Ikaika

Ikaika. Photo provided by EchoBeluga.

### Half-Siblings

*Kalina*, *Katerina*, Kyuquot, *Nootka IV's Calf (1992)*, *Nyar*, *Nootka IV's Stillborn (1994)*, *Gudrun's Stillborn (1996)*, *Kalina's Stillborn (1997)*, *Sumar*, Tuar, Tekoa, *Haida II's Unborn Calf (2001)*, *Nakai*, *Kohana*, *Skyla*, *Taima's Miscarriage (2005)*, Nalani, Malia, Sakari, *Taima's Stillborn (2010)*

### Nieces & Nephews

Keet, Keto, *Kalina's Stillborn (1997)*, Tuar, *Skyla*, Kalia, *Halyn*, Trua, *Unna's Stillborn (2006)*, Nalani, Malia, *Kayla's Miscarriage (2007)*, *Unna's Miscarriage (2009)*, Adán, *Victoria*, *Amaya*, *Kyara*, *Ula*

Ikaika *(pronounced ai-KY-kuh),* sometimes referred to as "Ike," is a 21-year-old male Icelandic killer whale who currently lives at SeaWorld San Diego. He was born tail-first at 11:53 pm EST on August 25th, 2002, at SeaWorld Orlando. His mother is Katina and his father is Tilikum. He is Katina's oldest living calf. Ikaika is the largest killer whale at SeaWorld San Diego.

## Birth and Early Life

In the spring of 2001, Katina became pregnant. This was her third pregnancy sired by Tilikum.

At 11:53 pm EST, Katina gave birth to her fifth calf, Ikaika. His older sister Unna was present for his birth. Besides his parents and Unna, 5 other whales lived at the park at the time of his birth: his older sister Kalina, his older brother Taku, Kalina's son Tuar, an adult female named Taima and her son Tekoa. Growing up, Ikaika became very close with Taku.

In April of 2004, Tekoa and Tuar left the park. Takara, alongside her daughter Kohana, was moved there instead. Takara became pregnant almost immediately. In 2005 she gave birth to a son, sired by Taku, named Trua.

### Birth of Nalani

On September 18th, 2006, Katina gave birth to her sixth calf and fourth daughter, Nalani. Although Katina was initially very caring and attentive with Nalani, this didn't last. After about a week, Nalani was introduced to her brothers, and Katina's behavior completely changed. She began to act very disinterested and even somewhat aggressive towards Nalani. Ikaika even attempted to mate with Nalani at one point. Although her sons were quickly separated from her, she continued to neglect her daughter.

## Move to Marineland

On November 18th, 2006, Ikaika was moved to Marineland of Canada on a breeding loan in exchange for three male beluga whales. Upon his arrival, he was introduced to the park's resident whales: Nootka V, Kiska and, Kiska's daughter, Athena.

### Custody Battle

In 2011, SeaWorld went to court with Marineland of Canada, claiming that the park wasn't providing Ikaika with adequate care. SeaWorld regained custody of Ikaika, and he was subsequently transferred to SeaWorld San Diego on November 13th.

## Life at SeaWorld San Diego

On November 13th, 2011, Ikaika was transferred to SeaWorld San Diego. Upon his arrival, Ikaika would be joining 6 other whales, Kasatka, the matriarch, two of her children, Nakai and Kalia, along with Orkid, a 23-year-old dominant female, Ulises, an older dominant male, and Corky, an older, subdominant female. He was often grouped with Corky, who was known for "adopting" whales who came into the park. Three months later, the San Diego pod welcomed a familiar face, Keet, a subdominant male who had lived there in the past. Once again, later that year, another whale was transferred into the park, this time a dominant female named Shouka who had been without killer whale companionship for 10 years.

Despite being an outside male, Ikaika fit in well with the pod and is frequently seen with Corky, Keet, and Makani. He is occasionally paired with Shouka.

## Personality

Ikaika spends time with all of the killer whales in San Diego, but spends most of his time with Corky and Makani. Much like his father, Ike is a relatively relaxed whale but still displays impressive amounts of agility. He seems to put a lot of enthusiasm into his behaviors. In spite of his size, he is a high jumper, like his mother. Overall, he could be considered a true "gentle-giant."

## Appearance

Being over 21 feet long and weighs nearly 10,000 pounds, Ikaika is easy to pick out alongside other, much smaller whales. His dorsal fin is completely collapsed onto his right side, and it curves backwards slightly.

## Galleries

* **Photos** of Ikaika
* **Videos** of Ikaika

## Transfer History

Ikaika's Transfer History
 Marineland of Canada, Canada

1. ↑ Whale returns to SeaWorld after Marineland loses custody battle