MIAMI – A 20-year-old captive orca named Nakai died on Thursday night in California while veterinarians were treating an infection, SeaWorld announced on Friday.
PETA also announced receiving eyewitness footage from a SeaWorld visitor that shows a violent attack among orcas, so the nonprofit organization filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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“Children were witnesses to the carnage,” Tracy Reiman, of PETA, said in a statement.
PETA also claimed Nakai had sustained puncture marks and lost a chunk of his jaw after an attack by two other orcas in 2012.
“PETA is calling on the USDA to investigate SeaWorld for holding animals in conditions so stressful they would lead to horrific attacks,” Reiman said.
Last year, SeaWorld announced Amaya, a six-year-old female orca, died in captivity on Aug. 19, 2021, with her animal care specialists by her side in San Diego, California.