Namu (killer whale)

Namu (died July 9, 1966) was the third orca (killer whale) ever captured. He was the first healthy[1] orca to be displayed in an aquarium exhibit and was the first to perform with a human together in the water.[2] He was the subject of much media attention, including a 'starring' role in the 1966 film Namu, the Killer Whale.

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 Edward "Ted" Griffin, owner of the Seattle Marine Aquarium; [3][4] it ultimately cost Griffin much more to transport the orca 450 miles (720 km) South to Seattle. A local machinist, Reguald Marinas, used copious metal scraps to construct a floating enclosure for transport to Seattle. While in captivity, Namu could eat 400 pounds of salmon a day.[5] Namu was a popular attraction at the Seattle Marine Aquarium, and Griffin soon captured a female orca to be a companion for Namu. The female, named Shamu, was however soon leased and eventually sold to SeaWorld in San Diego. Namu survived just over one year in captivity and died in his pen on July 9, 1966.[6]

It was later discovered through preserved recordings of his calls that Namu was from C1 Pod,[7] one of the best known Northern Resident pods. He was thus given the alphanumeric code C11. It is suspected that the matriarch, C5, who died in 1995, was his mother.[8] As of February 2010, Namu's presumed sister Koeye (C10) is still alive.

The United Artists film Namu, the Killer Whale (a.k.a. Namu, My Best Friend) was released in 1966 and 'starred' Namu in a fictional story set in the San Juan Islands.[9] The name "Namu" was also later used as a show-name for different orcas in SeaWorld shows.