A killer whale (orca) captured at a water park in Canada was filmed banging its head on the side of its tank.
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Kiska, dubbed by the Whale Sanctuary Project as "the loneliest whale in the world," was seen thrashing on the side of her tank at MarineLand, Niagara Falls, in the heartbreaking 30-second clip.
The footage was recorded by anti-captivity activist and whistleblower Phil Demers, who worked at the park in Ontario.
The video was shared by Demers with the caption: “This video was taken on September 4, 2021. Anti-captivity activists entered MarineLand and observed Kiska, their last surviving orca, banging her head against the wall. Please watch and share. This cruelty must end. #FreeKiska.”
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The activist said: "This is dangerous and self-harming behavior. Kiska is in distress.".
According to Demers, Kiska was born off the coast of Iceland and had been in captivity since 1979.
The killer whale (orca) has been alone since 2011. The Orca Rescues Foundation said: “For over 40 years, she has suffered the loss of her freedom, her babies and all her companions.
"For the last 10, she was in complete social isolation from others of her kind. Everything that happened was caused by her loneliness and captivity.".
According to iNews, Rob Lott, an end-of-captivity campaigner at Whale and Dolphin Conservation, said the behavior “is a direct result related to the stress of the Icelandic orca being caught from the wild and Kiska being raised in an artificial, concrete environment for the past four decades.
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"Unfortunately, this is not unique and the repetitive, self-inflicted behavior Kiska exhibited has been observed in other captive orcas, where years of boredom in tanks with little or no stimulation manifest themselves in this way," he said.
"Chronic stress can compromise the immune system and physiological conditions of the testes, causing illness and sometimes death."
"Kiska has been without a partner since 2011 and lacks every aspect of social culture she would have experienced in the wild."
Information source: news.com.au
