Nalani

Nalani on the slideout. Photo provided by Orcinidae.

### Aunts & Uncles

*Kalina*, *Katerina*, Kyuquot, *Nootka IV's Calf (1992)*, *Nyar*, *Nootka IV's Stillborn (1994)*, *Gudrun's Stillborn (1996)*, *Unna*, *Kalina's Stillborn (1997)*, *Sumar*, Tuar, Tekoa, *Haida II's Unborn Calf (2001)*, *Nakai*, *Kohana*, *Skyla*, *Taima's Miscarriage (2005)*, Malia, Sakari, *Taima's Stillborn (2010)*, Makaio

### Nieces & Nephews

Keet, Keto, *Kalina's Stillborn (1997)*, Tuar, *Skyla*, Kalia, *Halyn*, Trua, *Unna's Stillborn (2006)*, *Kayla's Miscarriage (2007)*, *Unna's Miscarriage (2009)*, Adán, *Victoria*, *Amaya*, *Ula*

### Cousins

Keet, Keto, *Kalina's Stillborn (1997)*, Tuar, *Skyla*, Kalia, *Halyn*, Trua, *Unna's Stillborn (2006)*, Adán, *Victoria*, *Kyara*, *Ula*

Nalani *(pronounced nay-lawn-ee)* is a 17-year-old female Icelandic killer whale who currently lives at SeaWorld Orlando. She was born there tail-first at 3:23 PM EST on September 18, 2006. Her mother is Katina and her father is Taku. Due to the fact that Taku is Katina's son, Nalani is 25% inbred. Nalani was the first inbred killer whale to survive in captivity.

## Birth and Early Life

Before Nalani was born, Katina had given birth to 5 calves: Kalina, Katerina, Taku, Unna, and Ikaika. Katina was an excellent mother for all of them, although Katerina and Unna were both separated from her at an early age. Kalina was also moved away from her mother at just a few years old, but the two later reunited. Katina was incredibly close to her sons, Taku and Ikaika. In 2005, Taku and his mother Katina mated, and Katina became pregnant.

In the early afternoon of September 18, 2006, Katina went into labor. An hour and a half later, at 3:23 PM EST, Nalani was born. Taku was present for at least part of her birth. At the time of Nalani's birth, 8 other whales lived at the park: her mother, her older sister Kalina, her older brothers Ikaika and Taku, an adult female named Takara and her son (and Nalani's half-brother) Trua, an adult female named Taima, and her grandfather, Tilikum.

Not long after her birth, Nalani began to nurse, and Katina was as attentive and caring as always. All seemed to be going well. When she was about a week old, however, Taku and Ikaika were introduced to her and Katina. Katina soon became incredibly disinterested in Nalani, and even began to displace her. Ikaika even reportedly attempted to mate with Nalani. Taku and Ikaika were quickly separated from her and Katina again, but Katina's behavior didn't change. She remained focused on her older sons and continued to displace Nalani. The following November, Taku was moved to SeaWorld San Antonio, and Ikaika was moved to Marineland of Canada, and Katina's maternal instincts towards Nalani improved. That same month, a female named Kayla arrived at the park. Nalani and Katina were eventually introduced to Kalina and Kayla, and the 4 began to often live together as a group.

## Life in Orlando

Despite being largely ignored by her mother at first, Nalani was still extremely close to her. She was more concerned about the location of her mother, and being separated from her, than the other calves at the park were. In March of 2007, Taima gave birth to a calf named Malia. Two months later, in May, Nalani started to eat solid fish. Nalani also started to perform waterworks at some point.

In late 2008, Katina, Nalani, Kayla, and Kalina were introduced to Taima, Malia, and Trua, Tilikum and all 8 whales started to spent time together. Nalani was very close to Malia and Trua, who were both almost the same age as her. Although she would sometimes be displaced by Taima, there were no major issues within the group. In 2009, Nalani started to perform with just Malia and Trua, and she did well with them. That same year, Takara left for SeaWorld San Antonio.

In 2010, several major changes to Nalani's life occurred: In February, a trainer named Dawn Brancheau was killed by Tilikum, and SeaWorld brought a halt to all waterworks. Just a few months later in June, Taima died while giving birth to a calf. In October, Kalina passed away, and just a few days later, her brother Makaio was born. Although Nalani was not present fort his birth, she met him soon after. She could often be seen playing with him.

In 2016, SeaWorld announced an end to their killer whale breeding program. As Nalani was getting more mature, she and her mother began to spend less and less time with Makaio and Trua.

In 2017, Tilikum passed away. In 2019, Kayla passed away.

## Trivia

* "Nalani" is a Hawaiian name that means "the heavens".

## Galleries

* **Photos** of Nalani
* **Videos** of Nalani

## Transfer History

*Nalani has never been transferred out of SeaWorld Orlando.*