Gender: MalePod: N/APlace of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of CaliforniaDate of Capture: Born on Septemb
Gender: MalePod: N/APlace of Capture: Born at SeaWorld of CaliforniaDate of Capture: Born on September 1, 2001Age at Capture: Captive bornCurrent Location: SeaWorld of CaliforniaOn September 1, 2001, Icelandic female Kasatka gave birth to her second calf at SeaWorld San Diego, a male named Nakai sired by the Icelandic male Tilikum via Artificial Insemination. Nakai was the first calf successfully conceived and born through AI.Though Kasatka was a good mother, Nakai was never afraid to stray from her side. He could often be seen interacting with park guests through the underwater viewing area, but does not seem to be as interested now that he is older.On September 27, 2012, photos surfaced of Nakai with a “dinner-plate sized” chunk of flesh missing from his chin. The injury, which appeared to have exposed the lower jaw bone, was reportedly sustained sometime during a night show on September 20. SeaWorld contends that Nakai “came in contact with a portion of the pool” but did not give any other details, and have not spoken anymore on the matter since its occurrence.In November of the same year, the USDA launched an investigation that concluded that Nakai’s injury appeared to have been caused by his jaw scraping the recessed track that holds watertight gates between two of the pools at Shamu Stadium, which they say was consistent with what SeaWorld park officials had told them.Today, Nakai is 13 years old and his injury looks to have healed well.x | x | x | x | x | x(NOTE: Last two links contain sensitive images of Nakai’s injury. Please proceed with caution.) -- source link
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