Hugo (orca)

Hugo

Hugo at the Miami Seaquarium Photo: Inherently Wild
Species	Orcinus orca
Sex	Male
Born	1965 Wild born
Died	March 4, 1980 Miami Seaquarium
Cause of death	Aneurysm cerebral artery
Resting place	Miami Dade dump
Captured at	Vaughn Bay, Washington State
Capture age	Approx. 3 years
Pod	Southern Residents
Age at death	Approx. 15
Capture date	Feb 1968

Hugo was an orca who was captured from the wild and captive at the Miami Seaquarium, Florida, USA.

In February 1968, twelve orcas were captured in Vaughn Bay. A young male was reportedly the only one that was kept. He was held at the Seattle Marine Aquarium before being bought by the Miami Seaquarium where he was housed in a small pool that is now used for housing manatees.

In 1970, a second orca arrived. Her name was Lolita (formerly known as Tokitae) and she was also from the southern resident population. They were kept separate at first but would often call to each other until Hugo was moved to the tank that had been built for Lolita. The two did not seem to get along at first which also resulted in Hugo becoming aggressive towards his trainers.

Eventually, the two orcas began to get along. They mated on multiple occasions sometimes even during shows. This supposedly resulted in Lolita becoming pregnant several times, however, she never gave birth to any live offspring.

Hugo also had a history of self-harming behavior that consisted of him slamming himself into tank walls, as well as multiple aggressive acts towards his trainers. He once broke the glass viewing windows, ending up with him cutting off the tip of his rostrum, which was later sewn back on by veterinarian Dr. Jesse White.

On March 4, 1980, Hugo died after slamming himself into a tank wall and suffering a brain aneurysm. Some claimed it to be an act of suicide. His body was then lifted from the tank, and disposed of at the Miami Dade Dump.

See also

• Lolita - orca
• List of deceased captive orcas
• List of living captive orcas
• Miami Seaquarium

External links

• One Dolphin's Story The Dolphin Project
• Heartbreaking story of killer whale named Hugo who ‘killed himself’ by repeatedly ramming head against tank The Sun
• Killer orca Commits Suicide (Hugo's Story) YouTube
• Orca orca killed himself by smashing head into wall after 12 years in captivity The Mirror
• Photo Illustrates the Lesson We Should Have Learned About Orca Captivity in the 1980s One Green Planet
• Hugo's Gallery Inherently Wild

References

• This article is adapted from 160 Captives