Bjossa

Bjossa. Photo provided by TRAZE DOM.

Bjossa (*pronounced bee-YOH-sah*) was an approximately 24-year-old female Icelandic killer whale who lived at SeaWorld San Diego, although she spent most of her life at the Vancouver Aquarium. She was captured on November 14th, 1980 near Reydarfjördur, Iceland at approximately 3 years old. Bjossa passed away due to chronic bronchopneumonia on October 8th, 2001 at SeaWorld San Diego.

## Capture & Early Life

Bjossa was born in the waters of the north Atlantic sometime around 1977.  On November 14th, 1980, she was captured near Reydarfjördur, Iceland, alongside a young male, Finna. The pair was loaded onto the *Guðrún*, a capture boat that had been used to capture dozens of whales before them.  They arrived at the Hafnarfjörður Aquarium the following day. There, they met 3 other recently captured whales: Benkei II, Ulises and Vigga. The whales remained there for several weeks while they adjusted to captivity. At some point all of the whales were sold to various aquariums. On December 17th, Ulises was moved to Spain, and just a few days later the other whales would be moved as well.

## Life at the Vancouver Aquarium

On December 20th, Benkei, Finna, Bjossa and Vigga were all loaded on a Nordair cargo jet and flown across the Atlantic. They arrived at the Vancouver International Airport in British Columbia, Canada, about half a day later. From the plane the whales were loaded onto 2 semi-trucks and driven to their new home, the Vancouver Aquarium.  All four whales were moved to a temporary "research pool" in the back of the park. Although they were in different habitats and separated by hundreds of feet, the young whales started to communicate with the park's resident killer whale, a Northern Resident male named Hyak II. At the time of their arrival, all of the Icelandic whales were believed to be females.  Although the Vancouver Aquarium planned to keep Finna and Bjossa, Benkei and Vigga had been purchased by other aquariums and were set to be moved again within a few months.

On January 13th, just a few weeks after their arrival, Finna and Bjossa were moved to the park's main killer whale habitat. Although they were not directly introduced to Hyak, they could see him through the gate. Hyak sat outside of the gate and would not move, and he even refused to eat. The next day the gate was opened, and Hyak immediately entered the pool with Finna and Bjossa. The Icelandic whales became extremely vocal, and they started to slap the water with their tails. Meanwhile, Hyak started to swim in tight circles. This only lasted for a few minutes, however, as Hyak left the pool and all three whales calmed down. Hyak sat himself back outside of the gate while his companion, a Pacific white-sided dolphin named Whitewings, began to dart in and out of the pool. Bjossa and Finna remained in the pool, and eventually Hyak left and began to perform during a show. After a few minutes, however, he stopped performing, raced back to the gate, and began to sit there waiting for the Icelandic whales once again.

On January 23rd, a guest at the aquarium reported that they had seen Finna's genitals. Although skeptical, a senior trainer decided to examine him. The trainer eventually confirmed that Finna was indeed a male. Despite believing that he had originally been a female, the park decided to keep him anyway.

In late January, Benkei was moved to Japan, and in March, Vigga was moved to California.

https://ur.booksc.org/book/5749190/1a4a00

On November 13th around 1pm, right before the killer whale show was scheduled to begin at the Vancouver Aquarium, someone noticed that Bjossa was going into labor. The show was halted and everyone gathered to watch the birth. At 3:08 PM, Bjossa gave birth to a 250 lb, 6.5 foot long calf.   About two weeks after her birth, aquarium staff noticed that the calf was looking thin. She then startled to become lethargic and Finna was removed from the tank he shared with Bjossa and the calf. Hyak had been separated from the other whales since the calf's birth. The calf continued to decline and eventually stopped nursing. The killer whale pool was closed to the public and it was decided to intervene. The calf was separated from Bjossa and placed in medical pool, with plans to tube feed her. At this point, she was already very weak. Shortly after being moved to the medical pool, the calf died. Staff believed that she may have suffered injuries during birth and she was possibly severely dehydrated. The cause of death was malnutrition.

Hyak fell ill in early 1991, and died on the afternoon of February 17th, 1991 after being sick for around three weeks. Around this time, staff started to suspect that Bjossa was pregnant due to blood samples showing pregnancy levels of progesterone. It was suspected that, if Bjossa was pregnant, Hyak would be the father.

