News 2019

1/13/19-Morgan's calf has been named Ula!

1/25/19-Ula appears to be having some health issues, with recent skin problems. Most prominently her pectoral flipper. We will keep you updated on any further developments and hope Ula can recover quickly!

1/25/19-Information on the orcas at Srednyaya Bay in Russia, now named Center for Adaptation of Marine Mammals, have come out. There are now 11 orcas, when originally there was reported to be 12. Apparently people have been told the 12th whale was released, though it seems more likely that it would have died. New pictures have been released and show many of the whales have skin lesions due to the freezing water temperature. Of the remaing 11, at least three are males and four are females. The males are named Leha, Tikhon and Kirill. The females are named Zoya, Zina, Gaika and Alexandra. Another whale of unknown sex is named Vitas.

1/28/19-We are very sad to announce that Kayla passed away this morning at SeaWorld Orlando. Kayla was a 30 year old female who was born at SeaWorld San Antonio. She will be missed by many. RIP Kayla.

1/31/19-Despite activists claims of Ula being in poor health, Loro Parque has stated Ula is in perfect health and spending a lot of time with Morgan.

2/1/19-The names of the remaining three orcas captured in Russia in 2018 are now known. They are Forest, Harja and Vasilievna. Tikhon's name is actually Tihon. Vasilievna is a female while Forest and Harja's sex are unknown.

2/23/19-One of the Russian orcas at Srednyaya Bay has disappeared. Although the people who run the facility are saying the whale escaped, it seems more likely that the whale passed away. The other alternative is that the whale may have been secretly moved to another facility. Nothing has been confirmed and it is unknown which whale is missing. The site will be updated when more information becomes available.

3/5/19-The whale who has disappeared from the Center for Adaptation for Marine Mammals was Kirill and it is assumed he passed away given how much his health had deteriorated over the last couple of months.

5/10/19-The 10 Russian orcas being held at the Center for Adaptation have been deemed releasable. It will probably be some time before they are released though as they are prepared for their release.

5/10/19-Shanghai Haichang's smallest female orca is said to be named Dora.

5/17/19-The 10 orcas at the Center for Adaptation may be released sooner than expected. They are expected to be released at the end of May or early June. But not released into the waters they were captured from, which is concerning for there well being.

6/23/19-The process to release the ten captured Russian orcas at the Center for Adaptation has began. The process began with transporting two of the orcas, along with six belugas, to the area they were originally captured from. They are scheduled to have ten days of rehab before the release. The ones handling the release are the same groups who captured the orcas and belugas in the first place. The release process is expected to take around four months.

6/27/19-Two orcas have been released in Russia. The two orcas are said to be Leha and Vasilievna.

6/29/19-Ula has now met Kohana and Skyla. While she is most often seen with Morgan, she has been spending a lot of time with the other two females as well.

7/16/19-Three more orcas have been released from the Center for Adaptation into Russian waters. A three year old male (Vitas), two year old female (Alexandra) and a five year old female (Zina) were released. These are the supposed whales that were released.

7/25/19-The three Russian orcas that were released on July 16th have gone their separate ways. Alexandra has been staying close to shore and fishermen have been feeding her. She had not been kept with Zina and therefore had not been able to bond with her. Being the more experience hunter with her age, Zina has gone further out to sea according to her tracking device. The male, Vitas, has also gone off on his own.

8/2/19-Three more orcas are being transported from the Center for Adaptation to Russian waters to be released. The three are suspected to be Zoya, Tihon and Gaika. It is also believed that Forest and Harja are the two remaining orcas left at the Center. This would mean Alexandra, Vitas and Zina were likely the orcas released on July 16th.

8/4/19-Nalani at SeaWorld Orlando seems to be going through some sort of health issue. She has been out of shows for the past few days and has now been seen quarantined to one of the medical pools. No further information on what may be going on at this time. We are keeping her in our thoughts and hoping for a quick recovery.

8/6/19-Tihon, Gaika and Zoya were released today.

8/7/19-We are relieved to hear that Nalani is doing well. She has been seen with other whales and has been back in shows. It's unknown why she was out of shows for a few days, but whatever the reason, it seems she is doing well.

8/22/19-Female orca Harja and male orca Forest were released on August 22nd. Now all of the Russian orcas remaining from the 2018 captures have been released. Alexandra is still on her own, but she is in the general area where Zoya, Tihon and Gaika are hunting. Vasilievna has also been seen with a pod of seven other orcas.

9/15/19-Suma Aqualife Park has announced they plan on renovating their aquarium and adding a killer whale show. Expected opening time would be 2023.

9/19/19-The newly announce Suma Aqualife Park is planned to open and work together with Kamogawa Sea World with further initiative to research and take part in artificial insemination.

9/22/19-According to Ceta Base and visitors at Loro Parque, Ula's father is Keto after DNA testing was done. Loro Parque has yet to make an official announcement though.