Orcas Wikie and Keijo face uncertain future as relocation plan stalls

Marineland Antibes has kept Wikie, a 24-year-old female orca, and her 11-year-old son Keijo in its pools since the park’s closure in January, while authorities and animal-rights groups debate where the pair should be rehomed. With a French law banning whales from marine-zoo performances taking effect in December, a long-awaited plan for relocation remains unresolved. Activists and some experts say the delay risks the welfare of the pair, who are kept in a facility already under scrutiny over its suitability for large, sociable animals.

According to Marineland, the decision to stimulate Keijo sexually is to manage adolescence-related tensions and to prevent both inbreeding with his mother and potential fighting that could injure them. The park asserts the procedure is natural and painless, and that it is performed under veterinary guidance. Footage obtained by activists last month appears to show one trainer grasping Keijo’s flipper while another stimulates him as he lies in the water, with Wikie visible in an adjacent pool. The organization behind the video has argued that keeping the pair in separate pools is harmful to their social nature, a view supported by many...