Corky is the one of the oldest orcas in captivity and the only one surviving from the captures of the Northern Resident population; also she  has had one of the saddest lives of all orcas in captivity.

After being separated from her mother at the age of 3, she lived with other orcas in a small tank at Marineland of the Pacific, the other two orcas who moved with her died 3 years after capture  and she spent most of her life with an orca bull named Orky II*.

When Corky reached sexual maturity, she became pregnant. Her first calf only survived 18 days and after giving birth to 7 calves, with none surviving longer than 46 days, she stopped ovulating.  

During her last pregnancy, she and Orky II* were moved to Sea World San Diego after Marineland was sold. She settled in well to her new environment, however she has had issues with some of the icelandic orcas. At Sea World, she was rammed into by another orca, Kandu V*, who later died from injuries and Corky swam away with a damaged eye.

Corky has a wonderful personality and is the “Welcome orca” at SWC, not only for new trainers but also for new orcas. She cared for many young orcas, that were separated from their mothers.

- Corky comes from the Irish word of Corey which means 'Hill hollow.'
- Was named after the first Corky
- Pronunciation of Corky: KOOR-kee
- Blood Type: 100% Northern Resident