Kalina - orca
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On September 26, 1985, a female orca named Kalina, also known as Baby Shamu, was born at SeaWorld Orlando. She was the first orca to be born at the park. Kalina and her mother, Katina, shared a strong bond, and Kalina was even present for the birth of her half-sister, Katerina, in 1988.
However, in 1990, Kalina was separated from her mother and moved to the Aurora park, where she met another female orca named Samoa. After a few months, she was transferred to the San Diego park, where she interacted with orca whales named Corky II, Kasatka, and Orkid.
In May 1991, Kalina was once again transferred, this time to the San Antonio park. There, she met several whales, including an adult male named Kotar. At the young age of 6, Kalina became pregnant by Kotar and gave birth to her first calf, a male named Keet.
Shortly after Keet's birth, Kotar and Kalina mated again, resulting in Kalina's second pregnancy. However, in October 1994, Kalina was transferred back to the Orlando park, leaving behind a one-year-old Keet in San Antonio.
In 1995, Kalina gave birth to her second calf, another male named Keto. Over the years, she went on to have three more calves, all sired by an Icelandic male named Tilikum. Unfortunately, one of the calves was stillborn in 1997. The other two were a male named Tuar, born in 1999, and a female named Skyla, born in 2004.
During her time at SeaWorld, Kalina played a role in training sessions. She was used as a starter whale for trainers learning waterworks, although she wasn't the main focus. Kalina showed great attentiveness and seemed to enjoy interacting with the trainers.
However, tensions arose in 2006 when another female orca named Kayla arrived. Kalina and Kayla often had conflicts, resulting in frequent fights that sometimes disrupted shows. One significant incident occurred just before the death of senior trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. During that show, Kalina was injured above her right eye.
On October 4, 2010, Kalina fell ill and died suddenly due to acute bacterial septicemia. There were no noticeable signs of illness in the days leading up to her death.