#orky

July 29

50 years ago, Orky was moved from his temporary sea pen in BC to Marineland of the Pacific in California.

July 25

Today was the day when two young males were taken alone from a pod.

First Orky, from Northern resident I-pod (I know, it sounds hilarious) in British Columbia, 50 years ago today, in 1967. He ended up becoming Marineland of the Pacific’s first trained killer whale, after they had captured the very first killer whale, a sickly female named Wanda, in 1961. Orky was also the first killer whale to be caught in British Columbia.

Then 38 years ago Dzul-ha, a very young male who was captured alone in Iceeland in the summer of 1979, but he was joined by more whales in the fall, which is why there are two whales in the photo (and I don’t know who is who).

Dzul-ha moved to different mediocre locations in Germany and Switzerland, being the only killer whale ever displayed in Switzerland, and later moving to Latin America and becoming the only killer whale ever kept by a traveling circus. All the exact dates are unknown, but he died in 1983.

It is said the circus was based in Mexico, but this video of him being moved to the circus states he came to Buenos Aires, Argentina:

Some photos Orcahome claims to be of Orky 1, but are actually of Orky 2.

I recently realized, while trying to compare the two, that some of these photos are actually of Orky 2, not 1.

The first one is especially clear, but the latter can also be told from looking at the eyepatch (second, in the background - it's Corky 1 in the foreground of course), and from the belly marking just by the left flipper, on the third.

Here's Orky 2's belly/chest markings.

And here I made complete ID ref sheets for Orky and Orky 2.

https://image.ibb.co/k4vvHa/Orky.png