Gender: MalePod: N/APlace of Capture: Hatajiri Bay, JapanDate of Capture: February 9, 1997Age at Cap

Gender: MalePod: N/APlace of Capture: Hatajiri Bay, JapanDate of Capture: February 9, 1997Age at Capture: Approx. 5 years A group of 10 Orcas were captured in Hatajiri Bay in Japan on February 9, 1997. Five of the whales were released while 3 females and 2 males were kept. One male, later named Kyu, was sold to Nanki Shirahama Adventure World with an unnamed female and an unnamed male. Unfortunately, the two unnamed whales died 4 months after their capture. Kyu was kept alone after their deaths. In 1999, he began to participate in shows with his tankmates Ran, Ruka, and Goro; though Ruka died in 2000, leaving just the three of them. When Kyu became sexually mature, he mated with Ran who gave birth to both her and Kyu’s first and only calf on August 26, 2004. However, the female calf was born premature and was born with a broken skull. She died 2 days after her birth, along with Ran who died the next day due to birth complications. Less than a month later, Kyu also died on September 18, 2004 due to Bacterial Pneumonia. It had been rumored that he suffered from ulcers as well as a weak immune system; though there are no reliable sources to confirm this. x | x | x | x | x | x -- source link

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