Some killer whales have become famous when they've been caught in fishing nets. Others have become famous because they have been kept in captivity for a long time. Here is some information about three famous killer whales.
SHAMU
Shamu is an orca whale that performs at Sea World. Shamu was the first baby whale born successfully in captivity. The first Shamu was born in 1965. When one Shamu get sick or dies, they name another whale Shamu and it performs in its place.
Today Shamu is 25 feet long and 6000 pounds. She lives in Bush Gardens Sea World. In Sea World they breed Shamu's so if the mother dies the baby will be the next Shamu. Shamu's trainers say Shamu needs a lot of care and training. Shamu can be dangerous so the trainers encourage Shamu to be gentle. They say if they just gave Shamu fish she wouldn't be too happy. Shamu's trainers play with Shamu a lot.
KEIKO
Keiko is 9,620 pounds and lives in Newport, Oregon in more than 12,000 gallons of water. His trainers are Peter Noah, Karen McRae, & others. Earlier this summer Keiko got a very bad infection from his tank water. His water was changed and now he is fine. Keiko is the whale that you saw in the Free Willy movies.
NAMU
In 1965 two Canadian fisherman caught an orca by mistake. This orca was sold to the Seattle Aquarium. When this captured orca, later named Namu, was being towed through the water to Seattle a pod of orcas came and attacked the cage. They had heard Namu's cry for help. During the first two weeks of Namu's stay at the Seattle Aquarium he had 120,000 visitors. Namu was the first famous orca that people could go see in an oceanarium.
There are lots of other famous whales that we haven't mentioned like Corky and Splash. So if you want to know more about famous killer whales go to your library and ask about famous killer whales.
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