Last Orca Born at SeaWorld Dies After Suffering a Lung Infection

Kyara, the last orca to be born at SeaWorld, died at only three months

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Kyara was the last orca to be born in captivity at SeaWorld in San Antonio, Texas. Unfortunately, the park officials announced on Monday that she died. She was only three months old, but was suffering from several health problems which had only gotten worse.

The orca died after a severe infection

SeaWorld had started a breeding program for orcas, which faced quite a lot of controversy. Kyara was the last orca to be born out of this program. In 2016, the officials announced they would close this breeding program, and the orcas present in the park at the time were to be the last ones to live there.

At the time when this announcement was made, Takara, Kyara’s mother, was already pregnant with the baby orca. Therefore, since then, no other killer whales bred. In fact, Kyara belonged to the last generation of orcas, as she was the last one to be born in captivity.

The officials at SeaWorld said the baby orca received treatment for an infection, which was most likely pneumonia. However, a team of veterinarians needs to perform a post-mortem analysis. Only then will the cause of death be clear.

SeaWorld is blamed for keeping killer whales in captivity

The company wanted to assure everybody the calf didn’t suffer an infection because of being kept in captivity. Whales and dolphins often contract pneumonia, both while living in wilderness and while being kept in facilities.

However, scientists say captivity is extremely harmful for orcas. SeaWorld claimed the life expectancy of an orca in the wild was similar to that in captivity, but they highly doubt that. Many animal rights militants have condemned SeaWorld for breeding and keeping orcas in captivity. The critique became harsher after three people were killed by Tilikum, a captive orca from SeaWorld.
Image Source: Flickr

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John Birks

John holds a diploma in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He covers the technology, social media, green business, eco-travel, politics, arts culture.