When I first met the orcas of the Sea World petting pool of the early eighties, Kotar and Kasatka seemed like an inseparable pair, and always went together in my mind.
I have to admit that I bonded more closely with Kotar, but Kasatka was always there too, and had her affectionate or playful moments. And she was the “buddy” of Kotar, which meant a lot in itself.
The years passed, and I drifted away from the entire Sea World scene and lost track of the orcas. So it was a gut-wrenching shock to learn of Kotar’s death when I happened to be visiting Sea World in association with a field trip in a Marine Mammals class that I was teaching at Palomar College in the mid-1990s.
Now Kasatka is gone too, although she has many descendants in captivity. There’s no way to avoid the uncomfortable facts of how hard the decades of captivity must have been on such an intelligent being as Kasatka, and her end was certainly too soon.
For me, it’s the end of an era or sorts, with the two” inseparable” whales, my friends, now gone from this world.
Robyn Waayers
San Diego, California
August, 2017
I have to admit that I bonded more closely with Kotar, but Kasatka was always there too, and had her affectionate or playful moments. And she was the “buddy” of Kotar, which meant a lot in itself.
The years passed, and I drifted away from the entire Sea World scene and lost track of the orcas. So it was a gut-wrenching shock to learn of Kotar’s death when I happened to be visiting Sea World in association with a field trip in a Marine Mammals class that I was teaching at Palomar College in the mid-1990s.
Now Kasatka is gone too, although she has many descendants in captivity. There’s no way to avoid the uncomfortable facts of how hard the decades of captivity must have been on such an intelligent being as Kasatka, and her end was certainly too soon.
For me, it’s the end of an era or sorts, with the two” inseparable” whales, my friends, now gone from this world.
Robyn Waayers
San Diego, California
August, 2017
