Kiska Dead: ‘World’s loneliest’ orca, dead at age 47

According to the Ontario government, Kiska, Marineland’s lone orca, died Thursday, March 9, 2023, after more than 40 years in captivity at the Niagara Falls facility.

In 1979, the orca Kiska, estimated to be 47 years old, was sighted in Icelandic waters. She was taken alongside Keiko, who gained fame in the movie Free Willy. The two of them lived in Marineland together for a few years in the 1980s.

In 1985, Keiko was sold to a Mexican aquarium, and she ended up at SeaWorld. Kiska, the last orca in captivity in Canada, had been swimming by herself in her tank for more than a decade.

Kiska has swam alone beginning in 2011 when SeaWorld won a guardianship fight with Marineland over Ikaika, a youthful male executioner whale.

Kiska performed at Marineland for a number of years, however, she has not performed in over a decade. While at Marineland, Kiska gave birth to five calves, however, all of them died young.

According to Brent Ross, Marineland performed a necropsy while officers from the province’s Animal Welfare Services were present at the park on Friday. The park informed the Niagara Falls Review that Kiska’s health had been deteriorating recently despite intensive interventions by her caregivers, Marineland’s veterinarian team, and international veterinarians.