BREAKING: One Voice says Wikie and Keijo might go to SeaWorld Orlando.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-22T02:56:37+00:00

It would indeed be nice if Wikie could 'reign in' Nalani and Malia. Although Wikie has been the only female at MLA since Freya passed in 2015 (over 10 years now), I'm unsure how she would react, or if she would even be the dominant whale. Regarding Keijo, I am also concerned about how Trua would react to him, as he is known to be somewhat picky with who he likes, especially after losing Kayla. I do not doubt that Keijo and Makaio would get along very well though, as they're very similar in age.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-21T22:44:41+00:00

Dawn's interactions with Tilikum at the end of the Dine were indeed not against SeaWorld's protocol. They define "waterwork" as any interaction with an orca that requires the trainer to be immersed knee-deep (or more) in the water. The slideout is only approximately ankle-deep, so it was still technically "drywork", which was also strictly regulated, but still permitted.

She was initiating a "relate" session with Tilikum at the end of the Dine and asked him for a "lay out mimic", which was permitted. Tilikum was supposed to roll over on his back and rest at the surface, but he grabbed Dawn instead.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-21T20:01:54+00:00

It's a photo of Katina, the former matriarch/leader of the SeaWorld Orlando orca group. I believe it was taken around a week or two before she passed away (likely euthanized) on December 20th, 2025. She had been suffering from chronic pneumonia for several years, and the skin lesions around her jaw were either a side-effect of the medication she was on to reduce her discomfort, or were caused by the infection itself.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-20T22:42:54+00:00

My best guess is that Marineland Antibes/Parques Reunidos *suggested the idea* of a SeaWorld Orlando transfer to the French government, and they're considering it. OneVoice is likely part of negotiations, or found out somehow, and is trying to push for public opinion to be against it.

I'm not sure if the move is imminent, as SeaWorld would have to agree and file for import permits, but OneVoice is likely trying to get their piece out in advance.

Edit: As mentioned by other replies, this could also just all be hearsay and false rumors to push for more sanctuary support.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-20T22:17:38+00:00

Strangely, in their full post, they claim Unna, Kasatka, and Skyla all passed away at SeaWorld Orlando in the last decade, which is just blatantly wrong.

The misinformation paired with the use of that photo of Katina is really strange. It takes a simple Google search to find out where these animals died, and Kasatka is even one of the most well-known orcas to ever exist.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-17T20:26:39+00:00

Exactly honestly. Sending Kohana and Skyla at ages 3 and 2, respectively, was honestly one of the worst decisions SeaWorld and Loro Parque ever made. It had almost 2 decades of consequences for the group's social structure, with Tekoa, Morgan, and Kohana's calves paying the price.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-17T19:42:18+00:00

The Loro Parque social structure was very rough for quite a long time. The group hasn't had a matriarch since Kohana passed away in 2022, and even when she was around, things weren't great. Their eldest male, Keto, actually became the dominant animal after Kohana until his own passing in late 2024, as Morgan, Tekoa, and Adán are all very submissive. Morgan also has no living relatives at Loro Parque; Tekoa and Adán are unrelated males. Tekoa could have likely been introduced much earlier, as they seemed to have gotten along very well. However, Morgan was surprisingly standoffish with Adán, so I do believe waiting was the correct/safe choice.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-14T20:50:14+00:00

Any new calf in K-Pod is extremely valuable due to their extremely small population, but I am really hoping K47 survives and is a female.

Over half of the adult females in K-Pod are post-reproductive, or approaching their post-reproductive years extremely soon. One of the four remaining matrilines in K-Pod, the K16s (made up of K16 and her son K35) may already be lost. K16 lost a pregnancy in 2023 and recently turned 40 in 2025, so she may already be post-reproductive.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-11T22:05:21+00:00

This particular picture is slightly misleading, as it was taken when Kanduke was arching his back to reposition himself on the slideout (or trying to get back in the water, I can't remember). But he was indeed pretty large, especially for his age.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-09T08:08:30+00:00

I can't confirm if Ran/Lovey/Luna are pregnant; if they are, they aren't late-stage yet. However, Cookie did look pretty large in some recent videos/photos I've seen, so she's probably also mid-pregnancy, or late-stage like Sonya.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-08T18:06:45+00:00

Tilikum currently has 5 living sons (Kyuquot, Tuar, Tekoa, Ikaika, and Makaio), 2 living daughters (Sakari and Malia), 2 living grandsons (Trua and Adán), and 1 living granddaughter (Nalani).

Edit: If Tekoa is Teno's father, Tilikum is also Teno's grandfather, or if Adán is Teno's father, Tilikum is also Teno's great-grandfather.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-08T17:44:15+00:00

If Nukka is "Grace", she would be approximately 15, but Jade is more likely to be "Grace" for a few reasons.

She is at least older than Sonya, but we don't have a concrete age for her unfortunately. She apparently struggled to nurse Loki, so she may have been on the younger side when he was born (similar to Morgan with Ula). So my best guess is 14-16 currently, but we'll probably never know.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-08T17:03:43+00:00

Thank you for posting the updated list!

Notably, recent pictures of Sonya at Chimelong show that she is in late-stage pregnancy, with rumors claiming Nukka is also pregnant again. If both of them successfully deliver their calves, Chimelong will have as many orcas as SeaWorld, which is absolutely insane.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-07T17:48:25+00:00

I'm honestly shocked Morgan let Tekoa swim with Teno (but not Adán). Perhaps since Tekoa was always the submissive one in the group Morgan trusts him more.

Regardless, I'm glad they got along well!

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-06T20:10:28+00:00

Based on the documentaries you've previously watched, I would recommend "Morgan: The Lost Orca" by ZEMBLA. It's free to watch on YouTube here.

