Taima (whale)

Taima is a transient/Icelandic hybrid female Orca who lives at Sea World Orlando in Florida. Her name means "crash of thunder" in the Icelandic language. [ [http://www.seaworld.org/whats-new/znn/2007/march/seaworld-welcomes-newest.htm SeaWorld Welcomes Newest "Pea" to Pod] , press release, SeaWorld Orlando, March 12, 2007, retrieved June 6, 2007] She was born tail-first around 16:45 EST during a thunderstorm.

Early years

Taima' was born on July 11, 1989 to mother Gudrun and father Kanduke. In 1990, Kanduke died at the age of 20 from a stomach ailment; Gudrun gave birth to her half-sister Nyar in 1993. Nyar suffered with illness often. She was so both mentally and physically ill, it was reported that Gudrun tried to drown her during several shows, Trainers believe that this confused Taima as she witnessed this and thought this was how to raise a calf. She was later reported to have performed this on her own calves, Sumar, Tekoa, and Malia. Gudrun died in 1996 from stillbirth-complications, and Nyar died from an illness a few months later in April.

Motherhood

In 1998, Taima gave birth to a male calf named Sumar, while being just 8 years old and nearly a baby herself. They were separated when he was about 8 months old because of the aggression between them. On one occasion while performing, Taima started biting her son and throwing him out of the pool on the trainer’s platform, then she slid out her self and started biting him. The show was stopped and Taima was pulled to the other swimming pool. A few months later Sumar was transferred to SeaWorld San Diego in California.

On November 8 2000, at 3:47 pm, Taima gave birth to a baby boy, named Tekoa. He began feeding overnight and was estimated to be 7 feet (2.2 m) long and weigh 350 pounds (159 kg). During the birth, Kalina assisted Taima and helped the calf to the surface for its first breath.

The two were separated after only 9 months due to aggression between them. It was reported that Tekoa was swimming with Katina and Taima got jealous and went for Tekoa. Katina tried to stop Taima, in which Taima became angry. Taima then went for a pregnant Katina, which left her unsettled and nearly caused a miscarriage. Teoka was sent to SeaWorld San Antonio in 2005 and was later sent to Loro Parque in Spain in February 2006.

Recent years

For a few years, Tamia was separated from all the other whales. She and her mate Tillikum are extremely close and are seen performing together in many killer whale shows. On March 12, 2007 Taima gave birth to a female calf, in which Tilikum is the father. Currently, Taima and Malia can be seen swimming with Kalina. Obviously, Kalina has assisted Taima with becoming a better mother and decreasing her aggression towards other orcas. Regrettably, Taima is never in the water with trainers, but is still frequently used within the shows since being paired with Kalina.

Family Members/Breed

*Mother: Gudrun*
*Father: Kanduke*
*Grandmothers: T7/Innis
*Sisters: Katerina* (half) and Nyar* (half)
*Daughters: Malia
*Sons: Sumar and Tekoa
*Undetermined Offspring: 2005 miscarriage calf with Tilikum
*Aunts: T7B/Spiller
*Uncles: T7A/Arrow
*Cousins: T7B1 and T7B2
*Possible Relatives: Nootka III* and Kenau*
*Breed: 50% Icelandic and 50% Transient (Asterisk indicates a deceased relative)

References