About
Gudrun (SWF-OO-8702)
Gudrun*
was one of the first ever orcas captured in Iceland
in October 1976, along
with another pod member. Both females took a 30 hour
trip from their capture site to Sædyrasafnid
Aquarium before being sent to
Dolphinarium Harderwijk in the Netherlands.
While Kenau's* stay was short, Gudrun* lived there for 11 years. The park never bought any orcas, yet they did house a few orcas prior to their final transfers to other parks in 1977. This meant, after 1978, Gudrun's* companions were dolphins yet when she became bigger and sexually mature, she was sold to SeaWorld to join their breeding programme.
20 months after her arrival Gudrun* gave birth to her first offspring, a female named Taima*. Since Gudrun* spent most of her life with dolphins, trainers were worried how Gudrun* would care for her calf, but she did very well and turned out to be a really good mother; she even took over the role as a dominant female.
Gudrun* was used for daily performances and was followed by her daugther all the time. Gudrun* had her second calf 4 years later, unfortunately the calf, named Nyar*, was mentally and physically ill. Gudrun* tried to drown her daughter several times, but her attempts failed and she was separated from her calf.
Gudrun got pregnant again with her last calf in 1994. When she went into labour, it was complicated and lasted a long time; she finally gave birth to a dead calf. She died herself 4 days after the birth from the complications
While Kenau's* stay was short, Gudrun* lived there for 11 years. The park never bought any orcas, yet they did house a few orcas prior to their final transfers to other parks in 1977. This meant, after 1978, Gudrun's* companions were dolphins yet when she became bigger and sexually mature, she was sold to SeaWorld to join their breeding programme.
20 months after her arrival Gudrun* gave birth to her first offspring, a female named Taima*. Since Gudrun* spent most of her life with dolphins, trainers were worried how Gudrun* would care for her calf, but she did very well and turned out to be a really good mother; she even took over the role as a dominant female.
Gudrun* was used for daily performances and was followed by her daugther all the time. Gudrun* had her second calf 4 years later, unfortunately the calf, named Nyar*, was mentally and physically ill. Gudrun* tried to drown her daughter several times, but her attempts failed and she was separated from her calf.
Gudrun got pregnant again with her last calf in 1994. When she went into labour, it was complicated and lasted a long time; she finally gave birth to a dead calf. She died herself 4 days after the birth from the complications
Name Meaning & Blood
Type:-
The name Gudrun comes
from the Old Norse name
Guðrún
meaning "god's secret
lore", - Derived from the elements guð "god" and
rún
& "secret lore"
- Was named after the boat that was invovled with her capture
- Pronunciation of Gudrun: "GUD-run"
- Blood Type: 100% Icelandic
- Was named after the boat that was invovled with her capture
- Pronunciation of Gudrun: "GUD-run"
- Blood Type: 100% Icelandic
Family:Gudrun's
extended family is unknown due to the lack of information about
Icelandic Orcas however we do know her captive family:
| Offspring: Grand Offspring |
1989
Taima* 1993 Nyar* 1996 SWF-OO-U9601 Sumar*, Tekoa, Malia |
Transfers:| Sædyrasafnid Aquarium | October 28 1976 - November 13 1976 |
| Dolfinarium Harderwijk | November 13 1976 - November 17, 1987 |
| Sea World Orlando | November 17, 1987 - February 25, 1996 |
