Winnie - orca
Sex: Female
Pod: N/A
Place of Capture: Ingólfshöfði, Iceland
Date of Capture: October 12, 1977
Age at Capture: Approx. less than 1 year
On October 12, 1977, a group of 6 Orcas were captured off the coast of Iceland; two males and four females. They were brought to the Hafnarfjordur Aquarium where their health was assessed, genders determined, and all 6 were named.
After being transferred to Dolphinarium Harderwijk, they were soon sold to various marine parks.
Two females, Peanuts (later known as Hoi Wai) and Frya were purchased by SeaWorld and sent to Windsor Safari Park in return for a male named Winston. Peanuts/Hoi Wai soon left Windsor for Clacton Dolphinarium and later Ocean Park in Hong Kong.
Frya was soon renamed to Winnie in honor of the park managers wife. She remained alone at the park until 1985, when a young male named Nemo arrived from Clacton Dolphinarium. Trainers hoped they would be a good couple, but the two did not appear to get along. In 1986, Nemo died, leaving Winnie alone at the park once again.
On October 26, 1991, after numerous anti-captivity movements in the UK, Winnie was sent to SeaWorld to join their breeding program. When she arrived at SeaWorld Orlando, she was still much smaller than the dominant females and was constantly harassed, and ended up becoming very submissive.
In October 1994, she was transferred to SeaWorld Aurora in Ohio where she soon became the dominant female and met another female named Kayla. Both whales got along very well, and performed together at the park for 5 years until they were transferred to the San Antonio park in 1999.
Haida II was the dominant female at this park, and many were concerned about Winnie and Haida II. However, the two whales got along very well in the end. When Haida II died in 2001, many of the whales at the park did not want to perform. Soon after her death, Winnie became the dominant female again.
However, On April 11, 2002, Winnie also died. During her time at Windsor Safari Park, she had consumed over 12 lbs. of objects that eventually blocked her intestines, preventing her body from absorbing nutrients and killing her nearly 20 years later.