Sure enough, Bjossa was pregnant, and she gave birth to a female calf on September 30th, 1991 after a two-hour labor. Around 100 people watched the birth.  In response to the new calf, underwater viewing of the orcas at the aquarium was closed. The calf first started nursing that night.  Because Bjossa's first calf had died after Bjossa failed to produce enough milk, the aquarium hired a lactation consultant to make sure everything was going well with the new calf. Initially, they reported that everything seemed to be normal.

However, it became clear that Bjossa was once again not able to produce enough milk for her calf, and they were separated on October 25th so that she could be bottlefed by keepers. It was planned that they would not be reunited until the calf was eating solid food, as there was concern that Bjossa might not let her calf be hand-fed if she were given access to her.  The calf, who was later named K'yosha after a combination of her parents' names, ended up dying on January 4th, 1992 of a brain infection before she could be reunited with her mother.

Bjossa gave birth one final time on March 8th, 1995, in front of a small crowd of visitors. The calf lived only a few minutes after birth before dying of a ruptured umbilical cord. Its body was temporarily left with Bjossa so she could grieve.

On the morning of October 6th, 1997, Finna was found dead in the tank he shared with Bjossa and dolphin Whitewings. He was being treated for a mass on his right side at the time, and had stopped eating and become lethargic the previous night. His death left Bjossa the last killer whale at the Vancouver Aquarium.

## A New Chance at SeaWorld

After the Vancouver Aquarium failed to find a companion for Bjossa, the decision was made to move her to another facility. The aquarium received multiple offers for her, even from facilities in France and Japan, but they declined them all. It was ultimately decided that SeaWorld would be the best option for her.  The Vancouver aquarium announced that she was being moved in April of 2000.

The aquarium's decision was met with mixed emotions. Many people, especially staff, had come to know and love her, and were sad to see her leave.  The aquarium received hundreds of calls, letters, cards and drawings wishing Bjossa goodbye.  There were also many people who were against the move.  Critics were worried that she her health might be compromised, that she would be bred again or that SeaWorld might keep her alone, among many other concerns. Many people wanted her to be sent to live with Keiko, a captive killer whale who had been retired to a sea pen in Iceland a few years prior, or to simply remain in Vancouver.

Despite public outcry, on March 14th, 2001, SeaWorld's permit to import Bjossa was approved.  On April 18th Bjossa, joined by White Wings, performed at the Vancouver Aquarium for the last time. Approximately 3,000 people showed up to watch her final show. A banner reading "Bon Voyage Bjossa!" was created to wish her farewell, and it was signed by hundreds of people.

### Bjossa's Move

The day of Bjossa's arrival, April 21st, 2001, soon arrived. Vancouver Aquarium staff and security, as well as local police, were briefed on the security for Bjossa's move,  and media crews met with the aquarium's director beside her pool.  In preparation for her move, Bjossa was separated from White Wings and gated in the medical pool. Likely noticing the activity and sensing that something was happening, Bjossa was seen spyhopping, and she even seemed to search for White Wings through the medical pool gate at least once.   Staff also took down at least one sign from around the pool that talked about killer whales.

Meanwhile, dozens of people began to gather outside of the aquarium. Many brought signs, and some even set up an "information table".  A trailer covered in signs that protested Bjossa's move and orca captivity in general was parked in the aquarium's parking lot,  as well as a camper that featured similar signage. At some point, the camper was broken into and stolen.

At some point late that evening, the med pool was drained, and Bjossa, surrounded by trainers from both the aquarium and SeaWorld, was sedated with Valium and moved into a stretcher. Despite being sedated, Bjossa was very vocal.  As Bjossa's stretcher was being lifted out of her tank by a crane, the protestors silently held up candles and signs, including one that read "Bjossa's Pain, Vancouver's Shame".  The protestors continued their vigil as Bjossa was loaded into a transport container on a truck, and then as the aquarium prepared to drive to the airport.

At some point after midnight, Bjossa was driven to the Vancouver Airport. Although the move was an hour behind schedule, it was going smoothly otherwise. Bjossa and her 20t transport container were loaded onto a flatbed truck, and then onto a Lockheed L-100 Hercules cargo jet   owned by Lynden Air Cargo Llc.  The plane took off not long after that. Bjossa's transport cost about $200,000 (which is the equivalent of about $300,000 today) and was paid for by SeaWorld.  Brian Sheehan, a head trainer at the Vancouver Aquarium, accompanied Bjossa during the entire trip.

