Orkid

Orkid was born September 23, 1988, in SeaWorld San Diego, California. Orkid's parents are Kandu V (her mother), and Orky II (her father). She was the first killer whale born in the San Diego Sea World Park successfully. Orky II died only three days after Orkid was born. She was named Orkid, in memory of her father (most likely a combination of "Orky" and "kid"). In August 1989, Kandu V charged Corky II during a live show. The blow broke Kandu V's jaw, and severed an artery in Kandu's head; apparently in an act of trying to assert her dominance over Corky II. As a result, she began spouting blood with every breath she took. Forty five minutes later Kandu V sank to the bottom of the pool and died, bleeding to death. Orkid witnessed this; for weeks after the incident, she would circle the tanks calling out and vocalizing. However, she was raised by Corky, and later befriended a male named Splash. Orkid has been artificially inseminated many times, but has never gotten pregnant. Orkid is highly intelligent (having been affectionately nicknamed by trainers the "Rocket Scientist") and knows hundreds of behaviors. Only the most senior trainers are to work with her, as she has shown aggression toward trainers in the past. After an incident in 2006 where she dragged a trainer to the bottom of the show pool, Orkid has been barred from performing waterworks with trainers.