The last captive orca in all of Latin America cuts a lonely figure. <\/p>\n
\u201cKshamenk\u201d has lived in the Mundo Marino oceanarium in the Argentine city of San Clemente del Tuy\u00fa since 1992 \u2013 the majority of that time, following the death of his female companion in 2000, as the lone representative of his species. <\/p>\n
But in recent weeks, Kshamenk has amassed something of a following. One far beyond what might usually be expected at his oceanarium some 320 kilometers (200 miles) from Buenos Aires. <\/p>\n
A campaign by the Canadian activist group UrgentSeas \u2013 which has been working to secure Kshamenk\u2019s release \u2013 is building steam thanks to a series of clips on social media that allegedly show the orca in his tank, barely moving. <\/p>\n
One of the group\u2019s latest posts shows a timelapse video of what it says is a bird\u2019s eye view of Mundo Marino in August and has the hashtag \u201cFreeKshamenk.\u201d It has already amassed more than 184,000 responses on TikTok. <\/p>\n
Mundo Marino claims the images posted by UrgentSeas \u201chave been maliciously manipulated as part of a disinformation campaign to suggest that Kshamenk is inactive and to make a negative diagnosis about his health, without any objective veterinary indicators.\u201d <\/p>\n
UrgentSeas insists its \u201cvideos are not edited or deceptive. They\u2019re a real time look at Kshamenk\u2019s cruel captivity without the music and spectacle of the show.\u201d <\/p>\n
Activists say the videos simply draw attention to the negative side of keeping these apex predators in captivity \u2013 a practice that not only in Latin America, but across the world has gone out of fashion in recent decades as the public\u2019s awareness of animal rights issues has grown. <\/p>\n
Globally, according to the International Marine Mammal Project, as of January 2024 there were just 54 orcas remaining in captivity out of the 166 that have been taken from the wild since 1961. <\/p>\n
In Kshamenk\u2019s case, controversy over his captivity has been brewing ever since he arrived at the oceanarium more than three decades ago. <\/p>\n
According to Mundo Marino, \u201cKshamenk was rescued in November 1992 after stranding with a group of orcas.\u201d <\/p>\n
But animal rights activists have long questioned that account, alleging that he was deliberately captured to be used in its orca show and have launched legal action against Mundo Marino. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey went out to look for a male orca for Bel\u00e9n, who was the female they had. What they wanted was reproduction to have more orcas and to have an orca show. That is the plain truth,\u201d said Mar\u00eda Rosa Gol\u00eda, from the NGO Marine Animal Rights. <\/p>\n
Last October several activist groups, including Marine Animal Rights, filed an injunction in court aimed at stopping the orca shows and forcing Mundo Marino to return Kshamenk to the wild. <\/p>\n
Mundo Marino insists it is acting in Kshamenk\u2019s best interests and that Kshamenk\u2019s remaining years are best spent in captivity. It says that after the orca\u2019s rehabilitation it received expert advice that reintroducing him to the wild would put his life at risk. <\/p>\n
But some activists are skeptical about that claim and argue that, whatever the truth about his capture, three decades is too long for an animal of Kshamenk\u2019s size \u2013 according to Mundo Marino, he is 19 foot long and weighs 4 tons \u2013 to be kept in captivity. <\/p>\n
\u201cKshamenk has been locked up in that oceanarium, entertaining people (ever since his capture),\u201d said animal rights lawyer Mauricio Trigo. \u201cAnd since the year 2000, he has not seen another orca,\u201d added activist Dalila Lewis. <\/p>\n
Other activists point out that, while Kshamenk has spent most of his 35 years of life so far in captivity, he has the potential to live many more if given the right environment. Orcas can live up to 90 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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