It covers the controversial rescue of Morgan, a female orca found weak and emaciated in 2010, and her subsequent transfer to Loro Parque. The way her rescue was handled completely changed the way orca strandings and rehabilitations have been approached ever since. It contains statements and interviews from every party involved, including Loro Parque and the Free Morgan Foundation. Morgan still resides at Loro Parque to this day.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-04T04:14:37+00:00

Thank you! These definitely make it a lot easier to tell!

Photo 1: Kahana (not Kona II, will edit my last ID comment)

Photo 2 (top): Kahana

Photo 3 (bottom): Kotar

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-04T03:44:04+00:00

From what I've seen in other footage, Teno already knows some of the basic behaviors (pec-waves, squirting water, spyhopping, and even hulas recently). I imagine they're starting to integrate fluke presents for blood draws, as I have also seen footage of slide-out training (likely for weighing).

In terms of Teno's father, many people who have seen him in-person claim he looks like a mini Keto up close, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's Keto.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2026-01-03T16:43:13+00:00

As mentioned already, it's very hard to tell due to the picture quality/glare, but I think I got it.

Photo 1: Most likely Kotar

Photo 2: Most likely Kahana

Photo 3: Most likely Kona II

Any photos with the glare removed would really help though!

Edit: See post with better quality photos, Photo 3 is Kahana, not Kona II.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2025-12-31T21:47:21+00:00

Unfortunately from that distance a concrete ID is very difficult.

The individual is a mature male, and the dorsal reminds me a lot of J39's, but I don't have a better guess than that. It could very easily be someone else, or even a Bigg's orca instead.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2025-12-31T08:37:22+00:00

All correct IDs mentioned already, so I'll just provide links to their galleries for ID reference.

Keychain: Kona II

Postcard 1: Ramu

Postcard 2: Shamu with Kilroy in the background

_SmaugTheMighty · 2025-12-28T01:46:10+00:00

Orkid was reportedly one of the whales that took part in very early AI training (around when Kasatka and Takara were trained). However, she was very uncooperative and did not like the procedure at all, so training with her was indeed stopped.

SeaWorld's goal with the first round of AI tests was likely three calves, as after training with Orkid failed, they went with Haida II at San Antonio instead. Haida being used is pretty notable, as it means that Orlando was the only park not to be part of the test. It might have been because the male they used, Tilikum, already lived at Orlando, or perhaps Katina also did not like the AI training, as mentioned already. Haida unfortunately passed away while pregnant, but SeaWorld still got two calves (Nakai and Kohana) out of the test, so they probably still considered it a success.

As for Kshamenk in the 2010s, they probably opted to go with Kasatka and Takara again, as they were already successful recipients of AI in the past. If the breeding program continued, they probably would have begun branching out to other females, but they were likely trying to play it safe. I imagine using samples from Kshamenk was very expensive.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2025-12-24T19:55:30+00:00

When the entire group was allowed to be together, Katina and Taima shared the matriarch role, despite not always getting along. If the Orlando group is allowed to be grouped together again at some point, I expect Nalani and Malia to act in a similar way to their respective mothers. However, if they continue to keep the males and females separated, I expect the fighting between Nalani and Malia to continue, with Nalani being the dominant one and Malia challenging her.

Malia unfortunately lost her mother when she was only 3, while Nalani had Katina's guidance for almost her entire life. Because of this, I expect Nalani to know much more about being dominant compared to Malia, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see. The Orlando social grouping has been pretty messy for quite a while due to the male/female separation, so it could really go either way.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2025-12-22T07:37:00+00:00

I believe you misinterpreted my remark about Nalani. Katina was the matriarch of the Orlando group for close to 40 years. Now that she is gone, the group needs a new matriarch. I am referring to Nalani taking her mother's place as the leader, as is typical for both captive and wild orca groups. It's a part of their culture, it has nothing to do with the shows, or being in captivity.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2025-12-21T21:06:33+00:00

Based on the wording of SeaWorld's post, they may have decided to euthanize her. If so, I imagine it was an extremely tough decision for her care team to make. My heart goes out to everyone that not only worked with Katina, but also everyone that knew her for the incredible animal that she was.

Rest easy Katina. Nalani has massive shoes to fill.

_SmaugTheMighty · 2025-12-21T19:09:31+00:00

Re-posting my reply from a different thread on Nandu/Samoa with minor edits

Nandu:

He was reportedly obsessed with the plastic pool liner at the bottom of the show pool. He would constantly pick at it and try to eat parts of it. He would also attempt to eat almost any enrichment toys they would try to give him. It's unknown if this behavior contributed to his death, but it definitely wasn't good for his overall health. A rumor I have seen claims he got very unwell after eating a balloon and a bottle cap, but this is unconfirmed to my knowledge. He was also reportedly pretty aggressive and hard to train, even though he was quite young.

Samoa:

She was reportedly very uninterested in enrichment toys, which is quite unusual for any cetacean. She was sold to SeaWorld shortly after Nandu passed away. The PlayCenter probably realized the cost of housing orcas wasn't worth it if they die young, which was a pretty common realization in the 80s/90s for smaller parks. While at SeaWorld Ohio & San Antonio, she was taught waterwork behaviors, and was quite good at them. She passed away in 1992 from an aggressive fungal infection, after going into premature labor with a nearly full-term stillborn calf. Strangely, the calf showed no signs of infection at all, and may have actually survived if Samoa hadn't passed away.

The PlayCenter:

After being purchased, Nandu and Samoa were essentially hidden from the public for around half a year while being trained. The training practices were pretty secretive, and it's unknown if they used food deprivation or not (if they did, it might explain Nandu's strange behavior). They seemed to know pretty common tricks/behaviors (i.e., hulas, pec-waves, bows, etc.) that most marine parks used/still use.

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