Once again it is a matter of debate whether it is ethical to keep animals in captivity for human entertainment and in conditions that they clearly reject and threaten their health. That was what happened to Kiska, “the saddest orca in the world” who had been dying for 11 years in a pool of a few meters and completely alone. A social and tremendously intelligent animal that, in freedom, travels kilometers and kilometers in open ocean waters. Yesterday, she finally died and her agony ended. 44 years of life and only three of them released.
Kiska was an orca sadly famous for the time he had been in captivity at MarineLand, an aquarium in Ontario (Canada), in conditions that animalists described as “tantamount to torture.”
The TMZ.com site reported that the death of the cetacean occurred yesterday and was reported by MarineLand. The theme park said in a statement: “The marine mammal care team and experts at MarineLand did everything possible to support Kiska’s comfort and will mourn her loss.”
Kiska was captured in 1979 when she was only 3 years old and lived with some orcas in an aquarium in Iceland before being sold to MarineLand. While she was in Iceland, she was tank mates with an orca named Keiko, future star of the hit movie Free Willy.
During her time at Marineland, Kiska gave birth to five calves. As of 2011 she was alone in a tank, after surviving her mates, including her five pups, who tragically died at a young age. For this reason, she was known internationally as “the loneliest orca in the world.” Studies have shown that orcas are social mammals, and isolation like Kiska’s is considered torture.
MarineLand has been criticized for alleged animal abuse since the 1970s, especially since a viral video of Kiska hitting her head on the glass of her fish tank went viral in 2021. In fact, an internal investigation was carried out.
The images were released by Canadian activist Phil Demers, who was a worker at the water park.
“This video was taken on September 4, 2021. So, anti-captivity activists entered MarineLand and observed Kiska, their last surviving orca, banging her head against the wall. Watch it and share it. This cruelty must end,” Demers wrote on Twitter.
Another clip from earlier this year showed Kiska swimming in constant circles around his tank.
The Orca Rescues Foundation said: “For more than 40 years, she has suffered the loss of her freedom, her babies and all her tank mates. For the last 10 years, she has been in complete social isolation from others of her kind. This is what his loneliness and captivity have done to him.”
