Kiska, an orca whale, was remembered as having been lonely for years without seeing a single creature of her own kind. Kiska was the last captive orca whale in Canada. Kiska spent all this time at Marineland, an Ontario theme park. This is a whale that was caught in the sea of Iceland in 1979.
Kiska is estimated to be 47 years old. At the time of Kiska’s capture, she was accompanied by another whale named Keiko. Keiko, who acted in the film Free Willy, died 20 years ago. After Kiska was found dead, her body was subjected to post-mortem. According to the Whale Sanctuary Project, the whale died due to a bacterial infection.
Reports have already come out that captive-bred whales are more prone to these infections. Kiska has been named the world’s loneliest whale by the Wales Project. Years ago, Kiska gave birth to five children. But they all died at a young age. Kiska was living alone without a cage since 2011.
Like elephants, orca whales are gregarious. Earlier, when the news about Kiska’s condition came out, animal welfare organizations also came forward demanding its release. With this, criticisms were raised from many quarters against the way of keeping them in detention. These criticisms intensified in 2013 with the release of the documentary Blackfish, which depicted the plight of another whale, Tilikum, who was similarly caged.
Studies have found that whales that are supposed to roam freely in the ocean are at risk of severe mental trauma and behavioral disorders due to this type of housing. Canada passed a law in 2019 banning the keeping and breeding of whales, dolphins and porpoises in captivity as a result of protests. But at that time there was no provision to release captive whales. Because of that, Kiska remained at Marineland Park for years to come.
English Summary: Kiska, The “Loneliest Whale In The World”, Has Died