Moby Doll
Encyclopedia
Moby Doll was the first captive orca
(killer whale) displayed in a public aquarium
exhibit.
The 15 foot (4.6m) long, 1-ton male was captured in 1964 near East Point, Saturna Island
in British Columbia
. A sculptor, Samuel Burich, had been commissioned by the Vancouver Aquarium
to kill an orca in order to construct a life-sized model for the aquariums' new British Columbia hall. Moby Doll was harpooned and shot at by Burich but did not die and the aquarium director decided to tow the orca back to Vancouver and put him on display. Moby Doll was shown to the public in a pen at Burrard Drydocks
but was listless and did not eat for the first two months in captivity. According to observers,
At the time, it was not known that "resident" killer whales ate only fish, not warm-blooded prey. After his keepers spent nearly two months offering a variety of inappropriate food items for a resident killer whale, someone offered a lingcod
. The whale took it, and when offered more ended up eating 50 kg of cod that day. So little was known of killer whales at the time that furthermore, Moby Doll was mistakenly identified as a female. Most sources say that the whale was discovered to be a male only after his death, although according to one story, a four-year-old visitor witnessed the whale having an erection
.
Moby Doll was popular locally and abroad. Scientists took advantage of the opportunity to study an orca and orca sounds up close. According to the obituary in The Times
of London, "the widespread publicity – some of it the first positive press ever about killer whales – marked the beginning of an important change in the public attitude toward the species."
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
(killer whale) displayed in a public aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
exhibit.
The 15 foot (4.6m) long, 1-ton male was captured in 1964 near East Point, Saturna Island
Saturna Island
Saturna Island is a mountainous island, about 31 km² in size, in the Southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is situated approximately midway between the Lower Mainland of B.C. and Vancouver Island, and is the most easterly of the Gulf Islands. It is surrounded on three sides by...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. A sculptor, Samuel Burich, had been commissioned by the Vancouver Aquarium
Vancouver Aquarium
The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre is a public aquarium located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Vancouver, the aquarium is a centre for marine research, conservation and marine animal rehabilitation.The Vancouver...
to kill an orca in order to construct a life-sized model for the aquariums' new British Columbia hall. Moby Doll was harpooned and shot at by Burich but did not die and the aquarium director decided to tow the orca back to Vancouver and put him on display. Moby Doll was shown to the public in a pen at Burrard Drydocks
Burrard Dry Dock
Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia . Together with the neighboring North Van Ship Repair yard and the Yarrows Ltd...
but was listless and did not eat for the first two months in captivity. According to observers,
- "The whale seemed to be suffering from shock...For a long time, Moby Doll...would not eat. She was offered everything from salmon to horse hearts, but the whale only circled the pool night and day in a counterclockwise pattern." After 55 days in captivity, Moby Doll begins eating--up to 200 pounds of fish a day...(but) dies a month later"
At the time, it was not known that "resident" killer whales ate only fish, not warm-blooded prey. After his keepers spent nearly two months offering a variety of inappropriate food items for a resident killer whale, someone offered a lingcod
Lingcod
The lingcod, Ophiodon elongatus, is a fish of the greenling family Hexagrammidae. It is the only extant member of the genus Ophiodon...
. The whale took it, and when offered more ended up eating 50 kg of cod that day. So little was known of killer whales at the time that furthermore, Moby Doll was mistakenly identified as a female. Most sources say that the whale was discovered to be a male only after his death, although according to one story, a four-year-old visitor witnessed the whale having an erection
Erection
Penile erection is a physiological phenomenon where the penis becomes enlarged and firm. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular and endocrine factors, and is usually, though not exclusively, associated with sexual arousal...
.
Moby Doll was popular locally and abroad. Scientists took advantage of the opportunity to study an orca and orca sounds up close. According to the obituary in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
of London, "the widespread publicity – some of it the first positive press ever about killer whales – marked the beginning of an important change in the public attitude toward the species."