Namu (orca)

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Namu was only the second orca (killer whale) captured and displayed in an aquarium exhibit, and was the subject of a film that changed some people's attitudes toward orcas. In June 1965, William Lechkobit found a 22 foot (6.7m) male orca in his floating salmon net that had drifted close to shore near Namu, British Columbia. The orca was sold for $8,000 to Ted Griffin, a Seattle public aquarium owner^[1] but it ultimately cost Griffin $60,000^{[citation needed]} to transport the orca 450 miles in a floating pen to Seattle. Namu was an extremely popular attraction at the Seattle aquarium and Griffin soon captured a female orca to be a companion for Namu. The female, whom Griffin named Shamu, did not get along with Namu however and Shamu was eventually leased to SeaWorld in San Diego. Namu survived one year in captivity and died in his pen on July 9, 1966.^[2] Although the young male orca, "Moby Doll," was the first live orca exhibited in captivity, after a non-fatal harpooning in 1964 near Saturna Island in British Columbia, he survived less than 90 days in captivity.^[3] Namu was the first orca to survive in captivity long enough for a significant public exhibit.^[4]

The film, "Namu: My Best Friend" (a.k.a. Namu the Killer Whale) was released in 1966.^[5] The name "Namu" was also later used as a show-name for different orcas in SeaWorld Adventure Parks' shows.^[6]