Kiska, who has been dubbed the "world's loneliest orca", died on Friday at Marineland in Ontario, Canada. The 47-year-old female orca was in captivity for almost 40 years before succumbing. Her heartbreaking story came to light back in 2021 after a viral video exposed that she was slamming her head against the side of her tank.
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The Niagara fall theme park shared with St. Catharine's Standard that Kiska's health has been declining for weeks before her death.
“Marineland’s marine mammal care team and experts did everything possible to support Kiska’s comfort and will mourn her loss,” they said in a statement.
PETA, who has been closely involved with Kiska's case, reported on their website that the orca died of bacterial infection.
Kiska was captured in 1979 in the North Atlantic waters, alongside another orca, Kieko, who later starred in Free Willy. She was only three years old when she was separated from her family and taken into captivity.
Keiko was rehabilitated and successfully reintegrated into the waters of Iceland, while Kiska ended up being moved around several North American aquariums. She was finally transferred to Marineland in Ontario, where she spent the next decades in isolation.
During her stay in Marineland, she gave birth to five calves. Unfortunately, all of her babies died before they were seven years old due to unknown reasons.
Kiska used to have a tankmate, Ikaika, who was shipped back to SeaWorld San Diego in 2011. She has been alone and lonely since then.
In 2021, Kiska made news after video footage showed that she was slamming her head violently against the side of her tank. The video sparked outrage from the public, leading to various animal welfare groups fighting for her freedom.
"We've shared the footage with prov. authorities, who're investigating our legal complaint about the mental suffering we fear she's enduring," PETA shared on Twitter.
In another video, the orca was recorded floating listlessly on the surface of her pool. According to witnesses, she sometimes can be heard calling out for other orcas.
Kiska's videos went viral on social media and sparked the #freekiska movement. People were shocked by the heartbreaking videos.
There was an investigation following the viral videos and the theme park was charged with unauthorized use of animals.
Investigators for the Niagara Regional Police believe that Marineland violated the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act.
“During the investigation, it was found that dolphins and whales were utilized for entertainment purposes during the month of August, without being authorized to do so following an amendment to the Criminal Code under Bill S-203 on June 21, 2019,” explained NRPS.
Animal advocates fought for her freedom for over a decade but no changes were made. The park has maintained that Kiska was well taken care of during her time there.
Although the park has been under fire for the mistreatment of its animals before, prosecutors didn't pursue filing animal cruelty charges.
In Kiska's last known video footage before her death, the lonely whale can be seen swimming in circles in her tiny tank.
Calls for re-investigation have been made by Animal Justice and countless animal welfare advocates in light of Kiska's death.
Kiska was the last captive orca in Canada, as laws have been placed to ban captivity. Her death marks the end of whale captivity in the country but several orcas are still being held in U.S. theme parks and elsewhere all over the world.
RIP Kiska.
