Vallejo, CA (AP) Yaka, the 32-year-old killer whale who entertained millions at Marine World Africa USA, has died, apparently of pneumonia, park officials said.
The 20-foot-long, 10,000-pound mammal had been ill for about three months before her death Wednesday, park officials said.
"It is exactly like losing a family member," said park spokesman Jeff Jouett. "There is a period of shock and denial and grief and all the stages that you go through as you try to understand how life goes on without someone or, in this case, an animal."
A necropsy performed Wednesday night and Thursday showed the preliminary cause of death was pneumonia, Jouett said.
More than 31 million people have seen Yaka perform at Marine World since the killer whale's arrival in 1969. She was the third-oldest killer whale in captivity, park officials said.
"At 32, she was one of the oldest killer whales in oceanariums, so you always have to be prepared for the worst, but since this is the first killer whale we've lost in 17 years, it is a very unusual experience," said Marine World Director Terry Samansky.
For the past 16 years, Yaka has been paired with Vigga, a fellow killer whale.
Yaka had received veterinary treatment for a fungal infection for the past three months. Marine mammal experts, consulted about Yaka's case, pointed to an infection centered in the killer whale's sinuses, park officials said.
"We sincerely appreciate the support of all the veterinarians involved in this effort," Samansky said.
"The finest talent in the world was applied to this valiant effort to preserve Yaka, and absolutely no expense was spared."
Animal activists, meanwhile, called Yaka's death symbolic of the "tragedy of captivity."
"This tragic event highlights the fact that captivity is a death sentence for dolphins and whales," said Elliot Katz, president of the Mill Valley-based In Defense of Animals. "It is time for Marine World to permanently close its marine mammal show and to begin the process of rehabilitating its remaining orca for potential release to the wild."
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