Mother and Son of Captive Orcas Dying in France

In May 2025, drone footage released by the animal protection organization TideBreakers showed a 23-year-old orca mother, Wikie, and her 11-year-old son, Keijo, trapped in abandoned pools of algae-infested, deteriorating water after the closure of France’s Antibes Marine Park. The park, which once received 1.2 million visitors a year, closed in January for violating France’s “no cetacean shows” decree, but orcas born in captivity were left stranded because they could not be released into the wild. Excessive chlorine in the pools led to skin ulcers, and food shortages and algae toxins further threatened their lives. The French government has refused to transfer them to a cetacean sanctuary in Canada, citing “the risk of long-distance transport”, and animal protection organizations are calling for global attention to this “chronic death”.