SeaWorld‘s last killer whale born in captivity, Kyara, died Monday after the three-month old calf lost a battle with a critical infection over the weekend, SeaWorld San Antonio announced.
“Despite (the staff’s) best efforts, her health continued to decline and she passed away earlier today,” SeaWorld’ San Antonio announced on its blog Monday.
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Kyara was born to much fanfare April 19 after an 18-month pregnancy to Takara, a 25-year-old female orca. Takara was already pregnant when SeaWorld announced last year it was ending its orca breeding program in March.
“The team’s attention now turns to the rest of the orca pod, especially Takara, to provide the care and attention they need,” SeaWorld said in its announcement.
SeaWorld announced Saturday that Kyara was showing possible signs of pneumonia, “one of the most common causes of illness or morbidity in whales and dolphins,” according to its Facebook page. “The first several months for whale and dolphin calves are especially critical, and we are taking every precaution, including treating her at the animal hospital at SeaWorld San Antonio.”