Kayla

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Kayla. Photo provided by Orcaloverw.

### Half-Siblings

*Corky II's Calf (1977)*, *Spooky*, *Corky II's Stillborn (1980)*, *Kiva*, *Corky II's Calf (1985)*, *Baby Shamu II*, *Corky II's Miscarriage (1986)*, *Corky II's Miscarriage (1987)*, Orkid, *Kenau's Unborn Calf (1991)*

Kayla *(pronounced KAY-lah)* was a 30-year-old female hybrid killer whale who lived at SeaWorld Orlando. She was born tail-first at 12:10 PM CST on November 26th, 1988, at SeaWorld San Antonio. Her mother was Kenau, an Icelandic killer whale, and her father was Orky II, a Northern resident killer whale, making Kayla 50% Icelandic, 50% Northern resident. She was the first killer whale to be successfully born and raised at the park. Kayla was a very reliable animal, often performing in waterworks when they were still permitted. She was a favorite among trainers due to her strong personality and sharp wit, much like her half-sister, Orkid. Unfortunately, Kayla passed away due to a sudden respiratory illness at 12:15 AM EST on January 28th, 2019 at SeaWorld Orlando.

## Birth & Early Life

Kayla was born on November 26th, 1988, to mother Kenau and father Orky II. Kayla was the first killer whale to be born at SeaWorld San Antonio, and the first to thrive. As a calf, Kayla learned very quickly,

## Behavioral Incidents

* Kayla pushed a trainer back towards the pool during training. (1992, SeaWorld Aurora)
* Kayla split to slide out during the show after a non-bridged behavior. At that time, few people touched her, and she slid back into the pool. (1995, SeaWorld Aurora)
* Kayla became aggressive with a trainer during waterwork in the show after several behaviors without reinforcement. This was in combination with social problems between Kayla and Winnie. (1999, SeaWorld Aurora)
* Kayla had refused to split from the group multiple times prior to the show. She proceeded to perform abnormally high bows on a fast swim cue. When she came back and received a Least Reinforcing Scenario, she performed another set of bows when cued for the fast swim. She was then asked for a line up, tactile was applied and she lined up with a slight lean. As the trainer backed over the wall, she then came out of the line up towards him with her mouth open. No contact was made. She then performed a head bobbing behavior and split to the front pool. After several minutes staff attempted control and they were able to separate her to the back pool to continue the show. (2003, SeaWorld San Antonio)
* Kayla refused to separate into the back pool for the ballet segment of the show. She had been holding under control in the back during the "trainer intro," and began dipping her head under the surface, and then became "big-eyed," a tell-tale sign of an agitated whale. It was decided then not to use her for waterwork during that show. She then refused separations to the back pool in a variety of contexts. During attempts to separate any of the animals for the show, she fluke splashed a trainer, and later motioned her open mouth towards a trainer's hand. No injury occurred. (2003, SeaWorld San Antonio)
* Kayla had performed the first two songs of the show, and then did performed the wrong behavior for the cues she received. She responded well to both least reinforcing scenarios that occurred, and then received a primary reinforcement for the second LRS. She was then asked for a fluke splash to the back, and then asked to separate to the back pool. During the separation attempt, she lunged at her trainer, although no contact occurred. After several minutes, she separated into the back pool, allowing the show to continue. (2004, SeaWorld San Antonio)
* Kayla was in the stage slide out with her trainer receiving secondary reinforcement. As the trainer attempted to point her back in the water, Kayla lunged at him with her mouth open, contacting him and throwing him several feet. She immediately came back to control, separated to the back pool perfectly, and was very good behaviorally the rest of the day. (2006, SeaWorld San Antonio)
* After performing a med pool separation well, Kayla was receiving various secondary reinforcers while the gate closed, when she pulled away from the wall. She was asked to come back to control, which she did. After a whistle bridge, the trainer went to feed her. Kayla lunged at her, knocking a bucket off the wall. No injury occurred. (2006, SeaWorld San Antonio)

## Trivia

* The name "Kayla" has several meanings, such as "pure" or "crown of laurels;" the laurel is type of flower associated with victory. Most popularly, the name is said to mean "beloved." It is attributed to Hebrew, Greek, and several other languages, so its true origin varies.

## Galleries

* **Photos** of Kayla
* **Videos** of Kayla

## Transfer History

Kayla's Transfer History
 SeaWorld Aurora, Ohio
 SeaWorld San Antonio, Texas

1. ↑ https://inherentlywild.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/swprofiles1.pdf