Ruka was captured in Iceland in October 1981. She arrived at Saedyrasafnid Aquarium shortly after and met many other orcas, all of whom were waiting to be sold. In November 1981 she was bought by a zoo in Hamburg, Germany (Tierpark Hagenbeck). She was the star at the park and many people came to see her. Germany had not, and still doesn't keep any orcas on public display, except for one orca who was exhibited in Munich between 1970 and 1971.

Ruka settled in very well at Hagenbeck and the park's income increased because of her. But after some years the interest in her became less important. So it was decided to sell her and in February she was moved to Nanki Shirahama Adventure World in Japan. She met the resident male Benkei* and got used to the new conditions quickly.

In November, both of them were joined by Goro*, who was still a young orca. It's not known if all of them performed alongside each other, as no pictures prove that. Benke*i died in 1989, so Ruka and Gor*o became the stars at the park. But soon after the park's number of orcas increased once again when Ai* and Ran* from Iceland arrived.

Ruka soon got along with the newcomers and all of them performed on a daily basis. Unfortunately Ruka lost another tank mate in 1995, when Ai* died. In 1997, 3 new orcas arrived, TWM-OO-C9704*, TWM-OO-C9705* and Kyu*; sadly only Kyu* survived. In 1999 all four orcas performed in shows finally.

On March 29, 2000 just after a show, Ruka suddenly sank to the bottom of the tank without breathing again. Apparently shed died from a traumatic shock. 

- Ruka means "Bright Blue Flower" in Japanese
- Pronunciation of Ruka: "ROO-ka"
- Blood Type:  100% Icelandic