Keto, an orca who was raised in captivity recently died in Loro Parque, after living a terrible life. He was taken away from his mother at 4 years old and spent a lot of time in between parks before ending up at Seaworld Loro Parque. During his time there he was forced to breed in unnatural ways and he had to perform tricks in front of live audiences. However, the killer whale wasn’t happy in the park and even had signs of distress like eating concrete! Keep on reading what else happened during Keto’s life!
Keto Killed his Trainer
One day when Keto and his trainer, Alex Martinez, were preparing for their next Christmas show performance, he attacked his trainer by pulling him underwater and severely wounding him. Alexis Martinez had broken bones, damaged organs, and other fatal injuries that cost him his life. Two months later, another orca killed a different trainer in a different park in front of an audience, which made SeaWorld stop working with orcas for a while.
The Orca was forced into the SeaWorlds Breeding Programme
Throughout its life, the orca was not solely employed for entertainment purposes. Upon its relocation to Seaworld Loro Parque, it underwent training to perform shows for park visitors. However, when the visitors left the park, the orca was utilized for breeding purposes. This practice was not conducted naturally. He was forced to breed with his niece, which was an unnatural relationship that resulted in multiple calves. However, only one of these calves is still alive the others died shortly after being born.
These animals shouldn’t live in captivity
Killer whales need a lot of space, and there is no pool big enough to recreate that sense of space. This is why you can often see that orcas in captivity will float out of boredom. However, for Keto, there was a lot more stress added to his life. He was forced into breeding and due to his distress he ended up chewing on concrete destroying his teeth. Eventually, he passed away at the age of 29 which is young for an orca, as they can live nearly 70 years in the wild! Keto’s death reignites the debate over keeping orcas in confinement, with calls for reform from organizations like PETA.
