The Killer Whales
Orcinus orcaAlso referred to as the orca whale or orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas.
Killer whales as a species have a diverse diet, although individual populations often specialize in particular types of prey. Some feed exclusively on fish, while others hunt marine mammals such as sea lions, seals, walruses, and even large whales. Killer whales are regarded as apex predators, lacking natural predators. The killer whale's intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness in captivity and sheer size have made it a popular exhibit at aquaria and aquatic theme parks. From 1976 to 1997, 55 whales were taken from the wild in Iceland, 19 from Japan, and three from Argentina. These figures exclude animals that died during capture. Live captures fell dramatically in the 1990s, and by 1999, about 40% of the 48 animals on display in the world were captive-born. Captives occasionally act aggressively towards themselves, their tankmates, or humans, which is a result of stress.
Shamu StadiumSeaWorld’s main attraction is its Orcas, several of which are housed in 7-million-gallon habitats that are each known as Shamu Stadium. Shamu was the name of the first female Orca brought to SeaWorld San Diego in the 1960s from the Seattle Aquarium where she was previously housed with the young male Namu. ‘”Shamu” (so-named as the “she” version of Namu) is now used as a stage name for adult Orcas in performances at SeaWorld parks. Currently, SeaWorld Orlando houses 7 killer whales.
TruaTrua is a 8 year old, bull killer whale. He is very sweet and a playful whale. He used to do waterworks before they were stopped in 2010. Trua was just learning some basic waterworks and had recently started performing them in shows. He is extremely interactive with guests at the park. He will often play with them in the underwater viewing when he is in that tank. He is very curious and loves playing with any toys or things people bring to the underwater viewing. As of 2010 he is 11 feet long. As of 2013 he weighs about 3,000 pounds.
KatinaKatina is a 37 year old female. She is occasionally called Kat or Tina. She is the dominant killer whale of the park and also the matriarch. She has successfully given birth to 7 calves. She is the most successful breeding female in captivity. She is a very energetic whale despite her age. When asked to do a behavior she often puts all her effort into them. She is by far the highest jumper at Orlando. She knows many behaviors for dry work and waterworks. She has never shown any aggression to her trainers and is very close to them. Although she is the dominant whale, she is usually very kind to the other killer whales unless she needs put them in their place or discipline the young. The only whale she is never grouped with is Tilikum, though they have been seen together, likely to get them used to being around each other for breeding. She is most often seen with Nalani, Makaio, Kayla, Malia and Trua. She is a very loving mother and shows this not only to her calves but the many other calves who have been born at the park. She has been a surrogate mother to calves who either lost their mothers or who no longer live with their mothers. She was wild born sometime in December of 1975. She was captured on October 26 of 1978. She weighed in last at 5,680 pounds and was 17 feet long.
TilikumTilikum is a 32 year old bull killer whale. He is occasionally called Tilly. Despite his size, he is a submissive killer whale as males rank lower in the pod than females do. He has been involved with three deaths. Tilikum was involved in his first death, in which a trainer fell into the water and was drowned. *It is important to note that none of the whales had ever been trained to have people in the water with them, so when she fell into the pool the whales didn't know how to react.* In 1999, a mentally ill man hid in SeaWorld after the park closed. He snuck into Tilly’s tank and was found in the morning draped over Tilly’s back without clothing. The coroner’s report stated he died from hypothermia and drowning. He had a few bite marks and bruises but it is unknown if he received them before or after death or both. On February 24, 2010, Tilly was involved with a third death. At the end of a Dine With Shamu show, his trainer Dawn Brancheau, was laying on the platform known as a slide out, which is used for the whales to slide onto. She had been playing with him just before the incident. Her hair was in a long pony tail hanging in the water when Tilly grabbed it and she went underwater. It is thought that maybe he thought it was a fish or toy as she had just been jumping back and forth playing with him in a video that was shot just minutes before. Her pony tail had been moving back and forth which may have caught his attention. Trainers say they had seen no warning signs of aggression from him. Despite his history, he is actually a very gentle whale. He has never shown aggression to his trainers or other whales. He seems to not know what he is really capable of and when someone's in the water with him he doesn't know what to do. He is rather lazy but will play with Trua when he gets playful. He is seen in the splash segment of the Shamu show though isn't used every show and may have days off completely. He is not trained to waterworks, therefore he is
not allowed to have trainers in the water with him under any circumstance for safety of both him and the trainer. He was last weighed at 12,000 pounds and 22 feet long.
KaylaKayla is a 25 year old female killer whale. She was the first killer whale to be born in SeaWorld San Antonio. Kayla is often grouped with Katina, Trua, Nalani, Malia and Makaio. She seems to like spending a lot of time with a young male named Trua. Trua's mom moved to another park in 2009 and it was decided to see how Kayla would do as a surrogate after rejecting her calf and they seem to have become closer over the years. She is grouped with the other young calves and gets along well with them too. Katina is the dominant orca at the park and will put Kayla in her place when she acts out. She has also been a great teacher when it comes to taking care of calves and how to run a pod. Kayla was very good at waterworks and did them often. She could often be seen doing waterworks with multiple whales. Kayla loves her trainers attention and loves to please. She used to do waterworks before they were stopped in 2010 and was never aggressive with trainers though she did bump them a few times when she was younger. This usually occurred when she was cycling or pregnant and became moody. She has been a very gentle whale with her trainers and other orcas though she would be dominant towards the more submissive orcas. She displayed this a few times to Kalina. Kayla is a very energetic whale and does great with the more advanced behaviors. She is very smart and will often be asked to incorporate multiple things into one behavior such as doing some sort of jump while vocalizing, thrashing her head, spitting water, waving her pecs, or doing multiples of those at once. She was last weighed at 5,600 pounds and 18 feet, 8 inches.
