Corky II

Corky II. Photo provided by Robyn Waayers via Flickr, 1981.

### Calves

Unnamed calf (1977), Spooky, Stillborn (1980), Kiva, Unnamed calf (1985), Miscarriage (1986), Miscarriage (1987)

### Half-Siblings

A21, A27 Okisollo, A29, A43 "Ripple", A60 "Fife"

### Nieces and Nephews

A63, A69 "Midsummer", A95 "Fern", A109 "Eliot", A126 "Ne'nakw"

Corky II, or A16, is a ~57 year old female Northern Resident killer whale. She is currently the oldest captive killer whale held, and the only remaining Northern Resident in captivity. She lives at SeaWorld San Diego and was previously held at Marineland of the Pacific after being captured in Pender Harbor, British Columbia.

Corky is known for the above statements as well as having been pregnant at least seven times but with none of her calves surviving past 47 days. As an older female, she has taken on a maternal role for numerous young whales she's been housed with over the years, most notably Orkid. Corky has also appeared in the 1976 film, *A Whale of a Tale*, and the 1977 films, *Orca* and *Tentacles*. In 2022, a documentary titled *Corky* was released and talks about Corky's capture, the changing sentiment of captive orcas and the view of creating sea sanctuaries.

## History

### Early Life

Corky II is estimated to have been born in 1964 to A23 "Stripe", based on photographs of her capture in 1969. At the time, she belonged to the A7 matriline, which would have consisted of her mother, grandmother, younger sibling, and other close relatives.

### Capture

On December 11 1969, 10-13 A5 Pod members were caught in Pender Harbor, however in the following days a male killer whale managed to escape. Six were kept due to their size and age which made them desirable for Marine parks, whilst the other four were let go as they were too large to profit from. Three of the young whales, Kenny, Patches, and Corky II, were sold to Marineland of the Pacific. Yaka and Nepo were moved to Marine World on December 28. The last youngster, Calypso, was eventually moved to Marineland Antibes in June 1970, but was temporarily held at the Seattle Marine Aquarium and also Cleethorpes Marineland and Zoo.

### Life at Marineland

Upon her arrival at Marineland of the Pacific, Corky was introduced to Orky II, a male Northern Resident killer whale caught in the very same harbor as Corky only a year and a half before and more commonly known as Orky. The two of them got along relatively well and remained companions for approximately 18 years. While Orky was more sedentary, Corky was often quite active, swimming in circles around her pool and surfacing in almost the exact same spot each time. Both whales engaged in elaborate synchronous routines that they invented themselves and spent time perfecting. Additionally, they had an unusual morning ritual that involved spyhopping next to, spitting water at, and licking the exact spot on the tank wall where the first ray of sun would touch the water. During shows, Corky and Orky constantly tested their trainers, including Corky's acts of rebellion that involved performing high leaps and breaches while heavily pregnant with Kiva, against the requests of her caretakers. At Marineland, the two whales may have been subjected to food deprivation. Apparently, Orky's rations were lessened during Corky's periods of noncompliance and sulkiness. This would have motivated him to discipline his mate for her disobedience.

#### Calves

On February 28th, 1977, Corky (age 12) gave birth to the first ever captive born killer whale, a male who lived only 15 days. Due to a poor understanding of the species at the time, Corky's pregnancy came as a complete surprise. A little over a year and a half later, on October 31st, 1978, Corky gave birth to another son. Because he was born on Halloween, this calf was named Spooky. The Marineland tank was small and required Corky to swim in tight circles, constantly nudging her calf away from the wall to make sure he didn't get hurt. Unfortunately, with Corky's head constantly in Spooky's way, her son was unable to find the correct place to feed. Instead, he fixated on the wrong white patch and tried to nurse from her eye patch, rather than from her white belly where her mammary glands were located. With Spooky being unable to nurse, the decision was made to try tube-feeding the calf. Corky and Orky were surprisingly receptive to efforts made to tube-feed Spooky. However, no one at the time knew the composition of whale milk, so the formula fed to Spooky was a mixture of milk, ground fish, and vitamins, the likes of which were not enough to keep him alive. In a last ditch-attempt to save Spooky, Marineland staff decided to move him into another tank to make tube-feeding easier. As her calf was lifted out of the tank, Corky began body-slamming the tank walls over and over again. She kept this up for an hour, but never once displayed any aggression to the people at the edge of her tank. Corky's vocalizations that night were unlike anything heard before: strident, guttural, and urgent. Orky mostly kept his distance as Corky's vigil stretched on for three days and three nights. Finally, Corky's calls ceased and she resumed her synchronous swims with Orky. For the first time since Spooky was removed from the tank, Corky accepted food. Unfortunately, Spooky lived to be only 10 days old.

After Spooky's death, Corky took an interest in the stuffed animal orcas visible through a window in the gift shop storage room. She spent hours staring at them, perhaps because they reminded her of her lost calves. Marineland staff used this to their advantage and began preparing Corky for her next calf by training her with a life-size model of a young killer whale. Through an auditory cue, Corky was taught to present her mammaries to the calf. One morning, while pregnant with her third calf, Corky rammed the glass separating her from the stuffed orcas. The window was shattered, causing a temporary but dangerous leak in the whale tank. Corky gave birth to her third calf shortly after on April 1st, 1980, though the young whale was stillborn and arrived prematurely.

