Stalked orca, dolphins remaining in rotting tanks in closed French marine park
A pair of killer whales and twelve species of dolphins were trapped in a closed marine park in southern France for four months after the facility announced its closure in January 2025. They were abandoned among animal activists, which they called “dangerous” and “desperate” conditions because they were eager to relocate abandoned mammals.
(The full name of the park is Marineland in Antibes, and has nothing to do with Niagara Falls in Ontario.)
Animal activist group Tide-issue antenna footage shows two abandoned orcas, 23-year-old Wiki and her son Keijo, 11-year-old, swimming aimlessly around an algae-ridden wall.
“Mother and son and son are trapped there, waiting for their fate in the shaky tank,” the Tideman wrote next to the video.
The park is located in Antibes, a coastal town on the southern French Riviera about 45 kilometers west of Monaco, and has been shutting down the public since January and is also home to 12 “rotten” dolphins, the group said.
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The facility was forced to close due to French legislation passed in 2021, which prohibits dolphins and whales for recreational purposes.
“While 90% of visitors choose to come to Marineland to enjoy Orca and Dolphin performances, the November 30, 2021 law prohibits Cetacean Shows, requiring Marineland to consider the closure.”
But, despite the responsibility to do so since the closure, management has not been able to find a new home for neglected marine creatures, especially orcas.
“Marinland worked closely with relevant authorities to identify the best solutions for housing in facilities comparable to quality of care and education programs and to regard animal welfare as the only priority,” the statement continued.
Although it no longer serves as a zoo, the organization's management is responsible for the well-being of the animals, while the small crew is responsible for keeping them alive until they are relocated.
Both Wikie and Keijo were born in captivity, meaning they would not be able to survive in the wild.
According to the BBC, the application to move the whale to a shelter in Tenerife, Spain, was denied because the facility was already home to four orcas, including newborns. French authorities have not approved a new home for mother and son in Europe and have rejected a zoo in Japan, while in Nova Scotia, the Whale Shelter Project (WSP) is a potential option.
It wrote on Instagram on April 5: “The Whale Sanctuary Project once again sends to all parties who are ready to bring Wikie and Keijo to any aspect of the shelter we are preparing to prepare in Nova Scotia with the French government, Marineland Antibes and with all other organizations.”
The group's previous bid was rejected by the French Ministry of Ecology earlier this year.
Ideally, whales don’t have to endure long trips. In February, French Ecology Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher said she wanted to determine the right home for a whale without having to move it overseas.
All efforts to resettle them so far have not been successful.
Global News reached out to Antibes' Marineland for further comments, but was not heard within publication time.
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