Frankie - orca

Sex: Male

Pod: Southern Residents (L pod)

Place of Capture: Pedder Bay, British Columbia, Canada

Date of Capture: August 1973

Age at Capture: Approx. 12 years

In August 1973, four orcas were captured in Pedder Bay, British Columbia. One adult male, K-1 Taku, was deemed to large, and was released instead as part of an individual recognition research.

The remaining 3 were kept, and later known as Frankie, Kandy, and Nootka II. The whales were soon sold to marine parks; Frankie was sold to SeaWorld San Diego.

Here it was possible he met the other resident orcas; Kandu III, Kilroy, Kona, Ramu, & Sandy. Frankie was likely kept in one of the back pools while being trained for shows.

On January 29, 1974, Frankie died due to influenza after just 6 months in captivity.