Morgan, the orca rescued off the coast of the Netherlands last year, has now left her temporary abode at the Dolfinarium in Harderwijk and is on her way to a new home: the Loro Parque marine park on Tenerife. On her journey, the female killer whale - weighing around 1,100 kilograms - is being accompanied by carers and a vet. The carers are making sure Morgan is kept wet and are talking to her, so that she stays calm. (read on below the video)
The decision to take Morgan to Tenerife is a controversial one and the authorities in Harderwijk are taking no chances. They have declared a state of emergency in the hope of preventing people fiercely opposed to the move from disrupting the transport. An action group calling itself the Orca Coalition wanted Morgan to be returned to the sea and took the matter to court. But the judge ruled that Morgan can be housed at the marine park on Tenerife.
Survival
In June 2010, Morgan was rescued from the Wadden Sea off the Dutch coast, and housed in a special pool at the Dolfinarium in Harderwijk. The female killer whale weighed only around 430 kilograms at the time and was in a very weak state. She is thought to be between 2 and 3 years old. Initially, the aim was to allow Morgan to regain her strength at the Dolfinarium before being released into the open sea. But since killer whales live in family groups, pods, the Dolfinarium does not believe she would be able to survive on her own. So now the Netherlands’ marine celebrity finds herself heading for Loro Parque on Tenerife.
(dd/rk/imm)
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