- Ramu III (Winston)
Ramu III (known as "Ramu," and later renamed "Winston") was an
Orca ("killer"whale ) who resided at the now-defunctWindsor Safari Park between 1970 and 1976, and later, atSeaWorld San Diego in California between 1976 and 1986. An adult male, Ramu (actually Ramu III) was caught onAugust 8 ,1970 , after hispod of eighty orcas was 'corralled' in Penn Cove, offWashington (six others were also caught, while four died and the remaining sixty nine escaped capture). At capture, Ramu was 13.32 ft (4.06 m) long and a member of 'L pod' of Orcas. He was once a member of L-Pod and it is assumed his family members still survive off the coast of theSan Juan Islands .Windsor Safari Park
Ramu was then transferred to
Windsor Safari Park [ [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/chart1.html] PBS] , where he became the star attraction in the park's Sea World exhibition, (not to be confused withSeaWorld , where he would later move) splashing people with the beating of his tail against the water, along with a small number ofdolphin s, with whom Ramu co-habited. Over the next six years, Ramu matured into a bull Orca and began to outgrow the relatively small tank at the safari park. In October 1976 [ [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/chart1.html] PBS"October 1976",
] , Ramu was sold to SeaWorld San Diego in a swap that saw two female Orcas (named Winnie and Hoi Wai) move in the other direction. To avoid confusion with another Orca named Ramu that already lived at Seaworld San Diego, Ramu was renamed Winston [ [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/chart1.html] PBS] , although he inevitably performed under the stage nameShamu , (used for most performing whales at SeaWorld, after the first whale kept there.)eaworld San Diego
As a fully grown male, Winston now dwarfed even his pool mates, his size distinguishing him almost as much as his
dorsal fin , which flopped over to his left hand side and made him instantly recognizable to visitors to the park. He courted and mated with several females at the park, impregnating Kandu V, Kenau and Katina. Katina was the first to give birth, onSeptember 26 1985 , to a healthy young female Orca named Kalina (the first of the 'Baby Shamu' generation of whale calves). In January 1986, both Kenau andKandu V lost their babies, Kenau's dying of aheart defect 11 days after birth and Kandu's beingstillborn .Winston was not a failure by any means though. Kalina was the first calf conceived and born in captivity successfully, and the success ushered in a generation of numerous Orca births in captivity around the world. Indeed, both Kalina and her mother Katina are still alive at
SeaWorld Orlando in Florida, along with Kalina's own calves, Keet, (the first 'grandbaby' Shamu), Keto, Tuar and Skyla, as well as a stillbirth in 1997). In 2004, Keet had his first offspring, a female called Kalia, the first great grandbaby Shamu, making Winston a great grandfather. In 2005, Keet sired Halyn, his second offspring thus making Winston a great grandfather again.Winston died on
April 28 ,1986 of chroniccardiovascular failure. At the time of his last health checkup, Winston had been 7.4 metres long and weighed in at 5,443 kg. His age at death has been estimated as between 15 and 20 years of age.Family members/breed
*Daughters: Kalina, Baby Shamu II*, and 1986 stillborn calf with Kandu V*
*Granddaughters:Skyla ,Kalia , and Halyn*
*Grandsons:Keet ,Keto , andTuar
*Great-Granddaughters:Kalia and Halyn
*Possible relatives: Lil Nooka*, Jumbo*, Chappy*, Clovis*, and Ramu IV*
*Breed: 100% Southern Resident(Asterisk indicates a deceased relative)
References
ee also
*
Shamu
*Seaworld
*Keiko, star of the 'Free Willy' trilogy of films.
*Windsor Safari Park External links
* [http://www.seaworld.com Official homepage of Sea World]
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