Facility: Vancouver Aquarium
First Orca Held:Moby Doll, survived 55 days in captivity
Last Orca Held: Bjossa, was moved to Seaworld San Diego when a companion for her could not be found, to live with other orcas, and also to receive better medical care.
Total Orcas Held:11
Deaths: 7
Transfers: 3
Releases:1
Average Age at Death: 10 (including infant deaths), 17.5 (excluding infant deaths)
Births: 3
Orcas From Wild: 7
Years Active: 1964-2001 (still active, with no orca program)
Notable Facts: Vancouver Aquarium has kept 5 orcas without orca companions. Moby Doll, for his entire life in captivity, Skana for about a year, Hyak 2 for about a year, Kyosha (separated from Bjossa for medical care), and Bjossa (for almost 4 years). Vancouver Aquarium is often noted as the facility which started killer whale captivity, with Moby Doll, though this is false as Wanda at Marineland of the Pacific was the first captive orca. Vancouver aquarium had a very unsuccessful breeding program, which it abandoned after Bjossa’s last successful calf, and to my knowledge, was the first facility to put an orca on birth control. Vancouver Aquarium kept orcas with Pacific White Sided Dolphins, or at least did at the beginning and end of the orca program. After sending Bjossa to Seaworld, there were and still are no plans to ever continue holding orcas, however, the Vancouver Aquarium did help release Springer back into her native pod. Springer was never kept in a tank though, and her captive life was spent in a sea net with minimal human contact. Currently the aquarium holds two white sided dolphins from Japan, two rescued harbour porpoises, a rescued false killer whale, and a wild caught beluga as well as her captive born daughter. Recently, the Vancouver Parks board voted to stop captive cetacean breeding at the aquarium, but the aquarium is fighting back, trying to overthrow the ruling. The Vancouver aquarium is one of only three Canadian facilities to have ever held orcas, and is often regarded as one of the best aquariums in North America, and the world.
Photos belong to their owners (most did not have links attached for me to ask for permission) I WILL take them down if asked by their authors.
