Keto - orca

Sex: Male

Place of birth: Born at SeaWorld of Florida

Date of birth: June 17, 1995

Captive at: Loro Parque Tenerife, Spain

On June 17, 1995, a female orca named Kalina, who was born in captivity, gave birth to her second calf at SeaWorld Orlando. Remarkably, Kalina was only 9 years old at the time. The newborn calf was a male named Keto, fathered by a male orca from Iceland called Kotar.

Keto spent a little over 3 years at the Orlando park before being relocated to SeaWorld San Diego in 1999. There, he was reunited with his older brother, Keet. In April 2000, Keto and Keet were moved once again, this time to a park in Aurora, Ohio, along with another male orca named Sumar.

In February 2001, Keto was transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio, where he formed a close bond with a female orca named Kayla. He was known to engage in conflicts with a male named Kyuquot over Kayla's attention. In 2004, Keto was reunited with his brother Keet. However, in February 2006, Keto, along with three other young orcas named Kohana, Tekoa, and Skyla, were sent on a breeding loan to Loro Parque in Spain. Although they were owned by SeaWorld, the decision to move them together drew criticism due to their familial relationship.

The group of young orcas at Loro Parque faced challenges in terms of social structure, as they lacked a dominant matriarch. This resulted in aggression issues among the whales and occasional aggression towards trainers. Notably, Keto had already displayed aggressive behavior towards trainers before his transfer to Loro Parque.

In September 1998, he pushed his trainer around the pool and made contact with another trainer in March 1999 and August 2002. In December 1999, he snapped at his trainer during a training session. However, Keto's aggression seemed to escalate on December 24, 2009.

During a morning training session for the Christmas Special, Keto struck and killed his 29-year-old trainer, Alexis Martínez. Initially, it was reported that Alexis had drowned after being rendered unconscious and held underwater for several minutes. However, the subsequent autopsy revealed a more violent cause of death. Alexis had suffered multiple cuts and bruises, collapsed lungs, rib and sternum fractures, a lacerated liver, severe damage to vital organs, and puncture marks consistent with orca teeth.

The autopsy determined that drowning caused by fluid in the lungs was the immediate cause of death. However, the underlying cause was attributed to "mechanical asphyxiation due to compression and crushing of the thoracic abdomen with injuries to vital organs." This indicated that Keto had slammed into Alexis with enough force to cause his chest to cave in.

In October 2010, Kohana, who was part of the orca group at Loro Parque, gave birth to the first calf conceived at the park. The calf, named Adán, was fathered by Keto, who also happened to be Kohana's uncle. Unfortunately, Kohana rejected Adán, likely due to her lack of learned mothering skills. As a result, the park staff had to bottle-feed and care for Adán.

In 2012, Kohana gave birth to hers and Keto’s second calf, a female named Victoria, or Vicky for short. Once again, Kohana rejected her calf, forcing staff to separate the pair and bottle feed her. Vicky died at just 10 months old.