SeaWorld’s 20-year-old killer whale dies following infection

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A 20-year-old killer whale that was at SeaWorld San Diego since birth has died following treatment for an infection, park officials said.

Despite efforts to treat the unspecified infection, the orca, Nakai, died Thursday, SeaWorld San Diego said in a statement.

“Every attempt was made to save (Nakai’s) life,” the statement said. “Veterinarians and health specialists had been actively treating an infection, but aggressive therapeutic and diagnostic efforts were unsuccessful.”

Nakai’s death leaves SeaWorld with eight remaining killer whales, ranging in age from 9 to 57, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The marine park is unable to expand its orca population after instituting a breeding ban in 2016, following years of pressure from animal rights protests and shifting public opinion about orcas held in captivity, the newspaper said.

SeaWorld’s statement said Nakai will “be remembered as a curious and quick learner, often picking up behaviors just by observing the other whales in his pod.”

Nakai, who was born in September 2001, is the park’s second orca to die in the past year. Amaya, a 6-year-old female, died Aug. 20, 2021. Before that, the most recent death was that of Kasatka, a 42-year-old female who died from a lung disease in August 2017.