Gudrun

Gudrun. Photo provided by dpa picture alliance.

Gudrun *(pronounced GUD-run in English, GWUTH-roon in Icelandic)* was an approximately 20-year-old female Icelandic killer whale who lived at SeaWorld Orlando. Gudrun was captured on November 11th, 1976 from Ingólfshöfði, Iceland at less than 1 year old. Gudrun passed away due to complications associated with her stillbirth on February 25th, 1996 at SeaWorld Orlando.

## Capture and Early Life

   Gudrun was an Icelandic whale who was likely born in late 1975 or early 1976. On November 11th, 1976 Gudrun and her pod were netted in Ingólfshöfði, Iceland. Up to 30 whales were netted. Although several whales managed to escape, Gudrun and Kenau were taken onto a boat. The rest of the whales were released. This was the third ever successful live-capture of Icelandic whales for display in captivity. The two whales were dubbed "Gudrun," after the capture boat, and "Magnus." Although Kenau's name was eventually changed, Gudrun's was not, and the name eventually became the anglicized version we know today.  The young whales then moved to Dolfinarium Harderwijk on November 13th, 1976. Although Kenau would move out the following May, Gudrun remained there for 11 years.

## Life at Dolfinarium Harderwijk

   After Kenau's departure, Gudrun was alone for several months. She lived with dolphins until October of 1977, when she met several killer whales who were temporarily being housed at Harderwijk. She was briefly kept with Kandu V, Kona II, Canuck II, Hoi Wai, Winnie, and Magnus. They would not stay together for long, however. Winnie and Hoi Wai left in November, Kandu V, Kona II, Canuck II left in December, and Magnus passed away on December 18th. The only tank mates Gudrun would have for over a decade were smaller species of dolphins.

Gudrun lived at Harderwijk for 11 years. When she was old enough to breed, Harderwijk started looking into mates for her. In January of 1987, Harderwijk decided to send Gudrun to SeaWorld on a breeding loan. The agreement was that every other calf she had would be sent back to Harderwijk, with the other calves remaining at SeaWorld. No calves would end up being sent back to Harderwijk. In exchange for Gudrun, SeaWorld sent Harderwijk three false killer whales that had been caught in Japan.

## Move to SeaWorld

   On November 17th, 1987, Gudrun was sent to SeaWorld Orlando, where she met Kotar, Katina, Kalina, and Kanduke. Upon her arrival, Katina, the park's dominant female, was very aggressive with her. When then two females were in the main pool, Katina began to ram Gudrun. When Gudrun tried to retaliate by raking her, Katina smacked her tail flukes against Gudrun's lower jaw. The noise was reportedly so loud that it echoed through the stadium. Two of Gudrun's teeth were driven into the bone. Gudrun was moved to the medical pool and lifted out of the water, where the affected teeth were removed by veterinarians. After several weeks of healing, she could eat normally, but she was never able to properly close her mouth again.

    After her move, Gudrun was frequently put in a back pool with the park's adult male, Kanduke. He was reportedly very rough, chasing her around the pool to mate with her. She became pregnant shortly after arriving.

In November of 1988, Katina gave birth to her second daughter Katerina.  Gudrun was present for her birth.

20 months after her arrival, on a stormy summer night in 1989, Gudrun gave birth to her first calf, a female named Taima. Although she hadn't had much experience with raising calves, she was an excellent mother to Taima. The two soon began to perform together. She and Taima often spent time with Katina, Kalina, and Katerina.

    In 1990, Kanduke passed away. That same year, Kalina moved to SeaWorld Ohio. The January of 1991, Gudrun was briefly reunited with Kenau, the whale she had been captured with, although she would leave in August. In October, she reunited with Winnie, a whale she had known at Harderwijk. Winnie stayed until October of 1994.

In January of 1992, SeaWorld brought in Tilikum, a male from a failing aquarium in Canada. Tilikum and Gudrun got along very well, and Tilikum was a lot more gentle with Gudrun then Kanduke had been. Taima, Gudrun, and Tilikum were often kept together, and Gudrun and Taima were closer with Tilikum then many of the park's other females. Not long after his arrival, Gudrun became pregnant a second time.  Another whale from the same park, Nootka IV, would move in almost exactly a year after Tilikum in January of 1993.

    On December 31st, 1993, Gudrun gave birth to her second calf, another female named Nyar. Nyar had several birth defects, however. Trainers soon noticed that she was exhibiting strange behavior. She had mental and physical disabilities, and had trouble swimming. When Nyar was about a month old, Gudrun attempted to drown her. The two were separated.  Nyar was kept with her father Tilikum, who was very gentle and kind with her.

In October of 1994, Kalina returned to SeaWorld Orlando from SeaWorld San Antonio. In June of 1995, Kalina gave birth to her second son, Keto. Keto stayed in the park until February of 1996.

### Death

    Only about a year after Nyar's birth, Gudrun became pregnant for a third time. She went into labor on February 21, 1996. Unfortunately, the veterinary staff could not find a heartbeat, and the calf was presumed dead. After hours of labor, Gudrun still had not given birth to the calf's body, and staff made the decision to pull the calf out with a winch. After they removed the body, Gudrun began to hemorrhage severely. She didn't move or eat for days. Because she would not move to a shaded area, the staff put zinc oxide on her skin to protect her from sun burns. After four days of sitting motionless in the pool, she went to the gate separating her from Nyar and nuzzled her estranged daughter through the bars. She died a few hours later. Her cause of death was ruled to be stillbirth complications, namely septicemia, bacteremia, and endomyometritis.

## Personality

    Although she had little experience with calves, Gudrun was a very good mother towards Taima. When she had Nyar, however, she rejected Nyar and attempted to drown her. This may have been due to Nyar's disabilities, as some animals are known to kill sick and disabled offspring to save energy for healthy ones. Gudrun was a submissive whale. She was frequently displaced by Kanduke and Katina when she first moved to Florida. When Tilikum arrived, however, Gudrun did much better with him. She did not attack him the way the other females in the park did and often spent time together with him and Taima. Gudrun was also a very vocal whale.

## Appearance

Gudrun was a "perfect-looking" captive whale. She had a tall, straight dorsal fin. She had no noticeable scars or blemishes on her body except for a white spot on the tip of her rostrum. She had large, clear eye-patches that tapered into curled points above her eyes. Her mouth chips were on the smaller side, and they both came to several small points. A bit of white from her lower jaw bled onto her upper jaw, lining her mouth like lip stick. She had a defined, round saddlepatch that was very light colored. She had pointed shoulder patches that stuck out slightly over her pectoral fins. She was frequently used in photo-ops and promotional material because of her good looks.

## Trivia

* Gudrun was named after the Guðrún, the vessel that was used to capture her.
* Gudrun's name originates from Icelandic (stylized as Guðrún) and means ''God's secret rune'' or ''God's friendship''

## Galleries

* **Photos** of Gudrun
* **Videos** of Gudrun

## Transfer History

Gudrun's Transfer History
 Vestmannaeyjar Holding, Iceland
 Dolfinarium Harderwijk, Netherlands

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 ''Guðrún is happy here.''
2. ↑ "As if they were conversing about their fates"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Katina Giving Birth to Katerina
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Gudrun's Profile
5. ↑ Inside SeaWorld- The Gudrun Transaction
6. ↑ Excessive Aggression- Inherently Wild
7. ↑ Captive Breeding
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 A Killer Show
9. ↑ Keto & Tilikum Express the Stress of Orca Captivity
10. ↑ Gudrun - Orca Aware