Captive Killer Whale Dies after Swallowing 180lbs (81kg) of Stones

Feb. 2, 2011 - PRLog -- According to the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium in Japan, a necropsy (animal autopsy) found that the captive killer whale (orca) named "Nami", who died in January, had 491 stones, weighing 81.4 kilograms (179.5 lbs) in total, lodged in her stomach.

The 28-year-old female orca became sick and was losing weight in late December, 2010 and passed away on January 14 of this year, nearly 7 months after being transported to Nagoya from her home of 24 years at the Taiji Whale Museum in Japan.

The Mainichi Daily News reported: “One pocket of her stomach was reportedly sagging due to the weight of some 70 kilograms (154 lbs) of pebbles stuffed in it, including the largest stone that measured 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) in length and weighed 2.1 kilograms (4.6 lbs). Furthermore, an ulcer was found in another pocket of her stomach, and bleeding from the spleen and enteritis were also diagnosed. The ailments are thought to have put a strain on Nami's heart.”

The facility announced that Nami died from Fungal Bacterial Pneumonia, Stomach Ulcers, Myocardial Fibrosis, Heart Failure and Chronic Colitis after swallowing the stones over the course of many years at the Taiji Whale Museum where the orca was on public display in part of a natural cove. There are no stones in the pool where Nami was kept at the aquarium in Nagoya since June, 2010.

The Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium plans on teaming up with external experts to further examine what caused Nami's death and review how killer whales should be raised in captivity. Presently, there are no orcas living at either the Taiji Whale Museum or the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium.

You can read more about Nami’s cause of death here: http://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/killer-wha...  or for The Orca Project’s full report on Nami’s life and death, please visit: http://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/killer-wha...

For the latest updates, additional content, links to related documents, news and stories, visit www.theorcaproject.com or http://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/

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The Orca Project is a non-profit organization where ideas, news and information are shared to raise awareness about Killer Whales in captivity, their exploitation by Marine Mammal Parks and the freedom of their wild counterparts around the world.