Kasatka's health
Yesterday SeaWorld announced that their San Diego matriarch Kasatka is sick. She is suffering from a bacterial respiratory infection that she has been struggling with for several years. She is being medicated orally and through a nebuliser.
John Hargrove, a former SeaWorld top trainer, has previously claimed that Kasatka has been in poor health for several years now. Within this time frame she has also been commonly observed with fungal infections affecting her skin.
Kasatka is well known for being over assertive when displaying her dominance over the other orcas. Yet, it is noted by many including John, that she has 'calmed down' recently and become less aggressive when asserting her dominance. Whilst this has been attributed to her increasing maturity and experience as a matriarch, it's possible that in reality this long term infection may have caused her change in behaviour.
SeaWorld have claimed Kasatka's condition has been increasingly difficult to treat due to her age which they state as being early 40's. This contradicts other sources. Cetacousin puts Kasatka's age at 39 whilst Orca Pod Wikia states that she is 38. Whilst Kasatka's age is certainly admirable and impressive for a captive orca, she has not reached the average life expectancy for a wild female (around 50), she is in fact several years off. It seems unusual then that her 'old age' (as SeaWorld has implied) is causing her to struggle from this health issue.
Infections are very common in captive orcas and are in fact the leading cause of their death. This is believed to be due to several factors. The sterility of captive environments (caused by various chemicals) causes captives to have weak immune systems due to their lack of exposure to minor strains of bacteria. Stress further weakens the system. Captive orcas are commonly placed on antibiotics throughout their life to combat this, this can lead to antibiotic resistance. As recently as 2015, SeaWorld orca Unna sadly passed away due to an untreatable antibiotic resistant infection.
I hope Kasatka is at least comfortable and free of pain and that she spends her remaining time with her remain family.
Caption credit: @liberate_cetaceans (Instagram)
John Hargrove, a former SeaWorld top trainer, has previously claimed that Kasatka has been in poor health for several years now. Within this time frame she has also been commonly observed with fungal infections affecting her skin.
Kasatka is well known for being over assertive when displaying her dominance over the other orcas. Yet, it is noted by many including John, that she has 'calmed down' recently and become less aggressive when asserting her dominance. Whilst this has been attributed to her increasing maturity and experience as a matriarch, it's possible that in reality this long term infection may have caused her change in behaviour.
SeaWorld have claimed Kasatka's condition has been increasingly difficult to treat due to her age which they state as being early 40's. This contradicts other sources. Cetacousin puts Kasatka's age at 39 whilst Orca Pod Wikia states that she is 38. Whilst Kasatka's age is certainly admirable and impressive for a captive orca, she has not reached the average life expectancy for a wild female (around 50), she is in fact several years off. It seems unusual then that her 'old age' (as SeaWorld has implied) is causing her to struggle from this health issue.
Infections are very common in captive orcas and are in fact the leading cause of their death. This is believed to be due to several factors. The sterility of captive environments (caused by various chemicals) causes captives to have weak immune systems due to their lack of exposure to minor strains of bacteria. Stress further weakens the system. Captive orcas are commonly placed on antibiotics throughout their life to combat this, this can lead to antibiotic resistance. As recently as 2015, SeaWorld orca Unna sadly passed away due to an untreatable antibiotic resistant infection.
I hope Kasatka is at least comfortable and free of pain and that she spends her remaining time with her remain family.
Caption credit: @liberate_cetaceans (Instagram)
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