Commemorating the 54th anniversary of Corky’s capture

Today we commemorate the 54th anniversary of Corky’s capture at Pender Harbour, British Columbia on December 11, 1969.  Four year old Corky, A16, was among 12 orcas of A5 Pod captured including her mother A23 Stripe, who was later released with five others.  Corky was sold to Marineland of the Pacific in Los Angeles, joining her cousin Orky, who had been captured the year before.  They had 7 offspring, the longest living for only 46 days.  In 1987 Corky and Orky were moved to SeaWorld San Diego, where Orky died the next year.  Corky is an amazing survivor, looks strong and continues to perform shows at SeaWorld.  She is the longest surviving captive whale in the world.  We are pushing on ever harder to prepare Double Bay Sanctuary to be Corky’s retirement home and house a SeaWorld team to give Corky the continuity of quality care she now receives.  The Sanctuary features a 15 acre doubled netted enclosure, big enough for Corky and a companion orca, and includes feeding and medical stations.  Unlike other winters when we shut down, we have a construction crew working on site throughout the winter.  We continue to request a meeting with SeaWorld management to present our full proposal for Corky’s retirement and repatriation to her home waters.