Trua

Trua. Photo provided by Orcinidae.

### Aunts & Uncles

*Kalina*, *Katerina*, *Kahana's Miscarriage (1990)*, *Kenau's Unborn Calf (1991)*, Kyuquot, *Nootka IV's Calf (1992)*, *Samoa's Stillborn (1992)*, Keet, *Haida II's Calf (1994)*, Keto, *Gudrun's Stillborn (1996)*, *Unna*, *Haida II's Unborn Calf (2001)*, *Nakai*, *Kohana*, Ikaika, Kalia, Nalani, *Taima's Miscarriage (2005)*, Malia, *Taima's Stillborn (2010)*, Makaio, Makani

### Cousins

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

Trua *(pronounced TROO-ah)* is a 18-year-old male Icelandic killer whale who currently lives at SeaWorld Orlando. He was born tail-first at 10:22 PM EST on November 23rd, 2005, at SeaWorld Orlando. He is the son of Takara and Taku. He is Takara's only son and oldest calf. Trua is the oldest male in the Orlando Pod. He was separated from his mother in February 2009 when she was moved to SeaWorld San Antonio. Trua is known for his curious personality, gentle demeanor, and impressive size- he is currently the largest killer whale at SeaWorld Orlando.

## Birth and Early Life

   Trua was born at SeaWorld Orlando to Takara on Thanksgiving night in 2005. After his birth, he spent a lot of time with his mother and his older sister, Kohana. In January 2006, three months after his birth, Kohana was moved to Loro Parque in Spain, leaving him and his mother behind. In August, Trua's half-sister, Nalani, was born.

   By 2008, Trua and Takara were spending a lot of time with another adult female, Taima, and her daughter Malia. Taima had rejected and attacked her first two calves, so she and Malia spent a lot of time with Takara and another female, Kalina. Being around the more experienced mothers helped her to take better care of Malia. Trua did waterworks from a very young age and often did them with his mother. Trua and Takara also began to spend time with Tilikum, Trua's grandfather. The trio did very well together.

In late 2008, Trua and his mother began to be separated more often in preparation for Takara's move to SeaWorld San Antonio. Takara reportedly reacted very badly to this. On February 5th, 2009, Takara was moved to San Antonio, leaving her 2 1/2 year old son behind.

## Life at Orlando

After Takara's move, Trua began to spend more time with the other whales at Orlando. He began to be very focused on the caulking of one of the pools, and SeaWorld had to remove all of the caulking from the pool. Trua did well with all of the whales, but he was especially close to Kayla, an adult female who was moved to Orlando in November of 2006. They were often kept together and Kayla started to become a surrogate mother for him. Trua also spent time with Malia and Tilikum. For a while, he was the only whale who performed with Tilikum.

After Makaio, his uncle, was born, he and Trua became very close. He and Makaio spent a lot of time together. The pair also spent a lot of time with Tilikum.

In June of 2010, Taima passed away.

In October of 2010, Kalina passed away.

In January of 2017, Tilikum passed away

In January of 2019, Kayla passed away.

## Personality

Trua is a very sweet and curious whale. He loves to interact with guests, especially at the underwater viewing area. He loves to get attention from trainers. He loves rubdowns, ice, and sprayers. He did waterworks for a few years and never acted aggressively towards trainers.

## Appearance

Trua is a large, heavyset whale with a dorsal that collapsed to his left side. He has a freckle on his left eyepatch, another on his chin, and a clump of freckles on his underside in-between his pectoral fins. As of 2023, trainers predict that he will reach a total weight of about 10,000 lbs.

## Trivia

* The word "trua" translates to "believe" in Icelandic, a homage to the *Believe* Shamu show that debuted just a few months after his birth.
* Trua's nickname is "Freckles".
* Trua has lived with a total of 14 different whales in his lifetime, and he was also briefly housed with pilot whales.
* Takara and Trua's separation in 2009 was the last time that SeaWorld intentionally separated a mother and calf for non-medical reasons.

## Galleries

* **Photos** of Trua
* **Videos** of Trua

## Transfer History

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