Shamu

Shamu. Photo provided by National Geographic.

Shamu *(pronounced sha-MOO)* was a 10 year old female Southern Resident killer whale who lived at SeaWorld San Diego. Shamu and her mother were captured on October 31st, 1965, although her mother died the following day. She was the first killer whale owned by SeaWorld and the first killer whale to intentionally be captured for live display in captivity. Her name has lived on to this day as the stage name for all of SeaWorld's killer whales.

## Capture and Early Life

   Shamu was a Southern Resident killer whale who was born into J Pod sometime around 1961.  She most likely grew up surrounded by her family, and 90% of her diet would've been Chinook salmon. Every summer Shamu and her mother would probably have congregated in the annual "superpod" with the other Southern Residents.

   Ted Griffin was an aquarium owner and entrepreneur who was on the hunt for killer whales. In June of 1965, Griffin bought a killer whale named Namu who had accidentally been caught by fishermen. He kept the whale at the Seattle Marine Aquarium, his waterfront aquarium in Elliot Bay, Seattle. After capturing Namu he tried multiple times to capture another whale, but they were all unsuccessful. In late October, however, his luck changed.

On October 31st, 1965, Shamu and her mother were swimming together in Puget Sound when they were spotted by Ted Griffin's capture team. Although Griffin himself was absent at the beginning of the hunt (he was at the hospital with his wife, who was in labor), he joined them shortly after his daughter was born. Shamu's mother was shot with a light harpoon attached to a floater buoy. As night fell, the team used lights to keep track of the whales. They were then chased for over 17 hours until finally being netted by the purse seiners *Chinook* and *Golden Gate* in Henderson Bay on November 1st.

Shortly after being captured, bubbles began to pour out of the harpoon wound. Shamu's mother started to swim erratically and then she drowned.  Shamu, now alone, was moved to Namu's winter pen in Puget Sound. The two didn't like each other, however, and Shamu was rough with Ted Griffin and hard to train. She was put up for sale. Not long after, she was sold to SeaWorld, a marine park that had just opened in San Diego a year prior, for $75,000. SeaWorld wanted to name her Namu, but could not due to copyright. They decided to name her "Shamu", which means "Friend of Namu" or "She-Namu".  She moved to SeaWorld San Diego on December 20th.  She was the first killer whale to travel via airplane.

## Life at Seaworld

       Although SeaWorld had opened a year earlier, Shamu made them famous. She lived in a small pool near Dolphin Lagoon and the Skyride on the north side of the park. She was kept with a Pacific white-sided dolphin named George. She quickly learned how to perform. She was frequently used in waterworks. She became the star of the show "Shamu Goes Hollywood". In 1967, Ramu and Kilroy, two male Southern Residents from K Pod, were transferred to the park.  Kilroy was very young when he arrived, so he may not have moved in with Shamu immediately. He was not seen with Shamu in 1967 and 1968.   At some point in 1969, however, he moved in with Shamu.  Ramu lived in the dolphin pool  and was not kept with Shamu and Kilroy until 1971. In January of 1969, all three whales at the park caught the "Hong Kong Flu" (H3N2 Virus). The whales had a poor appetite, were weak, had sniffles, and were achy. They were given antibiotics in the form of 375 tetracycline antibiotic pills every day. The three whales eventually recovered.   In December of that year, SeaWorld brought in Kandu, a female whale that Ramu and Kilroy had been captured with, although she may have never met Shamu.

    In February of 1971, Kandu passed away. In May, Shamu was moved to SeaWorld’s newly-built $1.5 million killer whale stadium. The stadium is now used for bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales. Ramu was moved into her old habitat to take over for her in the show while Shamu was trained in the new stadium.  Not long after, Ramu moved to the new stadium and joined her.

