Keet

Keet jumping. Photo provided by Hunter D. Photography.

### Calves

Kalia, *Halyn*, *Unna's Stillborn (2006)*, *Kayla's Miscarriage (2007)*, *Unna's Miscarriage (2009)*

### Half-Siblings

*Kahana's Miscarriage (1990)*, Takara, *Kenau's Unborn Calf (1991)*, *Samoa's Stillborn (1992)*, *Haida II's Calf (1994)*, *Kalina's Stillborn (1997)*, Tuar, *Skyla*

### Aunts & Uncles

*Baby Shamu II*, *Kandu V's Stillborn (1986)*, *Katerina*, *Taku*, *Unna*, Ikaika, Nalani, Makaio

### Nieces & Nephews

*Kohana*, Trua, Sakari, Adán, *Takara's Miscarriage (2012)*, *Victoria*, Kamea, *Kyara*, *Ula*

### Cousins

Trua, *Unna's Stillborn (2006)*, Nalani, *Unna's Miscarriage (2009)*

Keet (*pronounced KEET*), also known as "Grandbaby Shamu," is a 30-year-old male hybrid killer whale who currently lives at SeaWorld San Diego. He was born tail-first at 12 pm CST on February 2nd, 1993 at SeaWorld San Antonio. His mother is Kalina, a 50% Southern resident, 50% Icelandic killer whale, and his father is Kotar, an Icelandic killer whale, making Keet 75% Icelandic, 25% Southern resident. Keet has sired atleast five calves, Kalia, Halyn, Unna's Stillborn, Kayla's Miscarriage, and Unna's Miscarriage. Keet was the first second-generation killer whale to be born in captivity, and he is the one of the oldest living captive-born killer whales.

## Birth and Early Life

Keet's mother, Kalina, was born in 1985 at SeaWorld Orlando. She was the daughter of Katina and Winston. At around 4 years old, In February of 1990, Kalina was moved to SeaWorld Aurora, and then to SeaWorld San Diego a few months after that. In May of 1991, Kalina was moved to SeaWorld San Antonio. It was there that she met Kotar, Keet's father. Not long after her arrival, sometime around August or September, Kalina became pregnant. Kalina was only 5 years old at the time, an incredibly young age for killer whales to become pregnant.

On February 2nd, 1993, Kalina went into labor, and at around 12:00 pm CST, Keet was born. At the time of his birth, 4 other whales lived at SeaWorld San Antonio: his mother and father, an adult female named Haida, and Haida's young son, Kyuquot.

Keet was very independent from an early age. At just 4 months old Keet was able to stay with his own trainer, and at just 9 months old he had learned how to do several different behaviors, including waterworks. Despite Keet's independence, he was still extremely close to his mother.

### Kalina Leaves

Less than a year after Keet's birth, Kalina became pregnant again. In October of 1994, Kalina was separated from her son and moved back to SeaWorld Orlando. She and Keet were very close at the time of her move.  According to a former trainer, Keet was reportedly still nursing when his mother was moved away.

About a month after his mother left, Haida gave birth to a calf, and a few days after that, a young female named Katerina arrived at the park. Katerina was actually Kalina's younger sister, which made her Keet's aunt.  Keet formed an extremely close bond with Katerina, who had also recently been separated her mother.  In December, Haida's calf passed away from pneumonia. In April of the following year, Kotar was playing in a gate when it fell down and crushed his skull, and he too passed away.

### Losing Katerina

In May of 1999, Katerina passed away from bacterial pneumonia. Following her death, Haida and Ky began to target Keet with extreme aggression. It eventually became so bad that Keet would refuse to go into the same pools with the pair, and he would often regurgitate his food. On some occasions, he would be raked so badly that he would start to shiver. This continued for several more months.  In October, 2 new females, Kayla and Winnie, arrived at SWSA.

## Moving Around the Country

A month after Kayla and Winnie's arrival, in November of 1999, Keet was moved to SeaWorld San Diego. At the time, 8 other whales lived there: Kasatka, Corky, Orkid, Takara, Ulises, Sumar, Splash and Keto. Although the 2 had never met each other before, Keto was actually Keet's younger brother. Keet's stay in San Diego would be short, however. In April of 2000, Keet, Keto and Sumar were sent to SeaWorld Ohio for the park's final operating season.

### SeaWorld Ohio

The 3 young males arrived at SeaWorld Ohio on April 15th, 2000, and they performed together until the park's closure in October. A few months after that, in February of 2001, the whales finally left the park. Keet moved back to SeaWorld San Diego on February 15th, and Sumar moved back on the 18th. Keto, however, was not sent back to San Diego, and went to SeaWorld San Antonio instead.

