla’s death, the zoo offered a follow-up after a necropsy – an autopsy of an animal – was performed.
“According to the results of the necropsy, the cause of death was intestinal torsion, which caused acute septicemia and immediate death,” the follow-up stated.
“This pathology can occur suddenly in completely healthy animals and is absolutely inoperable in cetaceans, so, despite all our precautions and efforts, it would not have been possible to do anything to save Skyla’s life.”
Although Skyla is one of the latest orcas to die in captivity – she may not be the last.
According to the non-profit Whale and Dolphin Conservation USA, at least 43 orcas have died across SeaWorld’s three parks in the United State.
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Last month, two SeaWorld trainers revealed how they routinely drugged the orcas and deprived them of food.
Because of their psychological trauma, the animals suffered severe self-harm.
Jeffrey Ventre was appointed SeaWorld trainer in 1987. He stated that the sea mammals tortured would grind their teeth and chew concrete out boredom. This could lead to dental damage.
He says: “There was a lot of self-mutilation. Jaw popping was a common sight – it’s a display of threat between two orcas.
Jeffrey claims that the whales were given medication daily to treat medical conditions and control their behavior.
“The whales and dolphins were stressed and this caused stomach ulcers,” he explains.
“So they were given medication. They also had chronic infections so they received antibiotics. They were sometimes aggressive or difficult to control and could be given Valium to reduce their aggression.
‘SELF-MUTILATION’
“All whales were getting vitamins packed in their fish. Several got daily antibiotics, including Tilikum, for chronic teeth infections.”
Meanwhile, John Hargrove began his killer whale training in 1993, when he was 20, and resigned in 2012.
He is still deeply affected by the experience. Hargrove explained that captivity had cut off whales’ lives.
He says, “I have seen whales die from diseases at young ages because they were being administered medication every day.”
“It was the most difficult decision in my life to have to walk away from the whales I loved to be able to become a whistle-blower and expose the industry.”
Central Recorder Online has just reported the story about Hugo, a killer whale that is said to have killed himself by smashing into his tank.
We also examined the story Morgan, a whale that became a viral sensation after she was seen deliberately beaching herself at Loro Parque. Kathy, meanwhile, drowned while starring on the TV show Flipper.
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