Orca Keto, who killed his own trainer in 2009, died in a dolphinarium on Tenerife

He was born in captivity and also died there. Orca Keto died in the Loro Parque amusement park after a short illness. He barely lived to be 29 years old, while orcas in the wild can easily live to be 80 to 90 years old.

Keto was born in June 1995 at SeaWorld Miami as part of a breeding program for the tourism industry. In 2009, he was transferred to Loro Parque after killing his trainer Alexis Martinez during a training session. According to the animal protection organization World Animal Protection, he probably did this out of sheer frustration with his life in captivity. After the tragic incident, Keto was sold to Loro Parque, where he died on Friday.

“Mental and physical suffering”

World Animal Protection uses Keto’s death to once again make it clear that they find it scandalous that wild animals are kept captive and forced to entertain tourists. “Keto was bred and born in captivity, in a chlorine pool at SeaWorld Miami,” it said. “He has never swum in salt water or dived deeper than a few meters. In the wild, orcas travel hundreds of kilometers and dive to depths of more than 800 feet as they hunt and play. It should be abundantly clear by now that treating wild animals with such disrespect for years is completely unacceptable.”

“Orcas and dolphins suffer physically and mentally as they are confined to small chlorine tanks where they cannot express their natural behavior,” said Sanne Kuijpers, Wildlife Campaign Manager at World Animal Protection.

Loro Parque, where Keto died, is controversial anyway. Keto is already the fourth orca to die there in three years. Kohana died there in 2022. In 2021, Skyla and the calf Ula died. Ula was the offspring of Keto and Morgan, although she was not allowed to be bred. The cub was only three years old.

Three orcas now live in the tank on Tenerife, which has often been the subject of protests. Including Morgan, the orca that was ‘rescued’ from the Wadden Sea in 2010 and ended up in Loro Parque via the Dolfinarium Harderwijk.

Keto’s death should be a wake-up call for the tourism industry that continues to exploit wild animals in captivity, according to World Animal Protection. They call on travel organization TUI, among others, to no longer sell tickets for trips to dolphinariums.