### Returning to San Diego

2 months after Keet and Sumar's return to San Diego, an adult female named Bjossa arrived at the park.  While living there, Bjossa became very close to Sumar.  Unfortunately Bjossa suffered from chronic health issues, and in August she had to be separated from the other whales and moved to the animal care center for medical treatment. She remained there until her death in October.  In September, Kasatka gave birth to a son named Nakai, and 8 months after that, in May of 2002, Takara gave birth to a daughter named Kohana.

As Keet grew older, he became more sexually mature. He started being used in SeaWorld's artificial insemination program. He also became the most sexually active male at SeaWorld San Diego. In the late spring or early summer of 2003, Kasatka became pregnant with his calf. Before his calf was born, however, he was once again moved to another park.  Kasatka would give birth to Kalia, Keet's first calf, in December of that year.

## Going Back Home

On April 24th, 2004, Keet was sent back to SeaWorld San Antonio. He was reunited with Ky, Kayla and Keto, and met a new whale, his aunt Unna. The following day, 2 more whales arrived: Tekoa and Tuar. Tuar was Keet's younger brother, although like Keto, he had never met Keet before.  At San Antonio, Keet remained in a subdominant position within the social hierarchy. Despite this, Keet continued to be sexually active, and he would often refuse to leave the females while they were cycling. Almost immediately after Keet arrived, he mated with Kayla, and she became pregnant.

### Halyn

On October 9th, 2005, Kayla gave birth to Keet's second calf, Halyn. Unfortunately, immediately after birth, Kayla rejected her new daughter, and began to attack her. Kayla and her calf were separated, and Halyn was soon moved to the Animal Care area of the park.  A few months later, in February of 2006, Keto and Tekoa were moved out of the park.  During a show in April, Unna gave birth to a stillborn calf. Although the father has never been confirmed, it was almost certainly Keet, which would have made the calf inbred. A month after that, in May, Halyn returned to Shamu Stadium,  and soon she was introduced to Keet. Although killer whale fathers typically don't play a part in raising calves, Keet and Halyn became incredibly close.

### Major Changes

In February of 2006, Keto and Tekoa left SeaWorld San Antonio and were sent to a park in Spain, Loro Parque. In November of 2006, Kayla was moved to SeaWorld Orlando, and a male named Taku was moved to San Antonio in her place. Taku was Keet's uncle.  At some point prior to Kayla's move, she had become pregnant, but she suffered a miscarriage in May of 2007. The miscarried calf was likely sired by Keet. After Kayla left, Kyuquot assumed a more dominant position in the pod. In October of 2007, Taku passed away from pneumonia, and in June of 2008, Halyn died from encephalitis. At some point in 2008 or early 2009, Unna once again became pregnant, although she had a miscarriage at some point in 2009. The father was likely Keet.

In February of 2009, Takara arrived at the park. Although she was pregnant, she wasn't afraid to assert her dominance. Although Unna and Keet accepted her immediately, it took Tuar and Kyuquot a little longer. Regardless, she quickly took her place as the matriarch of the San Antonio pod. In January of 2010, Takara gave birth to Sakari. Keet was introduced to Sakari when she was about a month old, and he did well with her.  At some point that same year, Keet had 6 sperm samples taken for a study on killer whale artificial insemination. It is unknown if these samples were ever used to artificially inseminate a female.

## Life at SeaWorld San Diego

In February of 2012, Keet was moved for a fifth time. In the early morning hours of February 27th, 2012, Keet was loaded onto a C-130 Hercules cargo jet and flown to San Diego. His flight lasted 4 hours, and he spent an additional hour and a half on a flatbed truck being driven to SeaWorld. As Keet was lowered into the medical pool, Corky, who was in C Pool, eagerly watched him through the gate.  Besides Corky, 6 other whales lived at SeaWorld San Diego at the time of Keet's move: Kastka, Orkid, Ulises, Nakai, Ikaika and Kalia.

A few hours after Keet's arrival, he and Corky were reunited, and they got along well.  Keet seemed to handle the move very well, and later in the day he was even able to perform a segment of the "One Ocean" show with Corky.  Within 4 days of his arrival, Keet was reunited with Ulises.  Within a month, although it was likely not long after arriving, Keet reunited with Nakai and was introduced to his uncle, Ikaika.

The August after his arrival, an adult female named Shouka was moved to the park.  Although the first whales she was introduced to were Corky and Orkid,  3 days later she was introduced to Keet as well. Corky was there when Keet first met Shouka. Keet and Shouka's introduction went well, and all 3 of them began to swim together almost immediately. Just minutes after meeting Shouka, Keet attempted to mate with her.

