Kiska: Plight of the Loneliest Orca in the World
By Mark J. Palmer
Orcas do not belong in captivity. The story of the orca known as Kiska is a chronicle of the terrible injustice and inhumanness of the cetacean captivity trade.
Kiska is a female orca held at MarineLand located in Niagara Falls, Canada.
This sprawling complex confines hundreds of animals and is notorious for alleged violations of animal welfare laws, in keeping with its former pugnacious owner John Holer, who died in 2018. Demonstrators, concerned about the welfare of the animals, hold regular protests, but Holer, a veteran of circuses in Europe, who had established MarineLand in 1961, often sued activists who complained about MarineLand rather than fix problems raised by critics.
The park recently closed for the winter season, but it is unclear if it will open again in spring 2022 – some claim that the owners will close the park permanently and sell the land to developers, as there are persistent rumors that MarineLand is up for sale by Holer’s family. So far there are no takers.
Large numbers of marine mammals, including many orcas, have died at the park. According to Ontario Captive Animal Watch, the park has housed 26 orcas throughout its checkered history, and of those, 20 have died in the park. The rest were sold or traded away, except for Kiska, alone in her tank.
Kiska in her tank at Marineland. Credit: Dr. Ingrid Visser, Orca Research Trust.
Kiska was captured from the wild in 1979 as a young orca when she was about three years old – she is currently estimated to be about 45 years old. Both Kiska and Keiko, the orca star of the hit movie, “Free Willy,” were transferred to MarineLand after being captured in Iceland.
Keiko was later sold and transported to Reno Adventura, a marine park in Mexico City. After his Free Willy stardom, Keiko was rehabilitated and moved to his home waters in Iceland by the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute and its partners.
Kiska, however, languished at MarineLand, and since 2011 she has been in solitary confinement. Although she has given birth to five calves, all died an early death. We know mother orcas suffer terribly at the death or separation from their calves. All other captive orcas in North America, such as SeaWorld’s orcas and Tokitae (Lolita) at the Miami Seaquarium, have companion orcas and/or dolphins in their tanks. But, Kiska remains alone.
Orcas are social animals. Studies show that wild orcas, especially females, will live together as a pod for virtually their entire lives. Captivity not only robs orcas of the freedom of the seas, to which they are superbly adapted, but also breaks up families and forces animals that are strangers to live together in tiny tanks.
Kiska shows numerous signs of stress and boredom due to her captivity. She floats listlessly at the surface (termed “logging”) for extended periods, something wild orcas seldom do. She conducts “thrashing behavior” (violently moving her head and upper body, typically in the shallow water and alongside the glass window of her tank), which she has been doing for decades. Such thrashing behavior has never been documented in the wild.
Her teeth are in bad shape, with most of them worn down to the gums, likely due to Kiska chewing on concrete or metal gates in her tank.
Kiska's teeth, like many captive orcas (but rarely wild orcas), have been ground down, exposing the pulp cavities and harmful to her health. Credit: Ontario Captive Animal Watch.
Dr. Ingrid Visser, a marine scientist who has studied orcas for more than two decades, stated: “I’ve observed all the orcas on public display around the world, and Kiska’s situation is diabolical. She is clearly suffering and needs help.”
Another colleague, Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project and an authority on marine mammal cognition, explains: “These kinds of repetitive, abnormal behaviors are called stereotypies, and they are common across a wide range of species, including humans, in situations that lack physical or social stimulation, choice and variety.”
Last May, Canada’s Animal Welfare Service issued two orders to the park to repair the water system supporting the park’s marine mammals, due to serious water quality problems causing “distress” in many animals.
Two months later, the Canadian nonprofit organization Animal Justice filed a complaint against MarineLand, contending the park is breaking Canadian law due to the inhumane conditions under which Kiska is being held.
In 2019, Canada passed legislation that prohibits breeding, importation, and exportation of captive whales and dolphins, although there are exemptions if a certain action would be in the animal’s best interest. Therefore, no orca could be imported into the tiny concrete tank system as a companion orca for Kiska, assuming they could even find one for sale or loan.
If MarineLand closes permanently, the worst case scenario would be if Kiska were moved to a marine park in a different country, where Canada’s animal welfare protection laws would not apply. But the best case scenario would move Kiska to the seaside Whale Sanctuary Project facility being built in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Kiska is all alone in her tank. Credit: Ontario Captive Animal Watch.
Could Kiska be retired to live out her life in a seaside sanctuary, with companion orcas? IMMP, Animal Justice, the Whale Sanctuary Project, Ontario Captive Animal Watch, and other organizations believe so, but talks with MarineLand have not gone far.
IMMP is currently working with the Whale Sanctuary Project to establish a permanent seaside sanctuary in Nova Scotia. This cold-water sanctuary would be ideal for Kiska and MarineLand’s beluga whales, if we can convince the park to give up ownership of these sentient beings.
Diane Fraleigh, a representative of Ontario Captive Animal Watch, which has been advocating for Kiska since 2013, states that: “Kiska is the only captive orca in the world who lives in complete social isolation from any other marine mammal, and has been doing so for more than a decade. She has little to no enrichment to help keep her mind and body healthy.
“I can’t imagine a more miserable existence for such a highly sentient, highly social animal,” Fraleigh continued. “The best way to help Kiska is to donate to the Whale Sanctuary Project to help build Kiska and other captive orcas a retirement home.”
MarineLand should do much more to help Kiska, rather than simply leaving her in her boredom and frustration floating, thrashing, and endlessly circling her concrete tank.
Retirement to a seaside sanctuary would be the best future for lonely Kiska.
Can you donate to support the work of the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute to help rescue Kiska and other captive whales and dolphins around the world? IMMP has been successful promoting an end to captivity, helping close or block construction of many facilities, supporting laws passed in several countries, such as India and Canada, to phase out captivity, and supporting efforts to establish seaside sanctuaries for retired whales and dolphins. Please help. Thank you!
