Fate of orcas left uncertain after zoo shuts

The fate of two killer whales remains uncertain following the closure of an aquarium in France on Sunday.

Campaigners and zookeepers are locked in disagreement over what should happen to the orca whales, with the French government already blocking one proposal to reintroduce them.

Last month Marineland Antibes, near Cannes on the French Riviera, said it would be closed until January 5 to comply with new animal welfare laws.

The law, which bans the use of dolphins and whales in aquarium shows, was introduced in 2021 but will come into effect next year.

Marineland, which bills itself as the largest in Europe, houses two killer whales – Wikie, 23, and her 11-year-old son Keijo.

Managers say the killer whale and dolphin shows attract 90% of Marineland’s visitors – and without them the business can’t survive.

Several destinations for these whales have been proposed but there is disagreement about where they should go and what should happen to them.

Many experts agree that releasing the two whales, which are called Icelandic orcas in particular, would not be appropriate because they were both born in captivity and would not have the skills to survive.

“It’s like taking your dog out of the house and sending him out into the wild to be as free as a wolf,” says Hanne Strager.

In 2023 the marine biologist published The Killer Whale Journals, which describes his years of interest in predators and how they live.

Those whales, who have spent their entire lives in captivity, have a close relationship with humans.

“Killer whales are animals that live in large populations, just like us [humans] they are, and depend on, group cooperation. They’ve built those relationships with their teachers… They rely on people and that’s the only thing they know. “

The deal to send Wikie and Keijo to a Japanese zoo, with the help of managers at Marineland, caused an uproar among campaigners who said they would receive the worst possible treatment.

Last November, the French government blocked the deal, saying Japan’s animal welfare laws were lax compared to Europe’s and that the 13,000km (8,000 miles) journey would stress the orcas.

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

Loro Parque, in Tenerife, complies with European animal welfare laws but campaigners fear Wikie and Keijo will continue to play there.

There have also been several orca deaths there in the past few years.

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

Loro Parque said a scientific examination of the three orcas by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria showed that death was inevitable.

Katheryn Wise, from the charity World Animal Protection (WAP), tells the BBC: “It would be very painful for Wikie and Keijo to go to another place of interest like Loro Parque – from one whale prison to another.”

Wap wants orcas to return to the ocean’s changing habitat.

“[We and] many others have urged the French government to do whatever it can to support the movement of orcas to the sanctuaries off the coast of Nova Scotia. “

The company hoping to build the facility in eastern Canada said it could attract funding if it received a promise from the French government to send two whales there.

The Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) wants to close a 40-hectare (98-acre) area of ​​sea water with nets.

Wikie and Keijo were able to use the vast expanse of water, with the help of people from vets and health workers, until the end of their lives.

The average lifespan of a male whale is about 30 years, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Women usually live 50 years.

“Life in the sanctuary will be very close to what it would have been like growing up in the ocean,” said the WSP. “It will be a new life it will fulfill many of the past. “

This type of work has been done before.

Keiko, the orca who starred in 1993’s Free Willy, was rescued from captivity in 1996 before being adopted in Iceland in 1998.

Unlike Wikie and Keijo, he was born in the wild and was able to learn some of the skills necessary to survive living in the lake for four years.

He later left with a pack of orcas he joined and swam to Norway where he stayed he died in 2003 after suffering from illness.

Strager warns that this sanctuary may feel as alien to Wikie and Keijo as the open ocean would.

“We have the idea that animals enjoy freedom the same way we do, ‘now they are free and they will love it.

“We don’t know if they see freedom the same way… Will they be scared because it’s so different from what they’re used to? I don’t know.”

He tells the BBC: “I don’t think there are any good ways to dispose of animals that have been kept for their whole lives.”

More than 4,000 animals will be transferred to Marineland, which was founded in 1970 by Count Roland de la Poype.

He was a decorated pilot who fought in World War II before establishing himself in the plastics industry and opening Marineland because of his love of the marine life.

The closure of his favorite project is the latest in a campaign against the zoo that has grown exponentially over the past 15 years.

Actress Pamela Anderson called for Marineland to be closed in 2017 and staged a protest outside its doors saying “prison kills”.

In 2013, Blackfish articles explained how an orca named Tilikum killed teacher Dawn Brancheau after a show at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010.

He grabbed him and dragged him into the water where he tore off his arm and drowned him.

The video also shows how Tilikum was involved in the deaths of two other people.

Researchers interviewed in the film said that orcas taken from the wild are trained to be violent when caught.

Guest numbers are Funding at SeaWorld suffered after the document and in 2016 they stopped their slave breeding program.

They refused calls to release their remaining antlers into the wild, saying they would be left to fend for themselves.

Eighteen months ago they opened a new aquarium in the United Arab Emirates, SeaWorld’s first outside of the US.

This new property in Abu Dhabi is a $1.2bn (£966m) project developed by the government of Miral and has the largest lake in the world.

There aren’t any orcas on display yet but, to the dismay of the campaigners, there are still dolphins.

Wap has helped Expedia stop selling other holidays related to captive dolphin shows and wants other travel companies to do the same.

“The black fish didn’t just hit – it was a surprise,” writes scientist Naomi Rose in a Wap report. “I’m sure it pushed people in the West beyond the topic of cetaceans slavery.”