Corky's fourth calf was born on June 18th, 1982. Unfortunately, history was doomed to repeat itself. Within her first hour of life, the calf, later named Kiva, had become fixated on her mother's eye patch like her brothers before her. Though Corky tried her best to keep her calf safe, Kiva repeatedly smacked into the curved walls of the small, circular tank, leaving her with a round wound on her rostrum. The training Corky had received in years prior proved unsuccessful. She rolled over to present her mammaries to Kiva, but her daughter didn't understand and remained fixated on her eye patch, attempting to nurse from there. After several days, the tank was drained and trainers ineffectively tried to milk Corky. Their only option left was to force-feed Kiva with a tube. A while into the tube-feeding process, Corky began repeatedly hitting Kiva hard in the belly, which was uncharacteristic for such a gentle whale. The next time trainers tried to feed Kiva, Corky displayed aggression towards them for the very first time. Kiva was moved into a separate tank shortly after this in order to ensure the safety of the trainers as they fed her. Tragically, Kiva died only a few days later at the age of 47 days, making her Corky's longest lived calf. Her autopsy revealed a large buildup of gas in the young whale, likely as a result of the formula, so it has been suggested that Corky may have been trying to burp her daughter when she was seen striking Kiva.

Corky was pregnant three more times after Kiva, though only her fifth pregnancy resulted in a successful birth. On July 22nd, 1985, Corky gave birth to another female calf. Just like before, this calf failed to nurse and had to be tube-fed by Marineland staff. Corky's unnamed 1985 calf lived for only 29 days before her death in August. Following the death of her fifth calf, Corky suffered two miscarriages (one in 1986 and one in 1987). Though she was only in her early 20s, Corky stopped cycling after her last miscarriage. The reasons for this are largely unknown, as orcas typically don't experience menopause until their 40s, but the sheer number of pregnancies in quick succession and the toll they took on her body may have contributed.

### Sea World San Diego

In December of 1986, Marineland of the Pacific was purchased by the owner of SeaWorld at the time. A few weeks later, in January 1987, Corky and Orky were moved to SeaWorld San Diego. Corky miscarried in August 1987 and Orky tragically passed away in September 1988 after siring a couple of calves. Despite the loss of her long-term companion, Corky managed to build a family of her own during her 33 years at SeaWorld San Diego. She has taken on a maternal role for numerous whales and has a reputation for being gentle, family-oriented, and a reliable performer. Prior to 2010, Corky was frequently used in waterworks and displayed high levels of energy and athleticism when performing, even though she was the oldest whale at the park. Corky is also frequently used as a 'starter whale' for new trainers.

## OrcaLab and #FreeCorky

section talking about Paul Spong and the Free Corky campaign. also talk about the 2022 corky documentary.

## Transfer History

Corky II's Transfer History
 Pender Harbor Sea Pen, British Columbia
 Marineland of the Pacific, California

## Behavioral Incidents

Though generally known as a very gentle whale, Corky displayed a few concerning tendencies during waterwork at times.

* On July 28th 1990, Corky pushed the mid-section of a trainer.
* On June 30th 1994, Corky pushed another trainer. In the 2000's, Corky prevented a trainer from exiting the water by "rostrum blocking".
* In 2006 after a good playtime session including waterwork in "A" pool, while sitting at stage with a few trainers next to her, Corky began to mouth a trainer's ponytail. She corrected quickly once asked by a trainer on stage to sit "heads up".

## Family

### Extended Family

Due to being captured in 1969, Corky has never met her suspected younger siblings, other than A21 who was born in 1967. In 1972, Stripe had A27 "Okisollo", A29 in 1977, A43 "Ripple" in 1981, and her last calf was A60 "Fife" in 1992. Corky's grandmother, A7, was last sighted and declared deceased in 1977, while A21 went missing the year before. It is strongly believed by researchers that A21 was a juvenile involved in an incident where they were struck by a ferry's propellers. By 2001, both A23 "Stripe" and A27 "Okisollo" passed away, meaning the A23 matriline (as it is now known) only consists of whales Corky has never met.

As it stands as of 2022, A43 "Ripple" is the matriarch and is the mother of A63 who was born and died in 1994, and A69 "Midsummer" born 1996. A69 Midsummer as three calves of her own, A95 "Fern" born 2009, A109 "Eliot" born 2014, and A126 "Ne'nakw" born 2021. A60 "Fife" also still travels with his sister, niece, and grand-niece, and grand-nephews.

## Trivia

* Corky's name is Irish and means "hill hollow". She was named after Marineland's first "Corky".
* SeaWorld celebrates her birthday on January 2nd.
* Corky has lived with a total of 32 different whales in her life.

## References

1. ↑ Michael A. Bigg et al., "Social Organization and Genealogy of Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in the Coastal Waters of British Columbia and Washington State", in Rep. Int. Whal. Commn. (Special Issue 12), ed. Phillip S. Hammond, Sally A. Mizroch, and Gregory P. Donovan (Cambridge, UK: IWC, 1990), 383-405.
2. ↑ Bull Killer Whale Escapes
3. ↑ Corky's Capture
4. ↑ B.C Whale Lift Planned
5. ↑ Killer Whale Flies To London In Own Iced, Soaked Hammock
6. ↑ 'SeaWorld Orca Profile Corky II'