Ferdinand

Ferdinand was a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) that lived at SeaWorld San Diego. He was captured from Hudson Bay, Canada on July 31st, 1975.

In 1969, the director of the Duisberg Zoo, Dr. Wolfgang Gewalt, attempted to catch a breeding pair of belugas for the zoo in the Hudson Bay. Unfortunately for him, both of the whales he caught, Moby and Allua, were females. Gewalt returned to Canada in an attempt to find a male beluga. Ferdinand was captured and shipped to his new home at the Duisburg Zoo. He was named after the Ferdinand Lentjes Donation, who financially backed the expedition.

In 1978, the zoo's beluga's were joined by a group of Commerson's dolphins. All of them except one ended up dying. Allua died in 1984 and Moby died in 1999, leaving Ferdinand and the last Commerson's dolphin alone. It was decided to ship both of them to SeaWorld San Diego. Yogi, the Commerson's dolphin, and Ferdinand arrived in San Diego on September 12th, 2004. Yogi died just two months after the transfer, and Ferdinand passed away on December 15th, 2023 from unknown causes.