Kim II (pronounced keem) was an approximately 24-year-old male Icelandic killer whale who lived at Marineland Antibes. He was captured in October 1982 from Stokkseyri, Iceland at approximately 1 year old. Kim passed away due to pneumonia on November 23rd, 2005 at Marineland Antibes.
Capture & Early Life[]
In October of 1982, five young whales were captured in Stokkseyri, Iceland: Kim II, Freya, Nootka IV, Haida II, and an unnamed male. They were then transferred to the Hafnarfjordur Aquarium, where they underwent training for marine parks. On March 6th, 1983, Kim II and another female named Freya were transferred to Marineland Antibes. Here, they joined the park’s resident female whale, Betty. The three got along well and performed together for a few years until Betty’s death in 1987.
Life at Marineland Antibes[]
Kim II and Shouka. Photo provided by Edge0fall
Following Betty’s death, Marineland wanted to acquire more whales for their park. However, due to the changing laws about captures, Marineland was unable to obtain any for a while. On January 12th, 1990, two young whales, Tanouk and Sharkane, arrived at Marineland. Although Kim got along well with Sharkane, he did not get along with Tanouk. The two males were separated, and Tanouk spent most of the time in the back pools. At the time of their arrival, Freya was pregnant with Kim’s calf, but delivered a stillborn in March of 1991.
Shortly after Freya’s stillborn, both Sharkane and Freya became pregnant with Kim’s calves. Sharkane gave birth to Shouka in February 1993, while Freya had another stillborn calf a month later. From 1996 to 2003, Kim sired five more calves, but only three survived: Valentin, Inouk, and Wikie. He got along well with the pod, but shared a particularly close bond with Shouka. But as Shouka matured, there were concerns that the two would breed. To prevent this, Shouka was transferred to Six Flags Ohio in 2002. After her transfer, Kim became less active and put on more weight. Although he had a relationship with his other calves, none were as strong as the one he had with Shouka.
Kim was known for his gentle nature towards his trainers. He was a good candidate in waterwork and would repeat behaviors until he felt that trainers were satisfied. He was normally behaved in shows, but did not like being kept in smaller holding tanks and would tail-slap the surface out of frustration. For this reason, he was mostly kept in the show pool. [1]
Death[]
On November 23rd, 2005, Kim II succumbed to pneumonia.
Galleries[]
- Photos of Kim II
- Videos of Kim II
Transfer History[]
| FROM: | TO: | ON: |
|---|---|---|
| Stokkseyri, Iceland | Hafnarfjörður Aquarium, Iceland | Oct. ??, 1982 |
| Hafnarfjörður Aquarium, Iceland | Marineland Antibes, France | Mar. 06, 1983 |