Sharkane (pronounced shar-CAN) was an approximately 23-year-old female Icelandic killer whale who lived at Marineland Antibes. She was captured on October 29th, 1989 from Hornafjördur, Iceland at approximately 4-years-old. Sharkane passed away due to a bacterial infection associated with Pseudomonas Aeruginosa on January 3rd, 2009 at Marineland Antibes.
Capture & Early Life[]
Sharkane. Photo provided by GVA / DV.is.
On October 29th, 1989, Sharkane was captured 12 nautical miles off of Hornafjördur, Iceland.[1] She was captured alongside another female, Ai. Sharkane and Ai were moved to the Hafnarfjörður Aquarium that same day where they joined two other captured whales, Ran and Tanouk. These were the last group of orcas caught in Icelandic waters, as the government was considering banning wild captures. Although the four whales were quickly purchased, their transfers were delayed due to the changing laws. On January 12th, 1990, Sharkane and Tanouk were transferred to Marineland Antibes, where they joined Freya and Kim II.
Although Sharkane fit well into the social structure, there was tension between the two males, Tanouk and Kim. This may have been due to Freya, as she was pregnant with her first calf. As a result, Tanouk was mainly kept in the back pools, and he was eventually moved out of the park in 1995. Freya delivered a stillborn calf in 1991, and shortly after, both she and Sharkane fell pregnant.
Life at Marineland Antibes[]
Sharkane, Inouk, and Shouka. Photo provided by Sara Farrell.
On February 25th, 1993, Sharkane gave birth to her first calf, Shouka. Freya was there to assist Sharkane during labor. A few weeks after Shouka's birth, Freya delivered another stillborn calf. In 1996, Freya gave birth to Shouka's half-brother, Valentin. Sharkane and Shouka were both present for his birth. Only a few years later, in 1999, Sharkane gave birth to her second calf, Inouk. In 2001, Sharkane gave birth to her third calf, Wikie. Sharkane was very protective of Wikie and even seemed to “hide” her from visitors at times.[2] Although the two were initially kept in the back pools, Wikie joined her mom in shows a few months later. Sharkane was close with all of her calves.
On May 20th, 2002, Sharkane's first calf, Shouka, was moved to Six Flags in the US to prevent her from breeding with her father. On November 23rd, 2005, Kim passed away from pneumonia. For the following years, Sharkane and Wikie were training for artificial insemenation. Although Wikie was successfully insemenated in 2009, it is unknown if Sharkane was ever insemenated.
Death[]
On January 3rd, 2009, Sharkane passed away due to a bacterial infection caused by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa.
Transfer History[]
| FROM: | TO: | ON: |
|---|---|---|
| Waters off of Hornafjördur, Iceland | Hafnarfjörður Aquarium, Iceland | Oct. 29, 1989 |
| Hafnarfjörður Aquarium, Iceland | Marineland Antibes, France | Jan. 12, 1990 |
Galleries[]
- Photos of Sharkane
- Videos of Sharkane