Shamu
{{Short description|Captive female orca (died 1971)}}
{{about|the original killer whale Shamu|other uses|Shamu (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox animal
| name = Shamu
| image =
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| species = Orca (Orcinus orca)
| breed =
| gender = Female
| known = Namesake of the Shamu show
| birth_date = {{circa|1961}}
| death_date = August 16, 1971
| death_place = SeaWorld San Diego
| years_active = 1965–1971
| weight =
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}}
Shamu {{IPAc-en|ʃ|æ|m|uː}} ({{Circa|1961}}{{Cite book |last=Colby |first=Jason Michael |title=Orca: How We Came To Know And Love The Ocean's Greatest Predator |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-19-067311-6}} – August 16, 1971) was a female orca captured in October 1965 from a southern resident pod. She was sold to SeaWorld San Diego and became a star attraction. Shamu was the fourth orca ever captured, and the second female.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/cron.html|title=Other Captive Orcas - Historical Chronology | A Whale Of A Business | FRONTLINE | PBS|website=pbs.org}} She died in August 1971, after about six years of captivity. After her death, the name Shamu continued to be used in SeaWorld "Shamu" shows for different orcas in different SeaWorld parks.
Early life
Shamu was born sometime around 1961. She was the first-known intentional live capture of a healthy orca as the three previous captures (Wanda, Moby Doll and Namu) had been unintentional and opportunistic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/orcas1.html|title=Stories Of Captive Killer Whales | A Whale Of A Business | FRONTLINE | PBS|website=pbs.org}} The very young, {{convert|14|ft|adj=on}}, {{convert|2000|lb|adj=on}} southern resident orca was captured by Ted Griffin off Penn Cove, Puget Sound, Washington in October 1965 to be a companion for the male orca Namu at Griffin's Seattle public aquarium.[http://outsideonline.com/outside/culture/201007/killer-whale-behavior-trainer-death-seaworld.html "The Killer in the Pool", Zimmermann, Tim, Outside Magazine, 2010 July] Retrieved 2010 July 12[http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Granny-s-Struggle-A-black-and-white-gold-rush-is-1216881.php "Granny's Struggle: A black and white gold rush is on", Lyke, M. L., Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2006 October 11] Retrieved 2010 July 12 Her name means "Friend of Namu"{{Cite web|url=https://www.orlandovillas.com/florida_guide/how-did-shamu-get-her-name.aspx|title=How did Shamu get her name?|website=orlandovillas.com}} (alternatively "She-Namu").{{Cite web|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/1924946/killer-pool|title=The Killer in the Pool: A Story that Started a Movement|first=Tim|last=Zimmermann|date=July 30, 2010|website=Outside Online}} Shamu was successfully caught after her mother was killed with a harpoon.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-17 |title=The Sad History Behind Orca Captures in the United States |url=https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.nz/news/sad-history-behind-orca-captures-united-states/ |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=World Animal Protection Aotearoa New Zealand |language=en-NZ}} She was sold to SeaWorld in San Diego in December 1965.{{Cite web|url=http://www.10news.com/news/13334667/detail.html|title=SeaWorld Investigation: Secrets Below the Surface|publisher=KGTV San Diego|access-date=2008-05-05}}{{Cite web | url=http://www.orcaaware.org/shamu.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020050828/http://www.orcaaware.org/shamu.html | url-status=usurped | archive-date=October 20, 2014 | title=Shamu - Orca Aware| publisher=Orca Aware}}
Captivity
Shamu was retired from performing after an incident on April 19, 1971, in which she bit the legs and hips of Annette Eckis, a SeaWorld employee who was told to ride her as part of a filmed publicity event. Shamu refused to release the woman until other workers came to the rescue and pried the orca's jaws apart with a pole.Eckis v. Sea World Corp. [Civ. No. 14458. Court of Appeals of California, Fourth Appellate District, Division One. November 19, 1976.] [64 Cal. App. 3d 1] ([http://law.justia.com/cases/california/calapp3d/64/1.html justia.com link]){{cite news|title=Killer Whale Bites Girl In Marine Act Rehearsal|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-iYxAAAAIBAJ&pg=5577,296850&dq=killer+whale+trainer&hl=en|access-date=September 22, 2014|newspaper=Toledo Blade|date=April 20, 1971|agency=Associated Press}} The employee had been asked to ride Shamu while wearing a bikini, and had not known that the orca had previously attacked people who wore ordinary bathing suits and was only conditioned to perform with trainers wearing wetsuits. Shamu had also been showing signs of erratic behavior and of being upset just before the incident.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Spoken Wikipedia|date=2024-05-24|Shamu.ogg}}
- [https://thetyee.ca/Life/2008/05/16/OrcaCowboys/ "Era of the Orca Cowboys" article by Daniel Francis and Gil Hewlett in The Tyee webzine, May 16, 2008]
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