Orca Advocate

@inherentlywild

A page for Orca enthusiasts • Fighting to keep all dolphins and whales wild & free • Co-author: @liberate_cetaceans 📸 @koen_hoekemeijer
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147k
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BREAKING- Inouk has died at Marineland Antibes Tragic news from France- Today, Marineland Antibes (MLA) announced that 25 year old male orca Inouk has died. This makes him the second orca to have died there in less than 6 months. In October 2023, 12 year old male orca Moana, also passed away suddenly. MLA later stated that he died from acute bacterial sepsis. The full necropsy has not been released. Last year it was revealed that MLA intended to transfer their orcas to Japan. They held a practice evacuation, including sling training, in January this year. It’s unknown if MLA still intends to transfer the orcas, however a court order issued in September 2023, stipulates that they cannot move until an inspection (requested by animal rights organisation @onevoiceanimal ) concludes. Conditions at the park are said to have deteriorated in recent years due to financial issues, poor management, & high staff turnover. Several weeks ago, MLA had announced changes to the orca tanks as well as the return of their orcas to public display from March 31st, this has now been postponed. Inouk was known as a sweet and gentle whale, though he suffered from poor health for much of his life. He was well known for having some of the worst teeth of any captive orca due to his habit of chewing on the concrete edges of the pools and excessively regurgitating his food. Over time, his teeth were worn down to the gums and had to be drilled to remove the exposed pulp. Chewing on their environment and regurgitation are common stereotypical behaviours in captive cetaceans, & are thought to derive from stress & boredom. Inouk is survived by 22 yr old female Wikie and her 10 yr old male calf Keijo. Keijo was said to have grieved terribly following the death of his brother Moana and he rapidly lost weight. All 3 of the surviving orcas then developed a skin infection that was still present in January 2024. We hope no more animals at MLA need to suffer and die before the French government finally listens to the concerns of the public and animal rights organisations, and takes decisive action against the failing facility. RIP dear Inouk, you will be missed. • 📸 @noemieg_photo
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17 hours ago
You’re a sea lion and you see this coming toward you. Resistance is futile! The CA51 pod are incredibly skilled hunters, composed of two very large males and two smaller and agile females. Interestingly enough there is a young family member of the CA51s, around 3 years old, who “should” be traveling with them. However, on multiple sightings this little one seems to have split off. Who is babysitting the younger CA51F “Nebula” while the original pod of 4 are in the Channel Islands remains a mystery! Repost via @pacificoffshore Video by @lawofthelandnsea #killerwhales #whales #whalewatching #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #visitcalifornia #palosverdes #oceans #earthcapture #earthpix #dolphins #marinebiology #wildlifeonearth #orca #blackfish
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2 days ago
King of the Sea 👑 Check out this big boy!! He’s known as CA113A and is estimated to be roughly 24 years old. He was recently sighted swimming alongside his mother at Santa Rosa Island. Male orcas will typically stay in a pod with their mother for as long as she is alive. Captured by @adamernsterwildlife aboard on expedition with @pacificoffshore
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5 days ago
An orca calf is believed to have died at Kamogawa SeaWorld (KS), Japan. On the 16th March, the orca show at KS was suddenly cancelled mid performance when Lovey (believed to have been pregnant with her third calf) started behaving strangely. Visitors were ushered out of the stadium & prevented from accessing the area. From Sunday 17th- Tuesday 19th, the stadium remained closed & the shows cancelled. On the 17th, a park regular claimed that a Trainer had been documenting Lovey’s calf’s nursing intervals that day.  KS have never formally announced Lovey’s pregnancy, even in the later stages where it was clear based on her size & weight distribution that she was indeed pregnant. However, trainers at both KS and Port of Nagoya Aquarium Japan (PNA), home to Lovey’s second calf Earth, have mentioned the pregnancy to park visitors. The calf would have been conceived via artificial insemination. KS used to have an artificial breeding program in place with SeaWorld US, and whilst the program no longer exists, it’s unknown whether KS retained samples for continued breeding. In 2018, PNA announced that they had entered an agreement with Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, China, to provide artificial insemination services to their females. Both PNA & KS have tried to breed their females multiple times over the years. All 4 of KS’ orcas returned to performing on the 20th. No mention was made of the calf or explanation given for the period of absence. KS also removed the show cancellation notice they had issued on both their social medias & website. It is unlikely the calf’s existence will ever be formally acknowledged by the park. Sadly, the practice of not disclosing miscarriages and calf deaths is very common in the captivity industry. The lack of transparency & compassion shown by KS is compounded even further by the rapid return of the orcas to public display. Lovey may have given birth, lost her calf, & returned to shows, all within 4 days. For Lovey & the other orcas at KS, there is no time for grief, the show must go on. • 📸Kamogawa SeaWorld
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7 days ago
Sailors continue to attack critically endangered orcas ⚠️ Please read below and take action⚠️ In the strait of Gibraltar, sailors continue to harass and attack the critically endangered Iberian orca population. In this video, sailors can be seen using flares against orcas that are following their boat. Sailors have previously been documented throwing fire crackers and home made bombs at orcas, shooting at them, and even trying to pour gasoline onto them. Since 2020, there has been a rise in documented cases where Iberian orcas have damaged vessels (mostly sailboats). Whilst sensationalist media has portrayed the Iberian orcas as vengeful ‘gladiator’(gladis) whales, numerous marine mammal experts have stated that the trend is actually based on curiosity and playfulness. To date- no people have been harmed by the orcas. We were first made aware of the sailor retaliations by @orcaportugal in August 2023, and the situation is still ongoing, with authorities failing to prevent attacks on the orcas. In recent years, the media have been quick to sensationalise and capitalise on stories of so called ‘vengeful’ orcas ‘attacking’ boats, but there has been minimal coverage of the attacks by sailors. The critically endangered Iberian orca population consists of less than 50 individuals who are already facing threats by human activities, including: noise pollution, attacks by tuna fishermen, and pollution from plastic, nets, and toxic waste. This crisis could be disastrous for them, yet it is being largely ignored, instead the media continue to perpetuate a harmful narrative that serves only to further inflame an already volatile situation. We encourage our readers to share this information as widely as possible, and if you have media contacts please encourage them to reach out to @orcaportugal for the full story. • 🎥@orcaportugal 📸 BBC • @guardiacivil062 @policiasegurancapublica @gnr_guardanacionalrepublicana
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9 days ago
Baby ETP Orcas (via @diamondblockstudios ) One of the best moments of watching these wild Killer Whales was being able to see their family bond. The teaching never stops with these intelligent orcas. The young orcas remain closely bonded to their families throughout their life.
