Unna (whale)

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Unna is a female Orca, or cow. She was born on December 27, 1996 at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. Her parents are Katina (mother) and Tilikum. She is Katina's fourth calf and also Tilikum's; and she was the second calf to be born to the pair. Unna lived with her mother, father, siblings, and other whales at her birthplace in Orlando for the first several years of her life.

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[edit] Family members/breed

(Asterisk indicates a deceased relative)

[edit] Transfers

On August 25, 2002 Katina gave birth to her fifth calf, a male named Ikaika. Unna was there to assist her mother during the labor. But just a few months later in December, Unna (aged six) was transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio in Texas. This was because the park only had three whales at the time: two males and one female. The park's two older, more dominant females had recently died and the two males were fighting over the female.

The two males Unna met in San Antonio were Kyuquot and Keto; the dominant female was Kayla. Kyuquot was Unna's half-brother (same father), and Keto was her nephew. Unna fit in well.

In April 2004 three males named Keet, Tuar, and Tekoa, arrived in San Antonio. Unna had already known the two juveniles, Tuar and Tekoa, from Orlando. The mature bull Keet, her nephew, was a new introduction.

[edit] Motherhood

Unna became pregnant in late 2004. She was going to be a mother for the first time. Sadly, sometime in late April 2006, Unna gave birth to a stillborn calf. The trainers were probably expecting this because ultrasound images of the calf during the pregnancy showed that the infant's vital signs were not very promising.

Unna has recovered well from her stillbirth and is now back to normal. She has recently taken an interest in a young female calf named Halyn, who was born to Kayla on October 9, 2005.

[edit] Currently

She currently lives with four other whales: Kyuquot, Keet, Tuar, and Halyn. Kayla was moved to SeaWorld Orlando on November 18, 2006. She is currently the dominant female at the park, not to mention the oldest (the only other female being Halyn who is still a calf). She is a sweet-natured female but will show her dominance at times, often straying from routines and going off to do her own thing.

[edit] References