## Urgent Calls to Rescue Abandoned Orcas from Disintegrating French Marine Park
Urgent concerns have been raised over the fate of two captive killer whales, Wikie and her son Keijo, who remain stranded inside the crumbling remains of Marineland Antibes in southern France. Since the facility was closed permanently in January 2025, these orcas have been left to live out a precarious existence in neglected, algae-choked tanks with no clear future in sight.
Wikie, aged 23, and her 11-year-old offspring Keijo, were both born and raised in captivity. As a result, experts say they lack the essential skills needed to survive if they were ever released into the wild. With their home now abandoned and deteriorating, and only a skeleton crew visiting briefly each day to provide food, the animals are suffering from both environmental neglect and lack of mental stimulation—an element considered critical for the wellbeing of such socially complex creatures.
Recent aerial images shot by the animal welfare group Tidebreakers have drawn public attention to the shocking conditions at the defunct attraction. Green algae coats their enclosure’s edges and an adjacent pool holds only stagnant, murky water. A dozen bottlenose dolphins share a smaller, equally unkempt tank nearby, their own welfare just as uncertain as the orcas.
Marineland had been France’s last remaining holder of captive orcas. For years, Wikie and Keijo were star attractions, performing for throngs of visitors. Following the park’s closure, they have remained under Marineland’s legal guardianship until a more suitable arrangement is found. Having reached what they describe as a crisis point, representatives of the park have declared an “extreme urgency” to relocate the animals in order to safeguard their health.
The situation is particularly poignant given recent losses within Wikie’s family. Tidebreakers’ co-founder Marketa Schusterova revealed to reporters that half of the orca pod has already died in recent years. Just in 2023, Wikie’s other son Moana died unexpectedly at age 12, and Inouk, another son, passed away after accidentally ingesting a piece of metal from the enclosure. Schusterova describes the tanks as actively hazardous, worsening by the day, and warns that mounting water quality issues could soon force officials to euthanise the whales to prevent further suffering. Given that orcas in the wild can regularly reach 70 to 80 years, these events highlight the marked disparity in lifespans between captive and free-ranging animals.
Attempts to secure new homes for Wikie and Keijo have so far hit significant obstacles. Proposals to move them to Loro Parque in Tenerife—already home to four of its own captive orcas—were blocked after a scientific review ruled the enclosures inadequate in size, depth, and volume. Another suggestion to relocate the pair to Japan was also dismissed. Despite French ecology minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher expressing public support for finding the orcas a European sanctuary, no suitable option has yet been presented.
Animal rights campaigners have instead cited Canada’s ambitious Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia as the “only viable solution.” The remote site boasts a vast 100-acre bay, enclosed safely from the open ocean by 1.6 kilometres of netting. Proponents say this environment would permit experiences far more natural than any captive tank. However, some, including Tidebreakers, question whether the sanctuary will be ready in time to receive the orcas, warning that delays could prove fatal.
Others suggest that building emergency holding pools designed specifically for Wikie and Keijo may be the best interim step until a long-term solution can be established. If action is not taken soon, Schusterova cautions, both whales could succumb to illness long before a sanctuary is made available.
As debate continues, the story of Wikie and Keijo evokes comparisons to Keiko, the orca made famous by the 1990s film “Free Willy.” Keiko, taken from the wild as a calf, lived for years in captivity and captivated audiences on screen, sparking an international campaign for his release. Although eventually freed, he survived for only a short time in the wild before dying of a respiratory illness—a cautionary tale that continues to shape decisions regarding the fates of other captive marine mammals.
With no resolution in sight and the orcas’ health declining by the week, the saga at Marineland has become a focal point in the broader debate about the ethics of marine animal captivity across Europe and beyond. Campaigners argue that governments and facility owners must now act urgently to prevent further tragedy, while the world waits and watches for decisive action to rescue the final orcas of France.