Kamea, the youngest orca at SeaWorld, dies at 11
Her death brings SeaWorld’s orca death toll to 45, renewing calls to release the remaining whales into seaside sanctuaries.
Kamea at SeaWorld Antonio. Credit: @dakotajophotos
Kamea, the youngest orca at any of SeaWorld’s facilities, has died in captivity at the age of 11 years old after contracting an undisclosed illness, the park shared in a statement. Her death brings SeaWorld’s orca death toll up to 45.
The orca was born at SeaWorld San Antonio on December 6, 2013, and is the daughter of 33-year-old Takara, who was born July 9, 1991, at SeaWorld San Diego, California, and kept at the San Antonio facility since February 5, 2009. Kamea’s father, Kshamenk, was taken from the wild in 1992, where he was caught off the coast of Argentina at around four years old. He has been held at Mundo Marino oceanarium in Argentina for over three decades.
Kamea’s grandmother, Kasatka, was taken from the wild as a young calf and spent nearly four decades in tanks at SeaWorld, where she was repeatedly bred and made to perform in tourist shows. She died in 2017 at SeaWorld San Diego after a prolonged battle with a painful bacterial lung infection.
Kamea, conceived through artificial insemination, was one of the last orcas born at a SeaWorld park, following the company’s decision to end its killer whale breeding program in 2016. The move came in response to mounting public pressure and intense scrutiny after the 2013 documentary Blackfish exposed the abuse of orcas at SeaWorld facilities.
Animal advocacy groups, who have long campaigned for orcas to be freed from SeaWorld facilities, say that Kamea spent the entirety of her short life in a “tiny concrete tank” where she had “nothing to do but swim in endless circles”.
Takara, Kamea, Sakari, and Tuar (left to right). Credit: Inherently Wild
In response to her death, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are urging United Parks & Resorts (SeaWorld’s parent company) CEO Marc Swanson to scatter her ashes in the ocean, calling it her “rightful home”. The animal rights group is also calling for Swanson to release the 17 orcas still at SeaWorld locations to seaside sanctuaries.
“In nature, Kamea could have lived to 80 years old, surrounded by her friends and family in the vast, open ocean, but SeaWorld condemned her to a miserable life and early death in a concrete prison cell,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is calling on SeaWorld to acknowledge that it deprived Kamea of the freedom she deserved by scattering her ashes in the ocean, and to release the remaining orcas to seaside sanctuaries—before it’s too late.”
According to the International Marine Mammal Project, as of January 2024, there were just 54 orcas remaining in captivity out of the 166 that have been taken from the wild since 1961. Orcas in the wild can live for 50-90 years, but those in captivity often only survive 20-30 years.
In the United States, there are efforts to phase out the keeping of large whales in captivity. The Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings (SWIMS) Act, would outlaw the captive display of four large marine animal species currently held in theme parks and aquariums. These are orcas (also known as killer whales), pilot whales, false killer whales, and beluga whales.
In 2019 Canada passed a similar law known as the “Free Willy” bill which outlawed the trade, possession, capture, and breeding of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The bill effectively ended the unnatural practice of using cetaceans for entertainment or keeping them in captivity in the country.
In the United States, lawmakers are working to phase out the captivity of large whale species through the proposed Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings (SWIMS) Act. The bill would ban the public display of four marine mammals, orcas (also known as killer whales), pilot whales, false killer whales, and beluga whales, still held in aquariums and theme parks.
Canada passed a similar law in 2019, commonly referred to as the “Free Willy” bill. The legislation bans the capture, trade, possession, and breeding of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, effectively ending the use of captive cetaceans for entertainment in the country.
Species Unite in urging congress to pass the SWIMS Act. You can add your name to the petition here.
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