Kasatka (c. 1976 – 15 August 2017) was a wild caught female orca who lived at SeaWorld San Diego.

Life

Kasatka was captured off the southeastern coast of Iceland on 26 October 1978, with another young female whale named Kahana. Both were estimated to be around 2 years old. The two whales were housed in a sea pen in Grindavík before being shipped to SeaWorld later that year. Kasatka showed occasional aggression to humans. In 1993, she tried to bite trainer Ken Peters during a show, and again in 1999. On November 30, 2006, Kasatka grabbed Peters again and dragged him underwater twice during their show. Peters survived with minor injuries. After suffering incurable pneumonia from 2008 to 2017, Kasatka was euthanized at age 40 on August 15, 2017.

Offspring

Kasatka was the matriarch of the San Diego Orca SeaWorld family. She was the first captive cetacean to successively receive artificial insemination, according to John Hargrove, a trainer there. She bore two daughters and two sons, resulting in six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren by the time of her death: