- 1/8/23-The Moskvarium has announced that Narnia, has sadly, passed away. They have not specified the date of death, but that the cause of death was intestinal volvulus. The cause of death was revealed a few days after her death, so it is assumed she passed away in early January. She was estimated to be 17 years old. Rest in peace Narnia.
- 3/10/23-Marineland Canada has announce the passing of Kiska on March 9th. She was estimated to be 47 years old. She had been battling a bacterial infection. Rest in peace Kiska.
- 6/23/23-Moskvarium announced that Nord has passed away. The cause of death was acute peptic ulcers. Rest in peace Nord.
- 7/4/23-According to China Cetacean Alliance, Shanghai has announced that they have suspended orca shows. Shanghai has only said it is to "allow the killer whale family to enjoy a better living environment." The reasoning behind this though, is that it is suspected Cookie will be giving birth to her second calf very soon. It has been rumored for a while that she is pregnant, though the park has not confirmed anything at this point.
- 7/24/23-China Cetacean Alliance announced that Cookie has given birth, but the calf did not survive.
- 7/24/23-A video has surface showing three orcas in Chimelong Ocean Kingdom's new "Spaceship" killer whale habitat, with one of the whales being a young calf. The Spaceship is expected to open to the public in August.
- 7/25/23-Another video of four orcas in Chimelong's main show tank has been posted online showing an additional adult male with three possible females or younger males.
- 8/9/23-Pictures have finally been released showing the two whales that have been kept in a holding tank for Wuxi Changqiao Ocean Kingdom since 2017. Due to funding issues, there have been multiple slow downs in construction throughout the years. It also states they are permitted to have the orcas until October 11, 2023. They would have to reapply for a permit to continue housing them or move the orcas elsewhere if they don't. Here is the link to the article.
- 8/18/23-Miami Seaquarium has announced that their lone orca, 57 year old Lolita, also known as Tokitae, passed away on August 18th after showing serious signs of discomfort. The aquarium states they believe it was due to a renal condition. Rest in peace.
- 8/26/23-Cookie and Cody have finally been reintroduced to one another. The two have been seen together in Shanghai's underwater viewing area.
- 8/29/23-While not confirmed, it has been highly suspected that Dora at Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park is pregnant. Based on her size, in comparison to Cookie's recent pregnancy, she should be in the later stage of her pregnancy.
- 9/6/23-China Orca News has posted information from Chimelong regarding their orcas. Chimelong has confirmed they do have 12 orcas, with 3 of them being births. 3 whales, Nukka, Loki and another female are still at the holding facility. The first calf born was named Yilong, the second was named Loki and the third is Katniss. Loki was hand raised by trainers and Katniss is referred to as a second child, assuming this means the second calf born to the same mother.
- 9/9/23-Chimelong is set to have public trials start on September 11th.
- 9/10/23-Chimelong has posted a video with footage of their whales in preparation for their upcoming opening.
- 9/11/23-Yilong's birthdate has been confirmed to be April 5th, 2019. Yilong and Katniss share the same mother.
- 9/14/23-Loki was born on April 17th, 2021 and Katniss on January 27, 2022.
- 9/28/23-Chimelong has posted a video on their Weibo showing a backstage introduction to some of the whales. The whales are shown shortly after the 1 hour and 54 minute mark. In the video, it is confirmed Yilong is a male. Katinka is the mother of Yilong and Katniss. She is not currently pregnant and is the matriarch of the pod. Tyson is the father of Yilong. Kaishin is one of the younger male orcas. It confirms IDs for Tyson, Katinka, Kaishin and Yilong. Tyson weighs in at about 14,330 lbs and Kaishin is about 6,845 lbs. Chimelong's facility is almost 18 million gallons of water. Two previous holding areas were built to house the whales until Chimelong Spaceship opened. Here is the link to the video-https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321324950637585498162
- 10/17/23-Moskvarium has confirmed that Naja is pregnant. They confirmed she became pregnant naturally, meaning Nord is the father. She is 15 months into her pregnancy and due to give birth around December. Moskvarium has also confirmed her estimated age to be 11.
- 10/18/23-Marineland Antibes announced Moana passed away between October 17th-18th. He was found unresponsive in his tank on the morning of the 18th, having passed away unexpectedly overnight. A necropsy will be performed.
- 10/28/23-The other large adult male at Chimelong is named Nakhod.
- 11/13/23-There are rumors Lovey is pregnant with her third calf, via artificial insemination, at Kamogawa Sea World. Rumors started circulating around Spring 2023 due to her decreased activity on behaviors that are more strenuous on her abdomen and she has also been seen having ultrasounds more often. Kamogawa and Port of Nagoya trainers have also been said to have announced the pregnancy to guests, though nothing has been officially confirmed.
- 11/18/23-Moskvarium has stated they are considering a sea pen for Naja and her unborn calf. They have had financial troubles over the years and appear to not want to house orcas anymore. We expect this is unlikely to happen, but only time will tell. Moving her and the calf to China seems like a more likely option.
- 11/18/23-Russian orcas who were moved to China had names changed after the move. The original known names were Orpheus (M), Grace (F), Lucky (F), Rainbow (M), Lorrie (F), Slava (M), Valya (F), Valencia (F), Vanessa (F), Felicia (F), Big (M), Baby (M) and Nadezhda (F). It is still possible some of these names were kept since there are still unknown names for whales in China.
- 11/19/23-Kobe Suma Sea World is expected to open their new killer whale stadium in June 2024. Rumors are the whales could be imported in early 2024. There has also been a lot of talk of Marineland Antibes sending their whales to the Japan parks, which may be around early 2024 as well if this turns out to be true.
- 11/20/23-China Orca News has confirmed the remaining names of Chimelong's orcas. The females are Sonya and Jade. The males are Bandhu and Chad. Also, the correct spelling for two names has been confirmed: Katenka and Kaixin. Jade is the whale still at the breeding facility with Nukka and Loki.
- 12/11/23-China Cetacean Alliance confirmed that Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park suspended the killer whale show. Supposedly, it was suspended about a week ago. This could mean that Dora has given birth or is expected to shortly. With Cookie's past two pregnancies, we believe the killer whale show was only suspended, at most, a couple days. Usually, they suspend the show once the whales show signs of active labor.
- 12/15/23-Shanghai Haichang has announced the killer whale show will resume on 12/16/23.
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