Ulises

Ulises is a 45 year old male orca who lives at SeaWorld San Diego. He was captured alone on the 7th of November, 1980.

## Capture & Life in Europe

Unlike other orcas caught in that year, Ulises was sold Rioleon Safari in Tarragona and shipped there on the 17th of December, 1980. His stay here was a short 2 years, with him later being shipped to the Barcelona Zoo in July of 1993 after it was realized the park couldn't supply him with his needs. Ulises lived here for around 10 years with again no other orcas. Unfortunately, his bottlenose "companions" would bully and rake him. He also didn't adopt to well, biting his tongue Finally, on the 7th of February, 1994, he was shipped off to SeaWorld San Diego to live with other orcas.

Originally, the Barcelona Zoo had plans to return him so they could build a bigger tank, although this never happened, and his stay in San Diego became permanent. Ever since his arrival, Ulises has gotten along with many orcas, but he seems to enjoy being with Orkid, Keet, and Kalia the most. Him and Orkid seem to get closer every day, but despite that, Orkid's never had a calf. Although, Ulises is never paired with Corky 2, as he will try and rake her unless the dominant female, Kasatka, was in the same pool as them. The two are with each other much anymore since her passing in 2017.

In 1997, Ulises went after a trainer. Later, sometime in 2002, Ulises was signaled a waterwork behavior that he was not taught to do before. Instead, he took the signal as a different behavior and the trainer(who was riding Ulises' back) fell off him. Ulises briefly ignored the trainer, but eventually she brought the whale back to calmness.

In 2011, Ulises had his first calf, later named Moana, a male through artificial insemination(A.I.). The mother, Wikie, lives at Marineland Antibes. In 2014, Kalia gave birth to his second calf, a female named Amaya. Although they live at the same park, there have been rumors that she could have been convinced through A.I., although this has never been confirmed. Sadly, Amaya passed away on the 19th of August, 2021, and Moana passed away on the 17th/18th of October, 2023, meaning Ulises has no living captive relatives.

Even being the largest and oldest male orca in captivity, and he has been able to lift his entire body out of the water, although many other male orcas in captivity aren't able to do this. He is easily been recognized by his dorsal fin, which has collapsed to the right only about halfway. Many people think it looks like a fish hook, and unsurprisingly, Ulises is believed has the longest dorsal fin in captivity.

Ulises is a calm orca despite his size. He knows many behaviors and was taught some waterwork behaviors as well, although never performed them in shows even before they were stopped in 2010. Interestingly, SeaWorld celebrates his birthday on the 29th of January.

**Age** - 45 (est.)
**Current Location** - SeaWorld San Diego
**Captured** - 7th of November, 1980
**Place of Capture** - Reyðarfjörður, Iceland
**Age at Capture** - 3 (est.)
 **Family**
Calves
* Moana (Born 2011 via AI)
* Amaya\* (Deceased 2021)

Wild Relatives
 **Origin of Ulises*** Latin for "Wrathful"
* Pronounced: yoo LISS eez

**Nicknames**
* Big Dog
* Uli
* Ulisses
* Uly
* Ulysses

**Code Name**
 **Weights*** 9,400 lbs (2009)
* 9,500 lbs (February 2012)
* 9,570 lbs (November 2015)
* 9,900 pounds (March 2020)

**Lengths**
* 13 ft (November, 1980)
 **Transfer History*** 19th of November, 1980 - Reyðarfjörður, Iceland to Hafnarfjörður Aquarium.
* 17th of December, 1980 - Hafnarfjörður Aquarium to Rioleon Safari.
* July of 1993 - Rioleon Safari to Barcelona Zoo.
 **Aggressive Incidents*** 3rd of October, 1997 - Leaped at a trainer
* 2002 - Behavior Error
 **Breed*** 100% Icelandic
* Mother (Wild) - 100% Icelandic
* Father (Wild) - 100% Icelandic