Staff pays tribute to Bjossa -There were red eyes as long-time keepers remembered 25-year-old whale

VANCOUVER -- There were red eyes and tearful tributes at the Vancouver Aquarium as staff reacted to the death of Bjossa, the beloved killer whale that thrilled visitors for two decades with her splashy moves and captivating personality.

Bjossa, believed to be 25, died at SeaWorld in San Diego Monday afternoon after suffering what appeared to be a stroke, aquarium veterinarian David Huff told reporters yesterday.

She was moved to California in April because aquarium staff said she needed a bigger pool and the company of other whales.

At first, the move appeared to agree with her. Clint Wright, the aquarium's vice-president of operations, visited this summer and said she was romping with other whales.

But the 2,400-kilogram whale took a turn for the worse. A chronic lung infection flared in August and SeaWorld staff reported that she was near death.

She rallied briefly, but in the past five days, SeaWorld staff reported a neurological problem.

Up until Monday, Bjossa was eating well and interacting with staff in a pool, Dr. Huff said. "She had what amounted to be a stroke and just quietly passed away."

Preliminary tests showed that her lungs were infected, and one had a large abscess that had ruptured at some point in her life, Dr. Huff said. Results from a full necropsy will be available in a month.

Bjossa's death was a painful blow to aquarium staff and other whale lovers. Mr. Wright was near tears at the podium and described the orca as "one of my best friends.

"She was definitely a special animal," said the man who was Bjossa's chief trainer for a decade. "We had a lot of fun and games."

Dr. Huff said the whale loved to look at picture books that staff held up to the window and play tag from windows into her pool.

Susan Murray, who organized sleepovers at the aquarium for children, said: "She was a very special lady. I'll miss her very much."

Bjossa's death also reignited the debate about keeping whales in captivity.

Annelise Sorg, of the Coalition for No Whales in Captivity, was too devastated to discuss the whale's death.

"It's like a death in the family," said Doug Imbeau, another spokesman for the group. Mr. Imbeau said two decades of captivity in a chlorinated pool helped kill Bjossa. In the wild, killer whales travel up to 160 kilometres a day.

"She should have been at the prime of her life right now," Mr. Imbeau said.

He said he hopes Bjossa's death will mobilize the public against aquariums that feature animals in captivity.

"Are we such a species that we have to impose this cruelty on other beings in the name of education?" he asked. "Looking at a whale in a tank doesn't even come close to what you would see if you saw them in the wild."

Mr. Imbeau said research shows that female killer whales can live up to 80 years in the wild.

The aquarium's director, John Nightingale, said the animal-rights activists are ill-informed and rejected the accusation that Bjossa's captivity contributed to her death.

Asked if it's cruel to keep a creature that normally swims more than 100 kilometres a day in a small pool, Mr. Nightingale replied: "One would have to ask a killer whale whether it wants to swim 160 kilometres a day, which it has to do to find dinner, or if it's better off having dinner delivered to him."

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