Tilikum (whale)

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Tilikum, sometimes misspelled Tillikum, is a bull orca whale that lives in SeaWorld Orlando. He is the largest orca in captivity. He is also the most successful sire in captivity, with 13 offspring, 10 of which are still alive. He was captured in November of 1983 along with two other deceased orcas named Nandu and Samoa. Tilikum was first sent to live at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia. There, he lived with two older females named Haida II and Nootka IV. Tilikum was about 2 years old when captured. His name means "friend" in Chinook Jargon.

[edit] Life at Sealand

While living in British Columbia, Tilikum sired his very first calf when he was about eight or nine years old. His first son, Kyuquot, was born to Haida II on December 24, 1991. Just a few months prior to the birth of Kyuquot, Tilikum was involved in an incident which resulted in the death of a trainer. Twenty-year-old Keltie Byrne, who worked at the park, slipped and fell into the tank with the whales. Tilikum, a pregnant Haida II, and Nootka IV grabbed her in their mouths and tossed her to each other, presumably playing. Keltie drowned. It should be noted the whales had never had humans in the water with them before. Haida II and Nootka IV were over-protective of the newborn calf and aggressive towards Tilikum, who was forced into the small medical pool. Because of his huge size, Sealand staff requested an emergency transfer. Tilikum was moved to SeaWorld Orlando, Florida in January of 1992; he has been there ever since. Sealand of the Pacific closed soon after.

[edit] Life at Sea World

Ever since arriving at SeaWorld, Tilikum has sired many calves on many different females. His first calf born in Orlando was to Katina. Katina gave birth to Taku on September 9, 1993. Tillikum's other calves are: Nyar (born 1993, died 1996), Unna (1996), Sumar (1998), Tuar (1999), Tekoa (2000), Nakai (2001), Kohana (2002), Ikaika (2002), Skyla (2004), Kalia (2004), and Taima's 2007 calf.

In 1999, Tilikum began training for artificial insemination (AI) In early 2000, using Tilikum's sperm, a female named Kasatka (who lives in SeaWorld San Diego) was artificially inseminated. She gave birth to Tilikum's son, Nakai, on September 1, 2001. Then, on May 3, 2002, another female in San Diego named Takara bore Tilikum's calf through AI. It was a daughter, who was named Kohana. Tilikum has never met Kasatka. He may have met Takara and Kohana, or at least called to them, as Takara now lives at Florida.

Tilikum was at the scene of another death on July 6, 1999, though evidence suggests the whale was not at fault. Twenty-seven year old Daniel Dukes was found floating naked in Tilikum’s pool, apparently killed by a combination of hypothermia and drowning. Dukes had visited Sea World the previous day, stayed after the park closed, and evaded security to enter the whale pool. A bite mark from Tilikum was found on Duke’s body, but evidence suggests that it was inflicted after Duke’s death when Tilikum removed Duke’s shorts to play with.

[edit] Tilikum's Life Today

Tilikum does not do water work with his trainers, which means that people never enter the water with him. His is used in shows and during the Backstage at Believe presentation. Tilikum is either alone or with Taima, one of the females whom he has sired calves. He and Taima are very close, and despite Tilikum's size, Taima is definitely in charge. Being the largest whale in captivity, Tilikum is massive. He measures 22 feet 5 inches long and weighs in at 12,300 pounds. His pectoral fins are nearly six feet long, his massive flukes curl under, and his 6-foot-tall dorsal fin is flopped completely to his left side. Tilikum is around 24 years old, most likely having been born in the year 1981.

Later in November 2005, Tillikum became the first surving whale grandfather in captivity when Takara gave birth to his first grandchild, a grandson sired by his son Taku and named Trua.