On the 22nd of November 2024, the captive orca Keto died at Loro Parque in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, after 29 years of captivity and servitude to the entertainment industry.
During his short life, Keto was shuffled between marine parks before being sent to Loro Parque in 2006, where he was forced to perform and used as a breeding machine in small tanks. Keto was born at SeaWorld Orlando, US, in 1995. His mother, Kalina, was the first orca to live after being born at a SeaWorld Park. Keto’s father, Kotar, died at SeaWorld when a tank gate came down and crushed his skull. Keto’s older brother, Keet, is still kept captive against his will at SeaWorld. In 1999, SeaWorld separated the four-year-old Keto from his mother and transferred him to SeaWorld San Diego. Soon after, the company sent him to SeaWorld Ohio, followed by SeaWorld San Antonio. In 2006, SeaWorld “loaned” Keto and three other young orcas to Loro Parque to use them to breed more orcas into captivity. Keto was bred with his niece, Kohana. His daughter, Vicky, died when she was only ten months old. Only one of Keto’s three calves is still alive: Adán, who is still used in shows at Loro Parque.
In 2009, Keto killed trainer Alexis Martinez during a session that a SeaWorld senior trainer was reportedly supervising. Due to this incident, SeaWorld ceased its direct involvement, and in 2018 relinquished ownership of the orcas. When the animal rights organisation PETA visited Loro Parque, they took footage of Keto’s captive conditions, and they witnessed him biting on concrete, which is an abnormal behaviour that led to his teeth being worn down. PETA also reported that Keto was seen aimlessly floating—likely out of boredom and anguish. More than 40 orcas and over 500 other dolphins and whales have died in SeaWorld’s barren tanks.
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