A “distressed” killer whale confined at a Canadian water park was videotaped banging her head against the tank’s side. It was after outliving her five young babies in a heartbreaking event. The whale is also now famous as the world’s loneliest whale.
Anti-captivity activists then shot the 30-second video at MarineLand in Niagara Falls, Canada. It was earlier this month and published it on social media.
Anti-captivity activist and whistleblower Phil Demers, who used to work at the park in Ontario, acquired footage of Kiska. The Whale Sanctuary Project calls Kiska “the loneliest whale in the world”.
The 44-year-old orca was born off the coast of Iceland, according to accounts, and has been in confinement since 1979, according to Demers.
She’s been alone for the past ten years, also having outlived her tank mates, including her five children. No wonder why she is popular as the world’s loneliest whale.
Also, killer whales are highly social animals that live in groups or ‘pods’ made up of multiple multi-generational families in the wild.
“For over 40 years, she has suffered the loss of her freedom, her babies, and all of her tank mates,” British tabloid The Sun quoted UK-based Orca Rescues Foundation as saying.
“For the past 10 years, she has been in complete social isolation from others of her kind. This is what her loneliness, and her captivity, has done to her.”