Captive Killer Whales that Escaped or were Released!
Of 27 killer whales , 8 escaped their holding pens and 19 were released.
| Name | Sex | Origin | Capture Date | Holding Area | Escaped / Released | Time in Captivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juliet / C15 | N/A | Warrior Cove, Namu, British Columbia, Canada | 1965/6/23 | Warrior Cove, British Columbia | Escaped 1965/6/25 | 2 Days |
| No name | F | Pacific Northwest, North America | 1966/1/5 | Salish Sea | Escaped 1966/1/9 | 4 days |
| Hyak | M | Garden Bay, Pender Harbor, British Columbia, Canada | 1968/2/21 | Pender Harbor, British Columbia, Canada | Released 1969/2/14 | 359 days (11 months, 24 days) |
| Irving / Skookum Cecil | M | Garden Bay, Pender Harbor, British Columbia, Canada | 1968/4/26 | Pender Harbor, British Columbia, Canada | Escaped 1968/8/26 | 122 days (4 months) |
| Ishmael | M | Yukon Harbor, Bainbridge Island, Washington State, USA | 1968/10/5 | US Navy, Hawaii | Escaped 1971/2/19 | 867 days (2 years, 4 months, 14 days) |
| Charlie Chin / T1 / M1 | M | Pedder Bay, British Columbia, Canada | 1970/3/1 | Pedder Bay, British Columbia, Canada | Escaped 1970/10/27 | 240 days (7 months, 26 days) |
| Pointednose Cow / T2 / M2 | F | Pedder Bay, British Columbia, Canada | 1970/3/1 | Pedder Bay, British Columbia, Canada | Escaped 1970/10/27 | 240 days (7 months, 26 days) |
| Taku / K1 | M | Pedder Bay, British Columbia, Canada | 1973/8 | Pedder Bay, British Columbia, Canada | Released 1973/10 | 61 days (2 months) |
| T13 / O5 | F | Budd Inlet, Washington State, USA | 1976/3/7 | Budd Inlet, Washington State, USA | Released 1976/4/26 | 50 days (1 month, 19 days) |
| T14 / O4 | M | Budd Inlet, Washington State, USA | 1976/3/7 | Budd Inlet, Washington State, USA | Released 1976/4/26 | 50 days (1 month, 19 days) |
| No name | M | Iceland | 1978/11 | Saedyrasafnid, Iceland | Released 1979/2/12 | 92 days (3 months) |
| No name | N/A | Iceland | 1978/11 | Saedyrasafnid, Iceland | Released 1979/2/12 | 92 days (3 months) |
| No name | N/A | Iceland | 1978/11 | Saedyrasafnid, Iceland | Released 1979/2/12 | 92 days (3 months) |
| Keiko / Kago / Kego | M | Medallands Bugt, Iceland | 1979/11 | Taknes Bay, Norway | Released 2002/7/30 | 8307 days (22 years, 8 months, 29 days) |
| No name | N/A | Japan | 1982/2 | Taiji, Japan | Escaped 1982 | Unknown |
| No name | N/A | Japan | 1982/2 | Taiji, Japan | Escaped 1982 | Unknown |
| A73 / Springer | F | Seattle, Washington State, USA | 2002/6/12 | Manchester, Washington State, USA | Released 2002/7/14 | 32 days (1 month, 2 days) |
| No name | F | Russia | 2010/7/20 | Russian sea pen | Escaped 2010/8 | 12 days |
| Leha | M | Sea of Okhotsk, Russia | 2018/8 | Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Krai, Russia | Released 2019/6/27 | 330 days (10 months, 26 days) |
| Vasilievna | F | Sea of Okhotsk, Russia | 2018/8 | Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Krai, Russia | Released 2019/6/27 | 330 days (10 months, 26 days) |
| Alexandra | F | Sea of Okhotsk, Russia | 2018/8 | Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Krai, Russia | Released 2019/7/16 | 349 days (11 months, 15 days) |
| Vitas | M | Sea of Okhotsk, Russia | 2018/8 | Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Krai, Russia | Released 2019/7/16 | 349 days (11 months, 15 days) |
| Zina | F | Sea of Okhotsk, Russia | 2018/8 | Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Krai, Russia | Released 2019/7/16 | 349 days (11 months, 15 days) |
| Gaika | F | Sea of Okhotsk, Russia | 2018/8 | Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Krai, Russia | Released 2019/8/6 | 370 days (1 year, 5 days) |
| Tihon | M | Sea of Okhotsk, Russia | 2018/8 | Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Krai, Russia | Released 2019/8/6 | 370 days (1 year, 5 days) |
| Zoya | F | Sea of Okhotsk, Russia | 2018/8 | Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Krai, Russia | Released 2019/8/6 | 370 days (1 year, 5 days) |
| Harja / Kharya | F | Sea of Okhotsk, Russia | 2018/8 | Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Krai, Russia | Released 2019/8/27 | 391 days (1 year, 26 days) |
| Forest | M | Sea of Okhotsk, Russia | 2018/8 | Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Krai, Russia | Released 2019/8/27 | 391 days (1 year, 26 days) |
Sources:
– Data collected by OrcaHome.de (discontinued) was used as baseline for this spreadsheet, particularly capture dates. One notable source is “Orca – The Whale Called Killer” by Erich Hoyt
– Capture date for Ishmael was found in a U.S Navy document regarding Project Deep Ops (found here).
– Time in captivity was calculated using a calculator. The end date was not included (otherwise this would’ve added a day) as the whales passed away before the 24 hour mark. Some capture dates and death dates lack an exact day or month due to insufficient historical data. In this case, 01 is used for an unknown day and January is used for an unknown month unless a season is specified, then the first month of the season is used.