Nami

Wave(波) is pronounced "Nami" in Japanese, presumably where the word "Nami" came from.

## Measurements

### Weights

6,613 lbs (2005) 5,401 lbs (January, 2011)

## Transfer History

### Transfer #1

October, 1985 - Taiji, Japan to the Taiji Whale Museum

### Transfer #2

19th of June, 2010 - Taiji Whale Museum to Port Of Nagoya Public Aquarium

## Ecotype

### Total

Japanese

Nami(ナミ), also referred to as Nami-Chan(ナミちゃん), was a 28 year old female Japanese killer whale that lived at the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium. She was captured in October of 1985 and died on the 11th of January, 2011.

## Capture

Nami was captured in October, 1985 with 5 of whales. 3 were released, and 2 were taken captive. Captured in Taiji, Japan, along with her pod mate, named Goro, she was put up for sale, but at the time, only Kamogawa Sea World and Adventure World Shirahama had whales in Japan. Her aggressive personality didn't make the trainers dare to go in the water with her, so Nami and her pod mate were moved to Taiji Whale Museum, which was the facility that ordered her to be caught. A month after, Goro was sold to Adventure World Shirahama, leaving Nami behind.

## Living in Taiji

Nami lived alone for nearly all of her time at Taiji, unless she was spending time with her trainers. Her strong character and aggressive nature made trainers always be cautious around her. Due to this, Nami was never paired with other cetaceans, as it was thought she could seriously injure them. Despite that, she was successfully trained and became a star attraction at the facility.

In 1997, 5 killer whales were captured in Taiji, and all were sold to the museum. Despite 4 getting sold quickly, a female named Ku was left behind in her sea pen. It was originally thought that the two would get along as they were both killer whales, though Nami got very aggressive with the Ku and the two were quickly separated. Ku's health was deteriorating in Taiji, and she was later sold by the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium.

## Onto Nagoya

Sadly, Ku died in 2008, leaving Port of Nagoya interested in buying another whale. In spite of starting a breeding program, Taiji agreed to sell Nami to the aquarium in 2010. On the 19th of June, 2010, Nami shipped on a boat to the aquarium. After the move, Nami befriended a fellow bottlenose dolphin who also lived at the park. The dolphin was a great companion to Nami and were often seen together, as they were the perfect companion for the once lonely whale. At some point, Nagoya had plans of buying Bingo and Stella from Kamogawa for the beginning of their killer whale breeding program. There were many hopes that, if Bingo and Nami were paired together, they would mate and have a calf.

## Death

Unfortunately, Nami's health started started to decrease, as she lost her appetite and some weight, as well as beginning to show signs of having an illness. On the 11th of January, 2011, she was placed in the med pool and was being watched 24/7. 3 days later, on the 14th of January, Nami passed away.

Her necropsy revealed that she had swallowed a total of 491 stones that weighed 81.4 kg(around 179 pounds). Due to the fact that she had lived in a sea pen for much of her life, she had swallowed the stones during her "free time". The cause of death was listed as Pneumonia, Ulcerative Colitis, which is Pulmonary Zygomycosis with Cunninghamella Bertholletiae, and a Fungal Infection. It has also been listed as a blocked stomach from eating all the rocks.

## Personality

Nami was a energetic whale despite being aggressive. She did well in shows and preformed a variety of different behaviors. Her left side had many apparent "freckles", which would have made her easy to recognize if she was paired with other killer whales. After her necropsy, Nami was buried at the Taiji Whale Museum, though her skeleton was later dug up in 2012 and put on display at the same facility. Today, it can still be seen in the main lobby.

## Gallery

**If you are going to use any of these photos, please credit the photographer and/or the provider. *PLEASE REFER BACK TO THIS WIKI. NOT ALL PHOTOS CAN BE USED!!***

Many photos can be found from Inherently Wild.

    **Photo by the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, provided by HaH.**

**Photos provided by Kimmy Vengeance.**

**Photo by the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, provided by Raguoc.**

**Photo by the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, provided by anonymous.**

**Photo provided by End killer whale captivity.**