ORLANDO, Fla. _ Kyara, a 3-month-old killer whale born at SeaWorld San Antonio, died at the Texas theme park on Monday. The calf, born to 26-year-old Takara in April, was the final orca to be born in captivity at a SeaWorld park. Orlando-based SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment decided to stop breeding orcas amid animal rights protests and declining visitor counts.
The orca, which had been treated for an infection at the park's hospital for three days, likely had pneumonia, according to the SeaWorld Cares website.
Even before the weekend, Kyara was dealing with "very serious and progressive health issues" over the last week that the veterinary teams had been aggressively treating, the website said.
The park's veterinary staff had treated Kyara with antimicrobials, including antibiotics, for infections. Because the calf had not been receiving the daily nutrition she needed, the SeaWorld team was hand-feeding her multiple times each day.
A full post mortem exam will determine the cause of death, SeaWorld said. It may take several weeks before results are finalized. Pneumonia is a common cause of death or illness in whales and dolphins in the wild and in aquariums, SeaWorld's website said.
"While the loss of Kyara is heartbreaking for the animal care, veterinary and training teams, as well as the entire SeaWorld family, our focus is now on continuing the care of the rest of the orca pod back at Shamu Stadium," SeaWorld said on the website.
Killer-whale shows were canceled at SeaWorld San Antonio for Monday.
Takara, the mother of Kyara, was born at SeaWorld San Diego, but lived at SeaWorld in Orlando between 2004 and 2009, when she was moved to the Texas theme park. Kyara was her fifth calf. The newborn calf was sired by Kyuquot at the San Antonio park by natural means.
Tilikum, which sired 14 calves in about 25 years, died of bacterial pneumonia in Orlando in January.
