Sonya

Sonya (pronounced son-YUH), or 索尼娅, is an approximately 13-year-old female Russian transient killer whale who lives at Chimelong Spaceship. She was captured sometime in July of 2015 from the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia at approximately 3 years old. In early March of 2026, Sonya gave birth to a calf.

Early Life & Capture[]

Sonya was born sometime around 2012 in the waters around Russia in the Northern Pacific. As a Russian transient whale, she likely grew up on a diet primarily consisting of marine mammals rather than fish. At around 3-years-old, in July of 2015, she was captured in the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia. She was likely captured alongside Katenka.

Following capture, Sonya and Katenka were moved to the TINRO Center in Nakhodka, Russia. At the time of or shortly after arrival they were likely introduced to Malvina, Panghu, Dora, Cookie and Sean.

In October, about three months later, Sonya and Katenka were loaded onto a plane and sent to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom.

Life at Chimelong[]

Upon their arrival at Chimelong, Katenka and Sonya met the park's two other females, Jade and Nukka, and the park's five males, Tyson, Kaixin, Nakhod, Bandhu, and Chad.

In 2016, all 9 of the whales were moved to the killer whale breeding base at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, where they were soon revealed to the public. Sonya, along with Kaixin, Tyson, Jade, Nukka, and Bandhu were featured in the media released by the park.

Public Debut[]

Sometime in or around June of 2023, Sonya, alongside Tyson, Kaixin, Yilong, Katniss, Nakhod, Katenka, Chad, and Bandhu were moved to Chimelong Spaceship.

Trivia[]

• Before her name was publicly revealed, she was given the nickname "Little One" as an identifier by the English-speaking cetacean community.

Transfer History[]

Galleries[]

• Photos of Sonya
• Videos of Sonya