Kyu was a juvenile male orca, who was captured along with 9 members of his pod. 5 of these orcas were kept at Taiji Bay and later sent to Japanese parks. Kyu, NAW-OO-C9701 and NAW-OO-C9702 were moved to Nanki Shirahama Adventure World. They were watched carefully by the resident orcas of the park, Ruka*, Goro* and Ran*.

Kyu was kept with his former pod members, but sadly both of them died within months in captivity; Kyu was kept alone after their passing. In 1999 he began participating in shows along with females Ran* and Ruka* and the resident male Goro*. Ruka* sadly died in 2000.

When Kyu was sexually mature he mated with Ran*. She gave birth to a female calf on August 26, 2004, Kyu's first offspring. Unfortunately the baby was born premature and had a broken skull. She died 2 days after birth, followed by her mother on August 29 due to complications from the birth.

Kyu, who was probably affected by these losses, caught an bacterial pneumonia, and died on September 18, 2004. It has been rumoured that he suffered from ulcers and a weak immune system, but that has never been confirmed.

- Kyu means '9' in Japanese
- Pronunciation of Kyu: Cue
- Blood Type: 100 % Japanese