The fate of the orcas remains uncertain after the zoo closes

The fate of two killer whales is uncertain following the closure of a marine zoo in France on Sunday.

Activists and zoo administrators have been at odds over what should happen to the orcas, and the French government has already blocked a proposal to rehome them.

Last month, Marineland Antibes, located near Cannes on the French Riviera, said it would close permanently on January 5 following new animal welfare laws.

The legislation, which bans the use of dolphins and whales in marine zoo shows, was passed in 2021 but will come into effect next year.

Marineland, which describes itself as the largest of its kind in Europe, is currently home to two orcas: Wikie, 23, and her 11-year-old son Keijo.

Managers say the orca and dolphin shows attract 90% of Marineland’s visitors and without them the business is not viable.

Several destinations have been proposed for the whales, but there is no agreement on where they should go and what should happen to them.

Most experts agree that releasing the two whales, which are specifically Icelandic orcas, into the wild would not be appropriate since they were both born in captivity and would not have the skills to survive.

“It’s a bit like taking your dog out of the house and sending him into the woods to live freely like a wolf,” says Hanne Strager.

In 2023, the marine biologist published The Killer Whale Journals, detailing her decades-long interest in ocean predators and their behavior.

“Those whales, who have spent their entire lives in captivity, their closest relationship is with humans. They are the ones who have provided them with food, care, activities and social relationships.

“Orcas are very social animals, as social as we (humans), and they depend on social bonds. They have established those bonds with their trainers… They depend on humans and that is the only thing they know.”

A deal to send Wikie and Keijo to a marine zoo in Japan, backed by Marineland managers, sparked outrage among activists who said they would receive worse treatment.

Last November, the French government blocked the deal, saying animal welfare laws in Japan were more relaxed compared to those in Europe and that the 13,000-kilometer (8,000-mile) journey would cause stress to the orcas.

Another option is to send them to a Spanish marine zoo in the Canary Islands.

Loro Parque, in Tenerife, complies with European animal welfare standards, but activists fear that Wikie and Keijo will still have to operate there.

There have also been several killer whale deaths there in recent years.

A 29-year-old male named Keto died in November and three other orcas died there between March 2021 and September 2022.

Loro Parque says that scientific examinations of those three orcas carried out by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria show that the deaths were inevitable.

Katheryn Wise, from the charity World Animal Protection (Wap), tells the BBC: “It would be devastating for Wikie and Keijo to end up in another entertainment venue like Loro Parque, from one whale prison to another.”

Wap wants the orcas to be rehoused in an adapted ocean bay.

“(We and) many others have urged the French government to do everything possible to facilitate the movement of the orcas to a sanctuary off the coast of Nova Scotia.”

The organization hoping to build the facility in eastern Canada says it could attract funding if it received a commitment from the French government to send the two whales there.

The Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) proposes netting a 40-hectare (98-acre) area of ​​seawater.

Wikie and Keijo could then use the vast expanse of water, with the human support of veterinarians and social workers, until the end of their lives.

The average lifespan of a male orca is about 30 years, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agency. Females typically live to be about 50 years.

“Life in the sanctuary will be as similar as possible to what they would have experienced growing up in the ocean,” the WSP states. “It will be a new life that will make up for a lot of what happened before.”

This type of project has been done before.

Keiko, the orca that starred in the 1993 film Free Willy, was rescued from captivity in 1996 before being brought to a bay in Iceland in 1998.

Unlike Wikie and Keijo, he was born in the wild and was able to relearn some of the necessary survival skills while living in the bay for four years.

Finally he left with a group of orcas he had joined and swam to Norway, where He died in 2003 after an infection.

Strager warns that the proposed sanctuary might seem as foreign to Wikie and Keijo as the open ocean would.

“We have this conception that animals enjoy freedom in the same sense that we do: ‘they are free now and they will love it.’

“We don’t know if they see freedom the same way… Are they going to be afraid because it’s so different from what they’re used to? I don’t know.”

She tells the BBC: “I don’t think there are good solutions for animals that have been in captivity all their lives.”

More than 4,000 animals will be removed from Marineland, founded in 1970 by Count Roland de la Poype.

He was a decorated fighter pilot who fought during World War II before establishing himself in the plastics industry and opening Marineland due to his interest in marine life.

The closure of their passion project is the latest step in a campaign targeting marine zoos that has gained momentum over the past 15 years.

Actress Pamela Anderson called for the closure of Marineland in 2017 and held a protest outside its entrance saying “captivity kills.”

In 2013, the documentary Blackfish detailed how An orca named Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau. after a show at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010.

He grabbed her and dragged her into the water, where he tore off her arm and drowned her.

The film also describes how Tilikum was also involved in the deaths of two other people.

Researchers interviewed in the film maintained that orcas captured in the wild and trained to perform become violent in captivity.

Number of visitors and SeaWorld’s financial income suffered after the documentary. and in 2016 they suspended their captive breeding program.

They rejected calls to release the remaining orcas into the wild, saying they would likely die if left to their own devices.

Eighteen months ago they opened a new marine zoo in the United Arab Emirates, SeaWorld’s first outside the United States.

The new facility in Abu Dhabi is a $1.2bn (£966m) venture with state-owned leisure developer Miral and features the world’s largest aquarium.

There are no orcas on display here but, to the dismay of activists, dolphins are still seen.

Wap has helped convince Expedia to no longer sell vacations featuring captive dolphin shows and wants other travel companies to do the same.

“Blackfish was more than a success: it was a phenomenon,” writes scientist Naomi Rose in a Wap report. “I am convinced that this pushed Western society past the tipping point on the issue of captive cetaceans.”