Kohana (orca)

This article gives a list of captive orcas, or killer whales, large predatory marine mammals that were first captured live and displayed in exhibitions in the 1960s, or were subsequently born in captivity. They soon became popular attractions at public aquariums and aquatic theme parks due to their intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness in captivity and sheer size. As of September 2015, 58 orcas are held captive at facilities in North and South America, Europe and Asia, providing entertainment for theme park visitors.

The first North Eastern Pacific orca, Wanda, was captured in November 1961 by a collecting crew from Marineland of the Pacific, and over the next 15 years, around 60 or 70 orcas were taken from Pacific waters for this purpose. When the US Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 effectively stopped the capture of Pacific orcas, captures were made in Icelandic waters. Since 2010, captures have been made in Russian waters.

The majority of orcas on display in the West (US, Canada, Argentina, Spain, and France), 29 of 38, were born in captivity. In the East, 6 of the 7 displayed in Japan are captive-born. An additional 13 orcas reported in China and Russia were evidently captured in Russian waters.

Kalina, born in September 1985, was the first captive-born orca calf to survive more than a few days. In September 2001, Kasatka gave birth to Nakai, the first orca conceived through artificial insemination, at SeaWorld San Diego. This technique lets park owners maintain a more healthy genetic mix in the small groups of orcas at each park, while avoiding the stress of moving orcas for breeding purposes.

Adán (Spanish variation of "Adam") measured about 6.6 feet (2.0 m) and weighed in at 330 pounds at birth. He was born on October 13, 2010, at Loro Parque. His mother, nine-year-old Kohana, showed no maternal interest in him at birth. As a result, Adán had to be bottle fed by staff until May 2011 when he was permanently moved onto fish. He had one little sister called Victoria, with whom Adán was very close to until her death. Adán spends a lot of time with the park's young female, Morgan.

Adán is a result of inbreeding between Kohana and Keto. Adán's only full-blooded sibling, Victoria, died in 2013. Adán has been introduced to all 5 orcas living in Loro Parque.

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