### Life at SeaWorld

Bjossa arrived at her new home later that morning.  At the time of her move, the SeaWorld San Diego had 8 other whales: Ulises, a whale that she had met in Iceland, as well as Kasatka, Takara, Corky II, Keet, Orkid, Splash and Sumar.  After Bjossa's move, at least one of the other whales, Orkid, was very interested in her. Orkid even hauled herself onto a slideout to get a better look at the new arrival.  Bjossa was first introduced to Corky, who was coincidentally from the same pod as Hyak had been. She then met Sumar, a young male calf who had been rejected by his mother. Bjossa, having lost 3 calves of her own, became especially close to him.  Bjossa seemed to adjust to her new home very quickly,  and at some point she even began to participate in shows. SeaWorld hoped that she would eventually join their breeding program.

### Death

Despite seemingly thriving at SeaWorld for many months, Bjossa's health began to decline again in August. She lost her appetite and was lethargic and unresponsive. She became so sick that she was eventually moved to the Animal Care area of the park. She eventually had a "near-death incident", although she survived. Her health slowly recovered, and for several weeks she appeared to be getting better. Bjossa was even back to eating and interacting with trainers again. In October, however, her health took a turn for the worse again, and on October 8th, 2001, she had a stroke and quietly passed away. A necropsy revealed that her cause of death was her chronic bronchopneumonia. The necropsy also discovered that an abcess had ruptured in Bjossa's lung at some point, and that she had also developed "walls" of scar tissue in her lungs from her chronic respiratory issues, and that the scarring had made treating her pneumonia more difficult.

## Galleries

* **Photos** of Bjossa
* **Videos** of Bjossa

## Transfer History

Bjossa's Transfer History
 Capture Boat (*Guðrún*), Iceland
 Hafnarfjörður Aquarium, Iceland
 Vancouver Aquarium, British Columbia

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Cetacean Cousins: Captive Orca - Bjossa's Profile
2. ↑ "Fimm háhyrningar veiddst í haust"
3. ↑ "A whale of a flight"
4. ↑ "Killer whales doing lots of nattering"
5. ↑ "Lovesick Hyak spurns showbiz"
6. ↑ "Finna turns out to be a lot of bull"
7. ↑ (1988) 'Killer Whale's Birth Excites Vancouver Aquarium Fans'
8. ↑ (1988) 'First Captive "Killer" Born'
9. ↑ (1988) 'Autopsy Set After Baby Whale Dies at Vancouver Aquarium'
10. ↑ 'Hyak Buried at Sea, Might Leave Heir'
11. ↑ 'Female Killer Whale Calf Born at Vancouver Aquarium'
12. ↑ 'Staff at Aquarium Thrilled as Baby Orca Nurses'
13. ↑ 'Humans Can Learn From Newborn Whale of a Relationship'
14. ↑ 'Killer Whale Calf Thrives on Hand-Delivered Meals'
15. ↑ 'Baby Whale Dies of Brain Infection'
16. ↑ 'Killer Whale Calf Loses Fight For Life'
17. ↑ 'Killer Whale, Finna, Dies Mysteriously'
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Bjossa the Orca is Dead"
19. ↑ "B.C. aquarium closing killer whale exhibit"
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 "Killer whale's move to U.S. makes waves"
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 - BJOSSA'S PAGE -
22. ↑ "Wanted -- Captive Female Orca -- Vancouver, B.C., Is On The Leading Edge Of The Environmental Movement To Save Whales, A Fact That Makes The City Aquarium's Search For Another Orca Particularly Touchy"
23. ↑ "A whale of a debate"
24. ↑ "Orca Bjossa's last show in Vancouver"
25. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego"
26. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (2)
27. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (3)
28. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (4)
29. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (5)
30. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (6)
31. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (7)
32. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (8)
33. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (8)
34. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (9)
35. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (10)
36. ↑ "Bjossa the killer whale moved to San Diego" (11)
37. ↑ Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - Lockheed L-100-30, c/n 4698, c/r N402LC
38. ↑ "Orkid checking out Bjossa on(...)" by Orca Base on Facebook
39. ↑ "Respiratory illness claims orca Bjossa"
40. ↑ "Staff pays tribute to Bjossa"