Ula

Ula (pronounced oo-LAH) was a 2 year old female killer whale who lived at Loro Parque in Tenerife, Spain. She was born tail-first on the morning of September 22nd, 2018. Her mother was Morgan and her father was Keto. She passed away on August 10th, 2021, from a twisted intestine.

Birth and Early Life[]

In June of 2010, a young killer whale was found alone, weak and malnourished near Ameland, an island off the coast of the Netherlands. Because she was sick and her pod was nowhere near by, she was captured by Dolfinarium Harderwijk and taken to their park for rehabilitation. She was given the name "Morgan". She slowly became stronger and began to eat and swim on her own. ^[1] Although Morgan eventually grew healthy, because her family was unknown and she was so young judges in the Netherlands decided that she could not be released. The decision was made to move Morgan to Loro Parque. Animal Rights groups protested this ruling and tried to appeal it, but it remained in place. ^[2] In November of 2011 Morgan was moved to Loro Parque where she met their resident whales, Keto, Kohana, Skyla, Tekoa and Adán. ^[3] Upon her arrival Morgan was severely raked and bitten by some of the other whales at the park. ^[4] Eventually a scientific study revealed that Morgan had some sort of hearing deficit. ^[5] At the time all of the whales at Loro Parque, including Morgan, were owned by SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. ^{[6] [7]}

Following years of intense public criticism, massive protests and declining attendance, SeaWorld announced an end to their killer whale breeding program in March of 2016. ^[8] SeaWorld confirmed that this decision also affected their whales at Loro Parque. ^[9] In July of 2017, however, Loro Parque suggested that Morgan could become a mother in the future. ^[10] In November, SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc, transferred ownership of Morgan, Keto, Tekoa, Kohana, Skyla and Adán to Loro Parque, citing a "contractual dispute". ^[7] Just a month later, in December, Loro Parque announced that Morgan was about 6 months pregnant. ^{[11] [12]} According to Loro Parque this pregnancy was not planned. ^[13] Morgan's pregnancy is almost certainly the reason that SeaWorld ended their contract with Loro Parque.

On the morning of September 22nd, 2018, Morgan went into labor, and not long after she gave birth to her first calf. No other whales were present for the birth. Just seconds after the calf was born Morgan escorted them to the surface. ^[14] At the time of her birth 5 other whales lived at Loro Parque: her mother, Keto, Kohana, Skyla, Tekoa and Adán. ^[15]

Although Morgan was an attentive mother and her calf began to nurse very quickly, Morgan's milk productive was lower than normal. ^[16] Unfortunately Morgan could not produce enough milk, and her calf was separated from her just about a day later to receive bottle feeding. Loro Parque also announced that the calf was a female. ^[17] Even when separated from her calf Morgan still seemed to be interested in her, and she could be seen waiting by the gate to the pool that her daughter was in. ^[18] Just a few months after her birth Ula appeared to get some sort of chin injury. ^[19] By January of 2019 Morgan had been reunited by her daughter, and on the 13th of that month Loro Parque announced that the calf was named "Ula". ^[20] Although Loro Parque claimed that Ula was in good health despite needing to be separated from her mother and bottle fed, ^[21] Ula was photographed showing multiple physical issues. By January of 2019, Ula was covered in lesions and had discolored skin and a deformed melon. The lesions on Ula's left pectoral fin were particularly severe. Ula's tail was also covered in needle marks, seemingly from frequent blood draws and administration of IV fluids or antibiotics. ^[18] Loro Parque responded to these claims in a blog post a few days later, calling them "absurd" and "ridiculous", and once again stated that Ula was in "perfect medical conditions". ^[22] In another blog post, despite clear evidence to the contrary, Loro Parque denied that Ula had any of these issues, and even referred to several of them as "normal". ^[23] The following day they reiterated yet again that she was in a "perfect state of health". ^[24] Regardless, many of her physical issues continued on for at least several more months. ^[25]

By June of 2019 Ula was introduced to Skyla and Kohana, the other 2 female killer whales at the park. ^[26] Ula was introduced to the rest of the orcas at the park soon after. In July, Ula's father was confirmed to be Keto. ^[27]

Life at Loro Parque[]

Death[]

In late-April of 2021, just over a month after the death of Skyla, Loro Parque revealed that Ula's health was deteriorating. They announced that Ula was suffering from some sort of intestinal problem. They did not clarify what specific issue Ula was experiencing. ^[28] In May, however, Loro Parque announced that Ula's health had drastically improved, and that the inflammation in her digestive system was going down. Ula was reportedly in much better "spirits", and was playing and exploring again. ^[29] By May Ula had lost a drastic amount of weight. ^{[30] [31] [32]} By June, Ula, although still thin, was back in shows. ^[33] Ula remained in shows in July, although she seemed to lose even more weight. ^{[34] [35]} That same month Loro Parque announced that Ula, despite being extremely underweight, was in "perfect condition". ^[36] By July 24th Ula was extremely emaciated, and she had developed a severe "peanut head". Ula was also being actively monitored in the medical pool by staff. ^[37]

On August 10th, 2021, Ula passed away. Loro Parque announced her death a few hours later. Although they did not give a cause of death, they said that a necropsy would be carried out soon after. ^[38] In a response to PETA on August 14th, Loro Parque heavily suggested that Ula died from her "intestinal issues", although they still did not give an actual cause of death, or explain what specific "intestinal issues" Ula suffered from in the first place. ^[39] The following day they gave almost the exact response to the Free Morgan Foundation, although this time they also promoted their short film "Morgan: The Brave Orca", and criticized the marine mammal rescue operations in New Zealand. ^[40] Her her cause of death was confirmed to be intestinal torsion in a ZEMBLA documentary on November 4th, 2021. Loro Parque themselves has not mentioned Ula, or said anything else about her death, since the original post about her death.

One possible cause of Ula's intestinal issues and subsequent death may be the bottle feeding that she received as a calf. In July of 2021, a young killer whale named Toa became stranded in New Zealand. Scientists, vets and rescuers in New Zealand reached out to dozens of killer whale experts around the world for advice, including staff from Loro Parque. In emails between Loro Parque staff and rescuers, Loro Parque staff revealed that feeding calves too much formula at once can cause a "delay in digestion and inflammation of the digestive system", and that their previous bottle-fed calf, Victoria, had died from issues caused by over-feeding formula. Although Victoria was much younger than Morgan when she died, Vicky also died from "intestinal issues". Loro Parque also explained that the formula they give to calves does not have the same amount of calories as the milk produced by the mother, so reaching the necessary number of calories while formula feeding a calf can be difficult. ^[41] Although nothing has been confirmed, Ula may have developed chronic digestive issues because of receiving too much formula at once, or because she possibly suffered from calorie deficits as a calf.

Galleries[]

• Photos of Ula
• Videos of Ula

Transfer History[]

Ula was never transferred out of Loro Parque.

References[]