Katina, a killer whale at SeaWorld in Florida, injured her dorsal fin on March 17, but the aquarium isn't sure how the injury happened.
Katina is the matriarch of the pod, and was near Trua, a 12-year-old male, at the time of the injury, but was near other whales, as well, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
“It’s not exactly clear how she sustained that injury,” a Saturday blog post stated. The injury was at the base of the dorsal fin.
Director of Corporate Communications at SeaWorld Travis Claytor said Sunday it could be weeks or months until Katina heals from the injury, the Sentinel reported.
“The important thing to note is that the behavior of Katina went back to normal very quickly,” Claytor said.
The orca was put in a separate pool with her daughter and son, and cold-laser therapy is being used to help her heal more quickly, the Sentinel reported. According to the blog, she will have “permanent changes” because of the injury, although those were not detailed in the post.
SeaWorld denied the incident was because the captivity of the whales caused aggression issues, the Sentinel reported. “This is a normal occurrence in killer whale pods,” the park said.
A PETA veterinarian, Dr. Heather Rally, said the injuries could have come from the animals being forced to live in small tanks, the Sentinel reported.
“SeaWorld conveniently claims to keep orcas in cohesive family pods, but in reality, this matriarch orca is held in a tiny concrete tank with five other orcas — only three of whom are related to her — and suffered immensely when a large chunk of her dorsal fin was ripped out,” Rally said, the Sentinel reported.
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