MaliaMalia is a 6 year old female killer whale. Malia is occasionally called Mal, or Lia. Malia is one of the few younger orcas who have met Tilikum. Taima (Her deceased mother) was often grouped with her mate Tilly and months after birth, Malia was introduced. The three could often be seen performing together. Malia got along very well with her father. Malia has not been seen grouped with Tilly after her mother passed, though she can often be seen near his tank socializing with him. It is unknown if they are still grouped together. Malia was already very independant for her age by the time her mom died. She spends most of her time with another young female, Nalani. Malia is a sweet and playful orca. She is very smart and is learning many complex behaviors now. When she was little she used to be somewhat rebellious though she has, for the most part, grown out of that. She will also be dominant towards Trua when he gets too rough with her but is still seen playing with him a lot. Although her mother did not do waterworks, Malia had been learning them before they were stopped in 2010. She had learned very basic waterwork behaviors. She was last weighed at 1,660 and 12 feet 1 inch long.
NalaniNalani is a 7 year old female killer whale who lives at SeaWorld Orlando. She was born on September 18, 2006. Her mother is Katina and her father is Taku. She was Taku's second and last calf, but he is also her brother, making her inbred. Nalani was the first inbred orca to be born and survive. Nalani has shown no obvious signs of being inbred. She physically acts and looks like any other orca should. She is very playful and smart and shows no signs of falling behind. She performs in shows and has been learning many more advanced behaviors now that she is getting older. Nalani had been learning waterworks before they were stopped in 2010. She had recently started performing them in shows doing beginner behaviors. She has become more independant now though she still spends a lot of time with Katina. She is very close to her Aunt Malia, who is actually 6 months younger than her. The two spend a lot of time together, often playing. Lately, Nalani has been spending more time with her half-brother Makaio and helping Katina take care of him. She was last weighed when she was 3, and was about 1,780 pounds. She was not measured.
MakaioMakaio is a 3 year old bull orca who lives at SeaWorld Orlando. He was born on October 9, 2010 to mother Katina and father Tilikum, making him the 4th calf born to the pair and Katina's 7th calf. He is the youngest orca living in Orlando and the most recent to be born at the park. Makaio joins the other orcas in shows though he doesn't know how to do many behaviors yet. He has recently learned how to perform a backbow and slide onto the slide out. He is now working on a back flip. He is most often seen with his mom Katina, though he is becoming more independant. He likes being with the other young orcas, especially a male named Trua. He will often venture into other tanks his mom isn't in, while other times he stays close by. He was last weighed in 2012, and was weighed at 1,300 and was 7 feet at birth. A
video of him.
The Common Bottlenose Dolphins
Tursiops truncatusCommon bottlenose dolphins are the most familiar dolphins due to the wide exposure they receive in captivity in marine parks and dolphinaria, and in movies and television programs. T. truncatus is the largest species of the beaked dolphins. They inhabit temperate and tropical oceans throughout the world, and are absent only from polar waters. All bottlenose dolphins were previously known as T. truncatus, but recently the genus has been split into two, T. truncatus and T. aduncus. Although this species has been traditionally called the bottlenose dolphin, many authors have used the name common bottlenose dolphin for this species since a second bottlenose dolphins species, the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, was described. The dolphins inhabit warm and temperate seas worldwide. Considerable genetic variation has been described among members of this species, even between neighboring populations, and so many experts believe multiple species may be included within T. truncatus.
Seaworld has 44 bottle nose dolphins. All of them are friendly, and playful. Trainers may swim with them with caution.
Starbuck (M),
Jenever (F),
Lily (F),
Phil (M),
Clyde (M),
Bailey (F),
Tasha (F),
Jenson (M),
Ariel (F),
Baretta (M),
Bubba (M),
Alejandro (M),
Griffith (F),
Marble (M),
Bossa (F),
Calla (F),
Oscar (M),
Tiger (M), Jag (M),
Naia (F),
Neo (M),
Alpha * (M),
Yar (F), Nate (M),
Scott (M),
Potter (M), Jackson (M),
Schooner (M),
Frankie (F),
Liko (M),
Nueces (F),
Damara (F),
Lagos (M),
Gala (F),
Turk (M),
Soleil (F),
Roka (M),
Gus (M), Haley (F),
Aurora (F), Starla (F), Gertie (F), Tasha's Calf (?), and Yar's Calf (?).
*Alpha is inbred, his parents were both sired by the same male, Davy II, making them paternal siblings.
Seaworld also features Pilot whales which hang with our dolphins. All 3 are friendly, to trainers.
Fredi (F), Piper (F), Ava (F), and our only male Ace.