### Death

At some point before her death, Shamu became pregnant. Although not officially confirmed, the father was almost certainly Ramu. On Sunday, August 29th, 1971, Shamu passed away, and her unborn calf died with her.  She died of pyometra, a serious and potentially life-threatening uterine infection. Pyometra often develops due to hormonal fluctuations, specifically an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone. During pregnancy, increased levels of progesterone can cause the uterine lining to thicken, creating an ideal environment for bacterial growth. Pyometra is characterized by the accumulation of pus in the uterus due to the bacterial infection. As the infection progresses, bacteria can enter the bloodstream from the uterus, leading to septicemia. The bacteria can spread to other organs and systems throughout the body, causing widespread inflammation and organ failure. Her death did not stop the shows, however. SeaWorld said that her "understudy", Kilroy, would continue with the show.

## Behavioral Incidents

In April 19th, 1971, there was an incident between Shamu and a 22 year old park secretary named Annette Eckis. For a publicity stunt, Eckis was supposed to wear a bikini and ride around the pool on Shamu's back. Trainers noticed that Shamu's tail was fluttering, a sign of agitation. After only one lap around the pool, Eckis slipped off. Shamu bit into her leg and refused to let go. Trainers had to pry her mouth open with a pole to free Eckis' leg. She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.   Eckis needed 100-200 stitches and was left with mental and physical scarring.
Shamu may have been confused by the bikini that Eckis was wearing as she had only been conditioned to swim with trainers in wetsuits. Shamu had acted aggressively towards people in swim suits at least twice before; the first time towards a Catalina swimsuit model and the second towards a SeaWorld trainer. Shamu had also been already acting erratically since March of that year.

## Legacy

        Shamu's name has lived on as the trademarked stage name for all of SeaWorld's killer whales. Her name has been used in merchandise, shows, park locations, video games, advertisements, and more. Although the original Shamu was a female, Shamu as a character was often depicted as male and referred to with masculine pronouns. In 2004, SeaWorld released "Shamu's Deep Sea Adventure", a video game featuring "Shamu" and his fight to save SeaWorld from Poseidon and the evil Kraken. Many of SeaWorld's killer whale shows have featured "Shamu" in the name, such as "Shamu Rocks America" and "The Shamu Adventure". The killer whale stadiums were called "Shamu Stadium" for many years. When Kalina was born, she was often referred to as "Baby Shamu". Other whales such as Orkid were also called "Baby Shamu" when they were young. Although SeaWorld has tried to distance themselves from the "Shamu" name in recent years, it has stuck.

    SeaWorld's acquisition of Shamu kick-started a major industry. In the following decades, hundreds of killer whales would be kept in captivity worldwide. For over fifty years, SeaWorld would continue to acquire new killer whales, both through wild captures and through captive breeding. In March of 2016, SeaWorld ended their killer whale breeding program.

## Galleries

* **Photos** of Shamu
* **Videos** of Shamu

## Transfer History

Shamu's Transfer History
 Carr Inlet Sea Pen, Washington
 Puget Sound Sea Pen, Washington

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 *Orca: How We Came to Know and Love the Ocean's Greatest Predator*
2. ↑ "Namu has a family! 2 Whales Under Tow"
3. ↑ "Captures Mate for Killer Whale"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cetacean Cousins: Captive Orca - Shamu
5. ↑ "Sea World 1968" on YouTube
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "SEA WORLD SAN DIEGO - Vintage 1968 8mm Found Film Home Movie" on YouTube
7. ↑ "Found 8mm Film - Sea World, San Diego, 1969. Shamu" on YouTube
8. ↑ "Whales? Flu?"
9. ↑ "Before the Bronx Zoo Tiger Got the Coronavirus, Shamu Likely Caught the Flu"
10. ↑ "Shamu heads to new rehearsal site"
11. ↑ "REPORTED CAUSES OF DEATH OF CAPTIVE KILLER WHALES (*Orcinus Orca*)"
12. ↑ "Shamu dies of infection"
13. ↑ "Killer Whale Bites Girl In Marine Act Rehearsal"
14. ↑ "Shamu attack 1971" on YouTube
15. ↑ Eckis v. Sea World Corp.