Whales in France need a new home

Uncertain future for French orcas - 17th March 2025

Wikie and Keijo are the last two orcas in zoos or marine parks in France. As a result of a new French law, it's now forbidden to keep marine mammals like whales or dolphins.

The two orcas or 'killer whales' have lived in Marineland in southern France since birth. Wikie, the mother, is aged 23, while her son Keijo's 11.

The first idea was to transfer the whales to a park in Japan, but French Ecology minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher stopped this move. She was worried that the animal protection laws in Japan were less safe.

Many animal lovers are fighting for Wikie and Keijo to end up in a sanctuary. There, the orcas wouldn't have to produce babies or perform for visitors. Last year, a sanctuary off the coast of Canada suggested they would take the whales, but their offer was unexpectedly refused. Nova Scotia was seen to be too far away and too cold for these particular animals.

Instead, Pannier-Runacher has put forward the idea of creating a sanctuary in Europe. However, one zoology expert, Dr David Perpiñán, has said "Wikie and Keijo's origin is Iceland". He argues that a Mediterranean sanctuary is "probably the worst of the possible options."

Meanwhile, Loro Parque, a marine zoo on the Spanish island of Tenerife, has offered to house the orcas. The park's Vice-President, Christoph Kiessling, believes that zoos, rather than sanctuaries, are better able to work with orcas' complicated needs.

As Marineland closes down around them, the future for the mother and son pair remains unknown.