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An orca or killer whale died in captivity after living alone for 12 years. This whale, named Kiska, was captured with Keiko, the whale that appeared in the film Free Willy.

Summary detikcomWednesday (3/15/2023) Kiska died at the age of 47 in captivity at the Marineland amusement park in Canada. A Marineland spokesperson also confirmed this sad news, Kiska died last Thursday (9/3).

The Marineland amusement park announced the death of the large mammal through an official press release.

“The marine mammal care team and experts at Marineland are doing everything they can to keep Kiska comfortable and will mourn her loss,” the park said in a statement.

[Gambas:Twitter]

Kiska was captured in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1979 when he was just three years old. In the first years of its captivity, the whale lived with four other orcas in Iceland.

Do travelers remember the film? Free Willy? In the film, there is an orca who turns out to be in captivity with Kiska. The star whale’s name is Keiko.

But Keiko would eventually be rehabilitated and returned to the sea. Meanwhile, Kiska remained in captivity until her last breath.

Kiska’s sad story does not end there. She gave birth to four whales but all died young. Even her children have names, namely Athena, Hudson, Nova, Kanuck.

Triggering the anger of animal lovers

Kiska’s death has angered animal lovers. One of them is Animal Justice, a Canadian non-profit group that protects animal rights through law. They cried and demanded an investigation into the death of the whale Kiska.

“It is heartbreaking to know that Kiska will never have the opportunity to be transferred to a whale sanctuary and experience the freedom she so deserves,” Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice, said in a statement. press release.

“We demand justice for what Kiska experienced at the hands of Marineland,” Labchuk added.

“We call on provincial authorities to release the autopsy results and take Marineland to court for the illegal pressure Kiska suffered during his final years,” he said.

Animal Justice previously filed a complaint in July 2021 regarding Marineland’s treatment of Kiska. They accused Marineland of breaking the law by failing to meet their physical and mental needs.

[Gambas:Twitter]

The complaint follows a video posted online by Phil Demers, a former Marineland trainer, which shows Kiska floating listlessly and moving slowly.

That same year, Marineland was criminally charged after Animal Justice filed another lawsuit alleging the dolphins were forced to perform for entertainment purposes despite a national ban. The charges were stayed in December 2022.

MarineLand has been inspected 160 times since January 2020 as part of the Animal Protection Service’s work to ensure the standards of care required by law are met. The theme park was accused of unauthorized use of animals in December 2021 after footage of Kiska banging her head and body against the tank wall garnered millions of views on social media.

Goodbye Kiska….

(sym/fem)