She was imprisoned for 43 years and eventually died in a small pond, but she was so close to returning to the sea

On March 10, Kiska, the " loneliest whale in the world ", died.

Kiska was a killer whale who was born off the coast of Iceland and was captured at the age of 3 and kept in captivity until she died in a cement pool at Marineland, a Canadian marine park, after more than 40 years away from the ocean.

Kiska and the pond she lives in｜Phil Demers/ Instagram

Kiska had five children, but all died young, and her companions were sent away. In the last 12 years of her life, she was completely isolated from her peers , and could only swim in circles in the pool every day.

Captivity and solitary living caused Kiska to have behavioral problems. In a 2021 video, Kiska kept banging his head against the fence, as if trying to break through the small pool. | Animal Justice/Twitter

Kiska was almost able to return to the sea, but unfortunately, there were many obstacles on the way home, and she never got to wait for the day of freedom until her death.

A life taken away

In 1979, Kiska was captured in Icelandic waters at the age of 3 and was subsequently sent to the oceanarium. She was kept in captivity with four other young killer whales, one of which was named Keiko, who was also less than 3 years old at the time.

Not much is recorded of Kiska's youth, but her childhood friend Keiko later became a big star.

Keiko the killer whale | Wikimedia Commons

In 1993, Keiko was discovered by a talent scout and became the actor of the killer whale "Willie" in the movie "Orca" . In the movie, Willi was captured by humans and sold to an aquarium for animal performances. The teenager Jesse witnessed the slavery and harm he suffered in the aquarium. Finally, with the help of friends and family, he helped the little killer whale regain his freedom.

Keiko's experience was strikingly similar to Willy's. After the film was broadcast, enthusiastic viewers called whale and dolphin protection organizations and asked the filmmakers to set up a foundation to help Keiko regain his freedom. In 1998, Keiko began to be gradually released back into the wild . He died in 2003, at which time he had returned to the sea.

But Kiska had no such luck. While her childhood friends returned to the wild, she was still kept in captivity in the oceanarium.

There is no sea in Kiska, only a small pool separated by glass｜Dr. Ingrid Visser, Orca Research Trust

During the 43 years of captivity, Kiska gave birth to five whale cubs. Their life spans were very short, with the shortest living only two months and the longest living only six years. No one knows how much grief Kiska endured after losing five children in a row .

Wild male killer whales can live up to 60 to 70 years old, and female killer whales can live up to 80 to 90 years old. But most killer whales in captivity, both male and female, die in their early 20s - even though Kiska died at the age of 47, longer than most captive killer whales, she still did not reach her natural lifespan .

A killer whale mother and her calf in the wild | Christopher Michel / Wikimedia Commons

And there is terrible loneliness.

Kiska originally had a male partner, but in 2011, after a lawsuit, the male killer whale was sent back to the aquarium where he previously lived. Since then, Kiska has lived alone in a small pool , without a partner or family.

Killer whales are social animals with a complex social structure and stable family relationships. They are a typical matriarchal society. After birth, the cubs always follow their mothers, and the entire group is led by older females. These old patriarchs with rich knowledge and experience will lead the entire group of whales to swim in the vast ocean. They can swim hundreds of kilometers a day and dive to depths of hundreds of meters.

But the aquarium is just a cement pool, only one ten-thousandth the size of a natural habitat. There are no reefs, beaches, schools of fish to chase or a variety of marine plants and animals in the pool. The cement pool has only bare floors and walls.

There is only one pool like this in Kiska｜DolphinProject.com

Kiska gradually collapsed in the cramped environment and lonely life. She would circle around in the pool in boredom, sometimes just floating in the water, and in severe cases, she would engage in self-harming behavior - hitting the fence. Long-term stress damaged her immune system and physiological functions , and her health deteriorated before she died.

A person who is locked up alone in a room of less than ten square meters for a few months will become extremely depressed and fragile, and Kiska has lived this kind of life for more than 40 years.

The new home that can't wait

In 2019, Canada passed a law banning the captive breeding of cetaceans and dolphins , as well as the import and export of cetaceans into and out of Canada.

The law stops short of freeing Kiska, which allows cetaceans already in captivity to remain in captivity, but people have taken notice of the lonely, devastated orca — nearly 600,000 people have signed a petition to move Kiska to a more suitable location , such as a whale sanctuary.

Cetaceans that have been in captivity for a long time cannot be directly released into the wild. Kiska was very young when she was captured, and long-term captivity has made her lose her skills to survive in the wild. She is also likely to be unable to integrate into the group of wild killer whales, and she cannot get rid of close contact with humans. Therefore, living in a protected area first can help Kiska gradually integrate into the natural environment, which is a better choice for her.

Whale Sanctuary in Nova Scotia | whalesanctuaryproject.org

In February 2020, the Whale Sanctuary Project announced that they would choose Hilford Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada as the coastal sanctuary for Kiska to "retire".

The sea area is open, covering 100 acres (400,000 square meters), with a water depth of 18 meters, and the entire area is surrounded by a net, so people can provide help to Kiska in time.

The transfer of Kiska to the sanctuary has also received special attention from the Senate. In 2021, the Whale Sanctuary Project negotiated with Marineland about the possibility of transferring Kiska, and everyone thought that dawn was just around the corner. However, three days after the negotiation, the Niagara (where Marineland is located) police accused Marineland of using whales and dolphins for entertainment purposes, violating the law prohibiting the captivity of whales and dolphins. Since then, Marineland has interrupted further negotiations on the transfer of Kiska.

In 2021, people stood at the gate of Marineland holding signs calling for the release of Kiska｜Julie Jocsak / Torstar File Photo

Last year, Niagara prosecutors announced that they were dropping charges against Marineland, and plans to transfer Kiska to the reserve seemed to have taken a turn for the better, but it was too late for Kiska.

Kiska died in a cramped pool before she could return to the ocean. She was the last captive killer whale in Canada and the loneliest killer whale in the world. She died without seeing her companions or feeling the ocean again.

Kiska never got to see her sea｜DolphinProject.com

Kiska had missed several opportunities to be free in her life. If Kiska could have made a big movie like Keiko, she might have received more attention; if the agenda of transferring to a protected area had been pushed forward faster, she would have been freed sooner; if there had never been an oceanarium that kept whales and dolphins in captivity, she would not have had to leave her tribe, the sea, or live in a small, monotonous concrete pool.

But this is Kiska's life, a life without ifs and choices. And for the dozens of killer whales still in captivity in the world today, will Kiska's tragedy also be their future fate?

Author: Small Towel

Editor: Mai Mai

Cover image source: Dr. Ingrid Visser, Orca Research Trust

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward

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