Moby Doll

Moby Doll. Photo provided by Vancouver Aquarium.

Moby Doll (*pronounced moh-BEE DAAL*), also known as Hound Dog, was an approximately 5-year-old male Southern resident killer whale who lived at the Vancouver Aquarium. He was captured on July 16th, 1964 from Saturna Island, Washington after surviving a harpoon strike at approximately 5 years old. Moby Doll died on October 9th, 1964 due to drowning caused by exhaustion, infection, and skin disease. Moby Doll was one of the first killer whales kept in captivity, and the first killer whale kept by the Vancouver Aquarium.

## Capture

In 1964, sculptor Sam Burich was commissioned by the Vancouver Aquarium to create a life-sized sculpture of a killer whale. The plan was to kill a whale so the body could serve a model. In July of 1964, hunters set out to kill an orca. On July 16th, 1964, a pod of whales was spotted off of Saturna Island, Washington and the smallest one in the group was shot with a harpoon gun. The harpoon struck the whale, but did not kill it. The injured whale was held up by two of their podmates so they wouldn't sink and drown. The hunters decided not to kill the whale, and instead dragged it by the harpoon back to Vancouver. The whale, who was later named Moby Doll, was housed in a temporary drydock enclosure in Vancouver until a more permanent solution could be found.

## Life in Captivity

Moby Doll was so named because he was mistakenly believed to be a female due to a poor understanding of killer whales. While still living at the drydock, an open house was held for Moby Doll and 20,000 people came to see him. Still, there was pressure to move the orca out of his temporary home. Moby Doll was later moved to a 75 by 45 foot pen built by military volunteers off Jericho Beach. Both Marineland of the Pacific and Undersea Gardens offered to purchase the orca, but the Vancouver Aquarium refused to sell.  While Moby Doll was in captivity, Sam Burich spent hours every day with the whale. He found that if he whistled to the whale, the whale would whistle back.

### Attempts to Feed Moby Doll

For a long period of time after he was taken into captivity, Moby Doll refused to eat reguarly. Multiple different food items, including whale tongue and blubber, a seal carcass, and octopus were tried.  On September 9th, almost two months after Moby Doll was captured, he ate a large dead cod that was offered to him. He started to eat readily from that point onward after it was realized that he ate fish. After he started eating, the aquarium planned to start training him.

## Death

On October 9th, 1964, Moby Doll drowned in his pen. Multiple factors contributed to his drowning, including a fungal infection that left him weak, complications from the harpoon wound, and low-salinity water off Jericho Beach that left Moby Doll struggling to stay afloat.  A necropsy found that Moby Doll was actually a male.

## Legacy

Moby Doll helped change the public's perception of killer whales. Up to this point, orcas were considered nuisance animals. They had a fearsome reputation, and were often shot at by fisherman. When people realized Moby Doll was a gentle, friendly animal, that perception began to change. Moby Doll's popularity also led to more orcas, such as Namu and Shamu, being taken into captivity. Ted Griffin, who would later become famous with his killer whale Namu, met Moby Doll and was inspired by him. Years after Moby Doll's death, it was determined that he was a Southern Resident, likely from J Pod, based on his calls.

## Galleries

* **Photos** of Moby Doll
* **Videos** of Moby Doll

## Transfer History

Moby Doll's Transfer History
 Burrard Dry Dock, Vancouver

## References

1. ↑ "How Moby Doll Revolutionized Our Understanding of Orcas"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "When Killer Whales Got a Rebrand"
3. ↑ "Whale Sitter"
4. ↑ "Moby Doll Gulps Down Large Meal"