On February 14th, 2013, Kasatka gave birth to her third calf, Makani.  In April of 2014, SeaWorld announced that Keet's daughter, Kalia, was pregnant.  The calf was sired by Ulises.  On December 2nd, 2014, Kalia gave birth to Keet's grand-daughter, Amaya.

### The Fall of the Queen

In 2008, Kasatka developed bacterial pneumonia. Although she survived, the pneumonia became chronic, and she would live with it for the rest of her life.  In 2016, Kasatka's health started to significantly decline. She began to develop skin discoloration on her lower jaw.  In August of 2016, SeaWorld announced that they were treating Kasatka for a respiratory infection, and that she was receiving new treatment for it. Vets even made a custom nebulizer for Kasatka.  Despite the medication and intensive treatments her health continued to get worse, and in 2017 she developed severe skin lesions across her body.    By August 15th, 2017, Kasatka's quality of life was deteriorating, and SeaWorld vets made the decision to humanely euthanize her. Kasatka passed away in the medical pool at 8:15 pm PST surrounded by her caretakers and pod.   After Kasatka's death the social structure of the San Diego pod changed drastically. Kasatka had been the matriarch for decades, and all of the whales were deeply affected by her loss. Her family was hit especially hard. Although the social hierarchy fluctuated at first, Kalia and Shouka eventually became the dominant females at the park.

### Carrying On

In August of 2021, Amaya passed away unexpectedly from an unspecified gastro-intestinal disease.

### Current Day

Keet currently lives at SeaWorld San Diego with his uncle Ikaika and daughter Kalia, as well as Corky, Orkid, Ulises, Makani, Shouka and Nakai. Keet spends most of his time with Ulises, Ikaika, Corky and Makani, although he often performs by himself or with Ulises. His grand-mother Katina lives at SeaWorld Orlando with his aunt Nalani, his uncle Makaio and his cousin Trua. His younger brothers Keto and Tuar are still alive. Keto lives at Loro Parque, and Tuar still lives at SeaWorld San Antonio. Keto's son, Adán, also lives at Loro Parque.

## Relatives in Captivity

Keet's mother was Kalina. She was born at SeaWorld Orlando in 1985, and she passed away there in 2010 from septicemia. Kalina was the daughter of Katina and Winston. Katina is still alive and lives at SeaWorld Orlando. Winston passed away at SeaWorld San Diego in 1986 from chronic heart failure.

Keet has been confirmed to have sired 2 calves, and he has likely sired at least 3 more as well. His first daughter, Kalia, was born at SeaWorld San Diego in 2004, and his second daughter, Halyn, was born at SeaWorld San Antonio in 2005. Halyn passed away there in 2008, although Kalia is still alive and still lives at SeaWorld San Diego. Keet likely sired Unna's stillborn calf from 2006 and Kayla's miscarried calf from 2007 as well. Kalia gave birth to Keet's grand-daughter, Amaya, at SeaWorld San Diego in 2014, although she unfortunately passed away there in 2021.

After giving birth to Keet, Kalina had 3 more calves, all at SeaWorld Orlando: Keto, Tuar and Skyla. She also gave birth to a stillborn calf in 1997. Keto was born in 1995, and he currently lives at Loro Parque. Tuar was born in 1999 and still lives at SeaWorld San Antonio. Skyla was born in 2004 and moved to Loro Parque in 2006. She passed away there in 2021 from a twisted intestine. Keet has 3 nieces and nephews, all sired by Keto: Adán in 2010, Victoria in 2012 and Ula in 2018. All of them were born at Loro Parque. Unfortunately, Victoria died in 2013, and Ula died in 2021. Adán is still alive and lives there to this day.

After giving birth to Kalina, Katina had 6 more calves, all of them born at SeaWorld Orlando: Katerina in 1988, Taku in 1993, Unna in 1996, Ikaika in 2002, Nalani in 2006 and Makaio in 2010. Katerina died in 1999, Taku died in 2008, and Unna died in 2015, all of them at SeaWorld San Antonio. Nalani and Makaio are still alive and currently live with Katina at SeaWorld Orlando. Ikaika lives at SeaWorld San Diego instead. While he was alive, Taku sired 2 calves of his own: Nalani, who is inbred, and Trua, who also lives at SeaWorld Orlando.

Through his father, Keet has a half-sister, Takara. Takara was born at SeaWorld San Diego in 1991, and she currently lives at SeaWorld San Antonio. Takara has had 5 calves: Kohana, Trua, Sakari, Kamea and Kyara. Kohana was born at SeaWorld San Diego in 2002, although she now lives at Loro Parque. Adán and Victoria are both her calves. Sakari and Kamea both still live at SeaWorld San Antonio, and they were born there in 2010 and 2013 respectively. Kyara was born at SWSA in 2017, but she unfortunately passed away a few months later. Takara also had a miscarried calf in 2012.

