Wikie

{{short description|Female orca (born 2001)}}

{{Infobox animal

| name = Wikie

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| species = Orca

| breed = Icelandic

| gender = Female

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2001|06|01|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Marineland of Antibes, Antibes, France

| death_date =

| death_place =

| known = Mimicking human speech

| parents = {{ubl|Kim II (father) (1981–2005)|Sharkane (mother) (1985–2009)}}

| children = {{ubl|Moana (son) (2011–2023)|Keijo (son) (born 2013)}}

| mate = Valentin (half–brother) (1996–2015)

| height = {{height|ft=17|in=1}}

| weight = 2041 kg

| years_active = 2001–present

}}

Wikie (born 1 June 2001) is a female Orca who lives at the Marineland of Antibes in Antibes, France. Her mother was Sharkane (1985 – 3 January 2009) and her father was Kim II (1981 – 23 November 2005). Her elder sister is Shouka (born 25 February 1993), her elder brother was Inouk (23 February 1999 – 28 March 2024) and her elder son was Moana (16 March 2011 – 18 October 2023).

In 2009, Wikie was artificially inseminated with semen from Ulises, a male orca who currently lives at SeaWorld San Diego in California. The artificial insemination resulted in the birth of her first calf, a male named "Moana" on 16 March 2011. Moana was the first orca to be born through artificial insemination in Europe. Wikie gave birth to her second calf, a male named Keijo on 20 November 2013. Keijo's father was Wikie's half-brother Valentin (13 February 1996 – 12 October 2015).

Communication with humans

It was reported in January 2018, through the Proceedings of the Royal Society,Abramson, J. Z., Hernández-Lloreda, M. V., García, L., Colmenares, F., Aboitiz, F., & Call, J. (2018). Imitation of novel conspecific and human speech sounds in the killer whale (Orcinus orca). Proc. R. Soc. B, 285(1871), 20172171.

that researchers from Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad Compluense de Madrid and St. Andrews, working at the Marineland of Antibes, had successfully taught Wikie to mimic human words such as 'hello', 'bye bye' and 'Amy' (her instructor), as well as count to three, through using her blowhole. Wikie is thought to be the world's first orca to ever mimic human speech.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/orca-killer-whale-recorded-mimicking-english/|title=Killer whale recorded mimicking language|last=Burton|first=Bonnie|date=February 2, 2018|work=CNET|access-date=April 28, 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/killer-whale-wikie-first-orca-mimic-human-words-speech-research-breakthrough/|title=Wikie the killer whale says "hello," and that's not all|date=January 31, 2018|work=CBS News|access-date=April 28, 2018}}

Following the announcement of Wikie's ability to mimic human language, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Humane Society International called for Wikie to be released from captivity.{{Cite news|url=https://news.sky.com/story/killer-whale-wikie-learns-to-speak-human-words-11230181|title='Talking' killer whale Wikie should be freed from captivity, charities say|last=Mercer|first=David|date=January 31, 2018|work=Sky News|access-date=April 28, 2018}}

See also

References