Kiska (pronounced KEE-skah) was an approximately 46-year-old female Icelandic killer whale who lived at Marineland of Canada. Kiska had 5 calves, although none of them survived for more than a few years. She passed away on March 9th, 2023 from an unspecified bacterial infection, according to Marineland. Kiska was the last captive killer whale in Canada and marked the official end of killer whale captivity in the country.

Capture and Early Life

Kiska was an Icelandic killer whale who was likely born sometime around 1976. She was captured at about 3 years old, sometime in October of 1979 near Ingólfshöfði, Iceland. Shortly after her capture, Kiska was moved to the Hafnarfjörður Aquarium. There, she met Keiko, King, Caren, an unnamed female, and Dzul-ha. At the end of November, Kiska, Keiko, the unnamed female, and Caren were purchased by Marineland Ontario and sent to Canada.

Life at MarineLand

Kiska's first calf was a male born on August 24, 1992. He only survived for 2 months. Her second calf was a male named Kanuck who was born on August 28, 1994 and died sometime in 1998. Her third calf was a male named Nova who was born on November 6, 1996 and died on August 20, 2001. Her fourth calf was a male named Hudson who was born on September 15, 1998 and died at age 6 in October 20, 2004. Hudson was her longest-living calf. Her last calf was a female named Athena who was born on August 8, 2004. Athena died in Spring of 2009. It has been thought that Kiska's mate, Kandu VII, may had passed down genes that resulted in multiple of his calves been born with illnesses.

In 2006, a young male orca named Ikaika was transferred form SeaWorld Orlando to Marineland. He had lived with Kiska, her daughter Athena, and Nootka V. When Nootka and Athena eventually passed away, Ikaika became Kiska's only companion. Ikaika would sometimes harass her which often led to separation between the two. In November of 2011, SeaWorld demanded to return Ikaika after learning of Marineland's mistreatment towards him. After a long custody battle, Ikaika was moved to SeaWorld San Diego, leaving Kiska the only living orca at Marineland Canada.

Appearance

Kiska had many small dark freckles on either side of her lower jaw, with a noticeably larger one visible on the right side roughly a quarter way down the jaw. The eye patch on her right side contained a large dark freckle at the top and a dark "finger" of black extending into it above her eye. She had a spike of white under her left "armpit". On her left side, Kiska's mouth notch had two points. Save for a few back teeth, nearly all of Kiska's teeth were worn down to the gums and most had drill holes. Her dorsal fin tilted to the left with a particularly warped posterior edge.

Death

On the afternoon of March 10th, 2023, various media outlets began reporting the death of Kiska, Marineland's last surviving killer whale. The aquarium itself has not released an official statement at this time but has confirmed that Kiska has passed. Kiska passed away on March 9th, 2023, and according to CHCH, was buried after a necropsy had been performed. According to Marineland themselves, Kiska passed away "peacefully" from an unspecified bacterial infection. The results from the necropsy have yet to be be made public.^[1]

Transfer History

Kiska's Transfer History

FROM:	TO:	ON:
Ingólfshöfði, Iceland	Capture Boat Guðrún, Iceland	Oct. ??, 1979
Capture Boat Guðrún, Iceland	Hafnarfjörður Aquarium, Iceland	Oct. ??, 1979
Hafnarfjörður Aquarium, Iceland	Marineland Ontario, Canada	Nov. 30, 1979

Galleries

• Photos of Kiska

References