Kamea

Kamea (pronounced kuh-MEH-ah) was an 11-year-old female hybrid killer whale who lived at SeaWorld San Antonio. She was born there tail-first on December 6th, 2013, at 12:08 AM CST. Her mother was Takara, an Icelandic killer whale, and her father was Kshamenk, an Argentinian killer whale, through artificial insemination, making Kamea 50% Icelandic, 50% Argentinian. Kamea passed away due to pneumonia on June 19th, 2025 at SeaWorld San Antonio.^[2]

Birth & Early Life[]

In 2011, Takara was artificially inseminated with sperm from an Argentinian killer whale named Kshamenk. Although she became pregnant, she suffered a miscarriage about 8 months later in 2012. Three months later, she was artificially inseminated for a second time and once again became pregnant. On the evening of December 5th, 2013, Takara went into labor. A little over an hour later, Kamea was born tail-first at 12:08 am CST on December 6th. ^[3] Previously, Takara had given birth to three other calves at all SeaWorld parks. So being an already experienced mother, Takara took excellent care of her newborn daughter and formed a strong bond with her. Within a few hours, Kamea began to nurse. A few days later, Kamea was already energetic and a strong swimmer. At the time of Kamea's birth, 5 other whales lived at the park: Takara, Sakari, Unna, Kyuquot, and Tuar. On December 17th, she and her mother were introduced to Sakari and Unna. The introduction went very well and the four were soon living together. Not long after, she met Ky and Tuar. She started to appear in shows as early as 3 months old. By the time she was four months old she was mimicking behaviors during shows, and by 7 months old she was actively participating in behaviors alongside her mother.

Life at SeaWorld San Antonio[]

Growing up, Kamea spent a lot of time with Takara, Sakari, and Unna, although she could be seen with Ky and Tuar as well. She had a strong bond with her trainers and enjoyed learning new behaviors. One thing that stood out about her compared to the other whales at SeaWorld was her big personality. ^[4]In December 2015, Unna passed away after her health continued to deteriorate for the months prior. Kamea would spend occasional time away from her mom to be grouped alone with Sakari, but this would sometimes cause tension between the two. In April 2016, Sakari and Kamea were involved in an incident with each other during a "Dine with Shamu" show. They were separated from Takara, and the two young whales reportedly started fighting, Sakari emerged from the water with blood on her chin.

In March of 2017, SeaWorld announced that Takara was pregnant. Just a few weeks later on April 19th, Takara gave birth to Kyara, the last killer whale to be born at SeaWorld. ^[5] Kyara’s birth got international attention and many people instantly fell in love with her. Soon Kamea and Sakari were introduced to their new little sister. The four of them were very close and spent a lot of time together. At just a few weeks old Kyara was already very active and mimicking her mom and sisters. Although things were looking good for the calf at first, Kyara developed pneumonia and had to be separated from her mother and sisters for treatment. She passed away on July 24th, 2017, at just over 3 months old. Although all of the whales were reportedly deeply affected by her loss, they seemed to be recovering by the end of July.

Kamea spent most of her time with her mom Takara and sister Sakari. Occasionally, she would perform in shows with Kyuquot. She was a reliable performer and would put all her energy into behaviors. Her father, Kshamenk, continues to live in Argentina at the Mundo Marino. She was the smallest and youngest whale in the San Antonio pod.

Death[]

On June 19th, 2025, SeaWorld announced that Kamea passed away. It was later revealed that she had died from pneumonia, much like her youngest sister.

Personality[]

Kamea was a very curious whale. She enjoyed secondary reinforcements, and they were almost as reinforcing to her as food. One of her favorite reinforcements was ice. Every day, when trucks full of ice got delivered to Shamu Stadium, Kamea was known to wait by the edge of the pool and watch as the trucks pull up and deliver her ice. [1] Just like her mother and older sister, she enjoyed visual stimulation. She also enjoyed surprises. She found it very engaging when trainers jump out at her or interrupt her during a behavior. Kamea loved to watch and interact with guests. ^[6] Before shows, she would rest at the glass and splash guests that walk past her. SeaWorld described her as “the small whale with the big personality”, and also a whale full of sass.

Appearance[]

Kamea was the smallest whale at SeaWorld San Antonio. Despite the fact that Kamea was half Argentinian she looked very Icelandic. She had light blue eyes. The front of her right ocular notch (eyepatch) is extremely smooth and has only two tiny "fingers" at the top. There is a small freckle at the front of her eyepatch, at the front and close to the bottom of it. Much like her mother she has another, fainter freckle it in the center. Her left eyepatch has a small, but still pronounced, "finger" that stretches above her eye. The front of her left eyepatch is very similar to Takara and Kotar’s, but less distinguishable. There is also a tiny freckle about halfway along the top. Both eyepatches taper to a pointy V-shape at the back, although the left one is more curved. The back of her right eyepatch is slightly smudged. She has a closed saddle patch that is noticeable darker than her mother and sister’s. Both of her subocular notches (mouth chips) are very small and smooth. There is a tiny, faint freckle behind her left mouth chip. Along her mouth she has very little white on her upper jaw. Her shoulder notches are small and pointy, and stick out over her pectoral fins. There is a light freckle on her anterior ventral field behind her left pectoral fin. The front of her chin is very brown. The edges of her flank and fluke field are very smooth. Due to her age Kamea’s dorsal fin is still very small and rounded. Her dorsal fin is not collapsed in any way.

Trivia[]

• Kamea is a Hawaiian name that means "precious one" ^[7] or "the one". ^[8]
• Her name was announced by SeaWorld on February 3rd, 2014. ^[9]

Galleries[]

• Photos of Kamea
• Videos of Kamea

Transfer History[]

Kamea was never transferred out of SeaWorld San Antonio.

References[]