Documents provided by The Orca Project* reveal the disturbing cause of death of Kanduke, a captive orca that died very suddenly in 1990. WDCS has long campaigned against holding cetaceans, and especially orcas, in captivity and this information adds to our growing list of evidence and arguments against confining these animals for our entertainment, and their exposure to the stressors associated with long-term imprisonment in concrete pools. In revealing the various ways that captivity is unsuitable for whales and dolphins and leads to their suffering and premature death in captivity, WDCS is shocked to learn of another way that captivity kills.
In the summer of 1990, Kanduke died suddenly and unexpectedly after deteriorating very quickly, and according to the online documents published by Sea World and recently provided to WDCS, SeaWorld veterinarians were puzzled by his rapid demise (within 48 hours of onset of clinical signs). As a result, tissue samples were sent to Yale University for further examination and diagnosis. Former SeaWorld veterinarians Mike Walsh and Terry Campbell subsequently wrote a peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of "Clinical and Diagnostic Virology" describing the presence of an avian virus in the tissue of Kanduke and resulting in fatal encephalitis.
Published in 1993, the full necropsy and scientific article documenting the presence of this virus and conclusive connection between Kanduke’s death and this avian-borne disease can be found here on page 22, and entitled “Isolation of St. Louis Virus from a killer whale”: http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/50313202?access_key=key-k9njjvzywxoecu5np3e
This combination of the necropsy report and article suggests a direct causal link between orca confinement and premature death. There was an outbreak of St. Louis Virus in Florida during the summer of 1990, when the whale was bitten by mosquitoes that were infected with this virus. Former Sea World trainers Jeff Ventre and Carol Ray have testified to witnessing mosquitoes on Kanduke’s back while working there. They have also verified the poor skin condition of Kanduke at the time, burned and peeling from exposure to the sun, and therefore perhaps even more susceptible to infection. Mosquitoes bite infected birds and then serve as a vector in the spreading of this virus to other animals. It is important to note that this virus is typically not fatal in humans.
This information is critical to the debate about keeping orcas in captivity. Free-ranging, wild killer whales would not be stationary and suspended with their backs at the water's surface for hours each night, thereby exposed to Florida mosquitoes carrying the avian virus. WDCS continues to call for an end to the confinement of orcas in captivity.
*The linked necropsy documents were obtained through a government FOIA by The Orca Project, and Ms. Wendy Cook discovered the scientific article describing the virus.