Marineland Antibes: After the zoo closed, the fate of the orcas remained uncertain

The organization, which hopes to build the facility in eastern Canada, says it can attract funding if it gets a commitment from the French government to send two whales there.

The Whale Sanctuary Project (WSP) proposes to enclose 40 hectares (98 acres) of seawater with nets.

Wikie and Keijo were then able to enjoy the vast expanse of water for the rest of their lives with the human support of vets and welfare workers.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average lifespan of male killer whales is about 30 years. Females usually live about 50 years.

“Life in the sanctuary will be as close as possible to what they experienced growing up in the ocean,” WSP says. “It will be a new life will make up for most of what happened before.”

This type of project has been implemented before.

Keiko, the orca who starred in the 1993 film Free Willy, was rescued from captivity in 1996 before being taken to the Gulf of Iceland in 1998.

Unlike Wikie and Keijo, he was born in the wild and was able to relearn some necessary survival skills while living in the bay for four years.

Eventually, he parted ways with the group of orcas he had joined and sailed to Norway, where he is now He died in 2003 after an infection.

Strager warns that the proposed sanctuary may seem as foreign to Wikie and Keijo as the open ocean.

“We have this understanding that animals also enjoy freedom, ‘now they are free and they will love it.’

“We don’t know if they see freedom the same way… Will they be scared because it’s so different from what they’re used to? I don’t know.”

He tells the BBC: “I don’t think there are any good solutions for animals that have been kept in captivity their entire lives.”