Through Kotar, Keet has several other half-siblings: Kahana's miscarried calf from 1990, Kenau's unborn calf from 1991, Samoa's stillborn calf from 1992, and Haida's deceased calf from 1994. Through Keet's grand-father, Winston, Keet is also related to Kenau's deceased calf from 1985, and Kandu V's stillborn calf from 1986.

## Personality

Keet is generally considered to be "lazy" by both trainers and visitors. When asked who the smartest whale at SeaWorld San Diego was, a trainer explained that their answer was Keet, simply because Keet knows that he will still be reinforced for a behavior even if he only does the bare minimum. Though Keet does not seem to have an extensive amount of enthusiasm for high energy behaviors, he is content to lay back and receive scratches and other tactile reinforcers from his caregivers.

In terms of hierarchy, Keet tends to be submissive when socializing with his podmates at SeaWorld San Diego. His behavior was similar at SeaWorld San Antonio.

## Appearance

Keet has large pectoral fins and his tail flukes curl. He is easily identified by his size.

## Trivia

* The word "kéet" means "killer whale" in Tlingit  (also called Łingít).
* Keet was the first second-generation killer whale to be born in captivity.
* He is also one of the oldest living captive-bred killer whales, and he is surpassed only by Orkid, Takara and Kyuquot.
* Keet has lived with a total of 30 different killer whales in his lifetime.
* As of 2024, Keet was the last killer whale to be transferred between SeaWorld parks.

## Galleries

* **Photos** of Keet
* **Videos** of Keet

## Transfer History

Keet's Transfer History
 SeaWorld San Diego, California
 SeaWorld Aurora, Ohio
 SeaWorld San Diego, California
 SeaWorld San Antonio, Texas

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Cetacean Cousins: Captive Orca - Keet
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 SeaWorld Orca Profile- Killer Whale Keet
3. ↑ "Keet: Shipped Around the Country"
4. ↑ Cetacean Cousins: Captive Orca - Bjossa's Profile
5. ↑ "Bjossa the Orca is Dead"
6. ↑ Cetacean Cousins: Captive Orca - Kayla
7. ↑ "SeaWorld moves healthy killer whale calf to Shamu tank"
8. ↑ SeaWorld Orca Profile - Killer Whale Takara
9. ↑ "In vitro sperm characterization and development of a sperm cryopreservation method using directional solidification in the killer whale (*Orcinus orca*)"
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Killer Whale Keet Transferred To SeaWorld From Texas - February 27, 2012 - San Diego TV" by cherokeephil on YouTube
11. ↑ "Keet's first show 2-27-12" by RukatheBlackfish on YouTube
12. ↑ "Keet with Ulises Underwater Viewing and some Behaviors" by coley4evr on YouTube
13. ↑ "Corky, Keet, Nakai & Ikaika 3-20-12" by RukatheBlackfish on YouTube
14. ↑ "Shouka's First Full Day at Seaworld!" by coley4evr on YouTube
15. ↑ "Shouka, Corky, and Keet 8-23-12" by RukatheBlackfish on YouTube
16. ↑ "Orca Born At SeaWorld"
17. ↑ "SeaWorld Says San Diego Killer Whale Is Pregnant"
18. ↑ "Let's Talk About Whale Sex – and SeaWorld's Fight for Their Right to Have It"
19. ↑ "Kalia's Calf is Born! | SeaWorld San Diego" by SeaWorld San Diego on YouTube
20. ↑ "Join us for Kasatka's daily(...)" SeaWorld on Facebook.
21. ↑ "Nakai and Kasatka Rolling (6/23/16)" by EchoBeluga on YouTube
22. ↑ "SeaWorld’s experts have been treating(...)" SeaWorld (SeaWorld) on Twitter
23. ↑ "💕 #kasatka #longway #home #seaworldsandiego(...)" Hayley (tillitime) on Instagram
24. ↑ "What We Need to Learn From the Death of Kasatka, the Orca Captive at SeaWorld"
25. ↑ "SeaWorld Stock Sinks Amid Federal Probes; Care of Key Orca Kasatka Debated"
26. ↑ "Kasatka"
27. ↑ "SeaWorld Euthanizes Killer Whale Kasatka; Matriarch Had Lung Disease"
28. ↑ "LIVE, UP CLOSE, POOLSIDE AND VIRTUALLY, SEAWORLD’S ORCAS AWE AND INSPIRE GUESTS EVERY DAY"