Victoria (pronounced vic-TOR-ee-ah), also known as Vicky (VIC-ee), was a 10 month old female killer whale who lived at Loro Parque in Spain. She was born there tail-first on August 3rd, 2012. Her mother was Kohana, a 100% Icelandic killer whale, and her father was Keto, a 75% Icelandic Resident and 25% Southern Resident, which made Vicky 87.5% Icelandic and 12.5% Southern Resident. Victoria passed away due to unspecified intestinal issues on June 16th, 2013 at Loro Parque.
Birth and Early Life[]
Victoria was born on August 3rd, 2012. She was Kohana's second calf. Just like her brother Adán, Victoria was rejected by Kohana and she had to be hand-raised by trainers. Skyla was present for her birth. According to her care team, Victoria was a playful and energetic calf. Victoria was introduced to Adán in November of that same year.
Death[]
On June 16th, 2013, Vicky passed away. Loro Parque announced her death on Facebook soon after. Vicky was reportedly acting "unusual" in the days leading up to her death, and Loro Parque even flew in a chief vet from SeaWorld to examine her. Her cause of death was not initially released. [1] [2]
Nothing else was known about Vicky's death for over 8 years, and she was almost never mentioned again by Loro Parque. In July of 2021, a young killer whale named Toa stranded in New Zealand. Scientists, vets, and rescuers in New Zealand reached out to dozens of killer whale experts around the world for advice, including staff from Loro Parque. In emails between Loro Parque staff and rescuers, Loro Parque revealed that feeding calves too much formula can cause a "delay in digestion and inflammation of the digestive system", and that the formula they give to calves lacks the same amount of calories as the milk produced by the mother, so reaching the necessary number of calories can be difficult. In the same email, Loro Parque confirmed that feeding too much formula at once was what caused Vicky's death. [3]
Galleries[]
- Photos of Victoria
- Videos of Victoria
Transfer History[]
Victoria was never transferred out of Loro Parque.