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11 days ago
Dora’s calf has finally been publicly announced. 3 months after the calf was born on the 5th December 2023, Dora’s calf has finally been publicly announced by Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park. The calf is male and the park is currently holding a contest to decide his name. His sire is Dylan. Dora was captured in 2015 from the Okhotsk sea in Russia at 3 years old. She was then transported to China where she was joined by Cookie (captured 2015), Fat Tiger/Dylan (captured 2014) and Sean (captured 2015). This may have been Dora’s second pregnancy. In early 2021, both Dora and Cookie were removed from shows. No reason was given but Dora later returned and only performed slow segments where she was not required to go on the slide out or perform high jumps. It’s believed she may have been pregnant and lost the calf. Dora’s calf was first seen in December when a visitor captured footage of him alone in a back pool. In January, drone footage also showed the calf still isolated in the back pool. It is speculated that the isolation is due to Dora rejecting him but the exact cause is unknown. The park have said that Dora became weak after birth and trainers stepped in to steer the calf away from the tank walls. In September 2021, tank-mate Cookie gave birth to Cody. As with Dora’s calf, Cody was allegedly rejected by Cookie. He was hand reared and kept in the back pools in complete isolation for almost 2 years. Calf rejections are fairly common in captivity and even violent rejections have been documented. The exact cause is unknown but it is theorised to be caused by the immaturity of mothers (average calving age in captivity is 11 years but breeding can happen as young as 7) and lack of parental role models due to the frequency of mother- calf separations at a young age. Whatever the reason, it is completely unnatural for orca calves to live without the support of their family unit, and could have seriously detrimental consequences for the calf’s development. Until he is reunited with the pod, Dora’s calf will suffer the same lonely fate Cody once did- circling a barren concrete pool alone with no direct contact from his own kind. • 📸 Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park
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14 days ago
⚠️ Warning: Orca hunting dolphin Insane footage of Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) killer whales doing what they do best – hunting dolphins! (via @goldenkait aboard @captdaveswhalewatching ) As a lover of all dolphins and whales, of course it’s heartbreaking to see a life come to an end, but it’s wrong to demonise orcas for simply trying to survive. Please be mindful of this when commenting 👍
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16 days ago
“The whole pod is hungry! Look closely at the beginning of this video and you can see a baby Orca nursing milk from its mother, while the grown-up members of the family are feasting on a dolphin carcass. It was one of many incredible moments we witnessed yesterday!” — via @pacificoffshore Filmed on drone by Capt Ryan @lawofthelandnsea #killerwhale #whale #whalewatching #orcas #blackfish #dolphins #dronephotography #wildlifephotography #djiglobal #pacificocean #oceanlife #discoverwildlife #ig _naturelovers #visitcalifornia #californiacoast
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18 days ago
BREAKING!-Miami Dade County sends notice of lease termination to Miami Seaquarium. In a letter issued today, The office of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava cited "numerous and significant violations and defaults” as the reason for their decision. MSQ have until the 21st April to vacate the property, if they fail to leave then an eviction process can be instigated. The latter could take months to resolve. In an interview with Local 10 News, Dolphin Company owner Eduardo Albor indicated that they will not consider moving without notice from a court of law. Asked if they will fight the notice, Eduardo replied that they will “defend”. This momentous decision follows numerous failed USDA reports from 2023 to present, that cite serious animal welfare conditions including (but not limited to): inadequate veterinary care, animals exposed to rusting, crumbling, and filthy enclosures, animals left without access to clean water or shelter from the sun, and numerous incidents of injuries such as broken bones from intra species aggression, and ingestion of foreign objects including nails and zip ties. In January, the County issued a notice of default to MSQ, after learning that the USDA had intended to confiscate several animals. USDA later rescinded the confiscation notice. It is not yet known what will happen to the animals residing at the facility should MSQ vacate the property. With no sanctuary for cetaceans currently in existence, it’s possible the park’s dolphins will simply be moved to another Dolphin Company park. Dr. Naomi Rose, Marine Biologist & Campaigner for the welfare of captive marine mammals, commented on the situation on her blog ‘From The Dolphin’s Point of View’: “I hope the zoo and aquarium folks band together to ensure an orderly, humane redistribution of the many animals still held there... Every single animal should be rehomed ASAP. I wish there were sanctuaries for them all and lord knows, we all wish for a "Finding Dory" ending, but realistically, the best we can hope for is for zoos and aquariums to…put animal welfare first and take in these refugees without delay”. • 📸 posted by Miami Herald, photographer unknown
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21 days ago
Orcas in the magical Telegraph Cove via @harls94 These two big beautiful males, T060D and T060E as they are known, are part of the Bigg’s transient population of orcas and are also brothers! 🖤🤍
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22 days ago
The beauty that lies beneath 🌊 — via @thedronebooth
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25 days ago