SAN ANTONIO – Kyara, the last killer whale born in captivity died Monday, SeaWorld of San Antonio announced.
The water park said the 3-month-old whale calf was being treated for an infection.
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“Kyara had faced some very serious and progressive health issues over the last week that the animal care and veterinary teams had been aggressively treating,” SeaWorld said in a post explaining the whale’s death. “While the official cause of death will not be determined until the post-mortem exam is complete, we know that Kyara had an infection, likely pneumonia, and that her health continued to decline.”
Kyara’s birth in April was hailed and highly publicized. It came a year after SeaWorld's decision to stop breeding orcas.
The mother, 25-year-old Takara, was already pregnant when SeaWorld announced in March 2016 it had stopped breeding its orcas, following years of animal rights protests and declining ticket sales.
Friends and Fans of SeaWorld, We are extremely saddened to announce the passing of Kyara, our newest killer whale calf....
Posted by SeaWorld on Monday, July 24, 2017
