FACTS

- Orky (OR-kee) is derived from the name orca.
- He was likely born in the year 1962.
- He's lived at Marineland of the Pacific and SeaWorld San Diego.
- He's 100% Northern Resident orca and was once a member of A5 pod.

HISTORY

Orky II was captured in April 1968, from the waters of Pender Harbour off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. Along with him were six other orcas. He and a female named Corky* were sold to Marineland of the Pacific in California.

At the time of their arrival, Marineland already owned a male orca named Orky*, so the new male was called Snorky until the original Orky passed away in July 1969. Five months later in December, three more orcas arrived at the park, an unnamed male and two females, Patches* and Corky II. The original Corky passed away a year later in 1970. Patches and the unnamed male followed in 1971 and 1972. Orky and Corky remained.

Orky and Corky became star attractions at Marineland. They were the most famous pair of orcas in any marine park.

During a performance one day, Orky was carrying a trainer on his back. Orky didn't return to the platform like he was suppose to, so the trainer decided to swim back. Orky grabbed the man by the leg and held him underwater until the man almost lost consciousness, and then was released. Trainers believed Orky might have been angry since the trainer attempted to swim back to the platform himself which would result in Orky not getting his reward.

On February 28, 1977, Corky surprised her trainers when she went into labor with her first calf. No one knew she was even pregnant until the calf's flukes appeared. Orky acted as an aunite and guided the baby to the surface. Their first baby was a little male, and he became the first orca conceived and born alive in captivity. Sadly, the calf passed away after 16 days. It had failed to nurse. Orky would father six more calves with Corky between 1978 and 1987, but none survived past 46 days for different reasons.

On May 2, 1978, Orky was involved in another incident with one of his trainers. Jill Stratton was pinned at the bottom of the pool by Orky for at least four minutes. Stratton survived the ordeal, and told the press she wasn't angry with Orky.

In December 1986, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, the owner of the SeaWorld parks, bought out Marineland. On January 21, 1987, Orky and Corky were moved to their new home at SeaWorld San Diego. They joined three females: Nootka*, Kenau*, and Kandu V*. SeaWorld officials hoped that Orky would breed with their females in order to expand their orca population.

On November 21, 1987, trainer John Sillick was riding on the back of Nootka when Orky breached and landed on top of them. Sillick had several broken bones including his pelvis and ribs. A miscue was to blame for Orky's jump. Four top employees were fired and trainers were ordered to stay out of the water for six months.

On September 23, 1988, Kandu gave birth to a girl. The calf was healthy and began nursing soon after birth. Orky had finally fathered a strong calf. The happiness of the SeaWorld staff wasn't to last. Orky had lost nearly 4,000 pounds in the past two months and his health was continuing to deteriorate.

On September 26, 1988, Orky passed away from acute pneumonia and chronic wasting. In honor of him, his new daughter was named Orkid (Orky's Kid). Orky was about 26-years-old.

Two months after his death, Kenau gave birth to a girl, Kayla. She was to be his last offspring.

PRESENT

Orky is survived by his two daughters. Orkid has yet to become a mother, but Kayla gave birth for the first time on October 9, 2005.

Orky was once a member of A pod, a group of orcas belonging to the Northern Resident community. It's not known for sure just which orcas might be his immediate relatives.

HOW TO IDENTIFY

KNOWN FAMILY

Daughters: Kiva*, Corky II's 1985 calf*, Orkid, and Kayla
Sons: Corky II's 1977 calf* and "Spooky"*
Granddaughters: Halyn*
Possible relatives: Irving/Skookum Cecil (esc.), Natsidalia*, Hyak II*, Corky*, Kianu*, and Bonnie*

* = Deceased