Orca's fate remains uncertain after zoo closures

The fate of two killer whales remains uncertain after a French marine zoo closed on Sunday.

Activists and zoo managers have been divided over what to do with the orcas, and the French government has blocked a proposal to relocate them.

Last month, Antibes Marine Park, located near Cannes on the French Riviera, said it would permanently close on January 5 under new animal welfare laws.

The legislation, which bans the use of dolphins and whales in marine zoo shows, was passed in 2021 and will come into effect next year.

Marineland, which claims to be the largest of its kind in Europe, currently houses two killer whales – 23-year-old Wikie and her 11-year-old son Keijo.

Managers say shows featuring killer whales and dolphins attract 90 percent of SeaWorld's visitors, and without them the business wouldn't survive.

Several destinations for the whales have been proposed, but there is disagreement over where they should go and what will happen to them.

Most experts agree that it would be inappropriate to release the two whales, specifically the Icelandic orcas, into the wild because they were bred in captivity and do not have survival skills.

“It's kind of like taking your dog out of the house and sending it into the woods to live free as a wolf,” Hanni Strager said.

In 2023, the marine biologist published “The Orca Journal,” detailing her decades-long interest in ocean predators and how they behave.

“Those whales that have spent their entire lives in captivity have the closest relationships with humans. Humans provide them with food, care, activities and social relationships.

“Orcas are highly social animals, and just like us (humans), they rely on social bonds. They develop these bonds with their trainers… They rely on humans, that's the only thing they know.”

The deal to send Wiki and Kyoto to Japan's Marine Zoo, backed by marine park managers, sparked an outcry from activists who said they would be treated worse.

The French government blocked the deal in November, saying Japan's animal welfare laws were laxer than those in Europe and that the 13,000-kilometer (8,000-mile) journey would put stress on the killer whales.

Another option is to send them to a Spanish marine zoo in the Canary Islands.

Tenerife's Parrot Park meets European animal welfare standards, but campaigners fear Wikie and Keijo will still be forced to perform there.

There have also been a number of orca deaths there over the past few years.

A 29-year-old male orca named Keto died in November, and three other orcas also died there between March 2021 and September 2022.

Parrot Parrot said a scientific examination of the three orcas by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria showed the deaths were inevitable.

Katheryn Wise, of the World Animal Protection charity (Wap), told the BBC: “It would be devastating if Wikie and Keijo ended up in another entertainment venue like Parrot Park, going from one whale prison to another. of.”

Wap hopes the orcas can be relocated in a transformed bay.

“(We and) many others urge the French government to do all it can to help orcas relocate to protected areas off the coast of Nova Scotia.”

The group wants to build the facility in eastern Canada, saying it would be able to attract funding if the French government committed to sending the two whales there.

The Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) plans to net an area of ​​40 hectares (98 acres) of seawater.

Then, with the support of veterinarians and welfare workers, Wikie and Keijo were able to use this vast body of water until the end of their lives.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average lifespan of a male killer whale is about 30 years. Women typically live to be about 50 years old.

“Life in the reserve will be as close as possible to what they experience growing up in the ocean,” WSP said. “It will be a new life. It will make up for a lot of what happened before. “

This kind of project has been done before.

Keiko, the orca featured in the 1993 film Free Willy, was rescued in 1996 and brought to a bay in Iceland in 1998.

Unlike Wikie and Keijo, he was born in the wild, lived in the bay for four years, and was able to relearn some necessary survival skills.

He eventually left with a pod of orcas he joined and swam to Norway, where he Died from infection in 2003.

Strager warned that the proposed protected area could be as alien to Wikie and Keijo as the high seas.

“We have this idea that animals have the same freedom as we do, 'Now they're free, they're going to love it.'”

“We don't know if they view freedom the same way… Are they frightened by the fact that freedom is so different from what they're used to? I don't know.”

“I don't think there are any good solutions for animals that spend their entire lives in captivity,” she told the BBC.

More than 4,000 animals will be relocated from SeaWorld, founded by Count Roland de la Poype in 1970.

A decorated fighter pilot who fought during World War II, he rose to prominence in the plastics industry and opened SeaWorld due to his interest in marine life.

The end of his passion project is the latest step in a campaign against marine zoos that has gained momentum over the past 15 years.

Actress Pamela Anderson called for SeaWorld to be closed in 2017 and staged a protest outside its entrance, saying “captivity kills.”

In 2013, the documentary Blackfish detailed how An orca named Tilikum kills trainer Dawn Brancheau After a 2010 show at SeaWorld Orlando.

He grabbed her, dragged her into the water, ripped off her arms, and drowned her.

The film also outlines how Tilikum was involved in the deaths of two other people.

Researchers interviewed in the film believe killer whales captured from the wild and trained to perform become violent in captivity.

number of visitors and SeaWorld's financial revenue takes a hit after documentary release In 2016, they suspended their captive breeding program.

They have rejected calls to release the remaining orcas into the wild, saying they may die if left to fend for themselves.

Eighteen months ago, they opened a new marine zoo in the United Arab Emirates, SeaWorld's first outside the United States.

The new facility in Abu Dhabi, a $1.2bn (£966m) joint venture with state-owned leisure developer Miral, houses the world's largest aquarium.

No killer whales have been seen here, but to the dismay of activists, dolphins are still present.

Wap helped persuade Expedia to no longer sell any vacations involving captive dolphin shows and hopes other travel companies will do the same.

“Blackfish is more than just a fad, it’s a phenomenon,” scientist Naomi Rose wrote in a Wap report. “I believe it pushed Western society to push the envelope on keeping cetaceans in captivity. critical point.”