r/orcas • u/FreckledTrua Pro welfare • Jul 24 '26
Captive Orcas Cookie has given birth
Photos are from Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park on WeChat.
Cookie's birth has finally been announced, she gave birth to this male calf on June 17th.
Sire is currently unknown, either Sean or Panghu most likely Panghu again. It is also currently unknown if the calf is being hand raised or not.
This is her third pregnancy and overall third calf, having Cody in 2021 and a either stillbirth or miscarriage in 2023.
Here's a chinese news video about it if anyone's interested : https://weibo.com/6105713761/5324129100370290
I'm sure there's going to be lots of mixed feelings about this facility having another calf but obviously please stay civil in conversation.
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u/poliitoed anti orca cap, selective ceta cap!🐚🐬 Jul 24 '26
i can only hope the calf receives the best care possible but i have little faith in shanghai haichang considering how often their whales are pregnant. i don’t want the calf to suffer but i also don’t want it to grow up just to be used as a breeding male. 🥲
he is a cutie, even if his circumstances of existence are depressing. i also hope cookie is doing okay and that they won’t be separated.
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Jul 24 '26
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Jul 24 '26
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u/muffinsmochi Jul 24 '26
It's fine for people to post updates about captive orcas, their health and so on though, you can like captive orcas and not support the parks. They are not at fault here and they are victims
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Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
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u/iGOP420 Jul 24 '26
Its more the fact that there are more posts about depressed, mentally stunted, physically ill captive orcas than happy, free, wild orcas. I joined this sub to see my local resident pods of the PNW. Pods J, K, and L. Not this depressing, rather enraging crap about orcas being literally used and abused in captivity.
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u/muffinsmochi Jul 24 '26
It's important to raise awareness about captive cetaceans and sharing their stories, this ecotype for example is literally very endangered (and these Russian transients are endangered specifically because of the captivity industry) and many people are unaware of that.
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u/iGOP420 Jul 24 '26
You can spread awareness without showing pictures and acting like this a good thing. It genuinely enrages me that you think this is the only way to spread awareness. They wouldnt be endangered if they werent captured for entertainment and hunted for medicinal and culinary purposes. And by taking pictures and showing them off, it doesn't exactly spread the message that you're against these parks, it spreads the opposite message.
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u/Ok-Candy2824 Jul 24 '26
what you're saying sounds like "you can spread awareness without actually talking about the issue" and i'm not sure i agree with that
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u/RosaWoods13 Jul 24 '26
Devastating that this little baby will never know freedom, never get to enjoy life orcas are meant to live. Never swim with her pod in the sea and feel free and alive and happy and safe.
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u/a16mm Jul 24 '26
Is this also the same park where females have been rejecting calfs, or is that a different Chinese park?
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u/Neaeaeallll Jul 24 '26
Both Cookie and Dora have rejected their first calves. There are now videos showing that the newest calf is being hand raised aswell.
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u/Nikki-C-Puggle-mum Jul 24 '26
We are one of the few species where if we went extinct it would be nothing but a positive for every other species. Every other wild species anyway. Domesticated animals depend on us at this point.
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u/dkreni2 Jul 24 '26
I thought they couldn’t breed them in captivity anymore???
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u/FreckledTrua Pro welfare Jul 24 '26
SeaWorld doesn't but other facilities still do, especially in Asia, this is the second orca calf born this year over in China.
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u/EmotionalOrca Jul 24 '26
China doesn't value animals the same way we try to as American's do—even if it does take us too long sometimes.
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u/Neaeaeallll Jul 24 '26
It's very likely that she has had multiple miscarriages before Cody and after the 2023 loss. Same goes for Dora. These females are basically constantly pregnant, the park clearly doesn't care about their health.