| Moby Doll is the first live orca to be displayed in captivity. The Vancouver Aquarium asked sculptor Samuel Burich, to find and kill an orca, then fasion a life sized model for there new British Columbia Hall exibit. 2 months later, a pod of 13 killer whales approaches the shoreline of Saturna Island, in British Columbia's Gulf Islands. Samuel was there waiting. He shot a harpoon into a young whale, injuring, but not killing him. Immediatly after being shot, two other whales came to his aid, pushing him up to the surface. This seemed to trigger a response from the harpooned orca, as he began thrashing, and swatting his tail, trying to free himself. Burich attempted to finish the job by firing several rifle shots at the whale...but it still did not die. The aqaurium director arrived and decided to try to save the whale. Useing the line attached to the harpoon, they towed the whale 16 hours through choppy water to Vancouver. He was put in a pen at Burrad Dry Docks, and soon became a celebrity, and scientists flocked to see him, as well as tourists. The whale appeared to be in shock though, and refused to eat. He was offered everything from salmon to horse hearts, but still, he refused to eat. After 55 days in captivity, he finnaly began to eat, consuming up to 200 pounds of fish a day. But due to the low salinity in the water, the whale developed a skin disease and continued to appear exhausted. A month later, Moby Doll (named for his tameness and gentleness) died, after being in captivity for 87 days. Moby Doll changed the way the public looked at the species known as Killer whales. |
