Trua

Trua is a 19 year old male Icelandic killer whale that lives at SeaWorld Orlando. He was born there on the 23rd of November, 2005 to Takara and Taku.

Stats

Age

19 years old

Gender

Male

Status

Alive, born 2005

Current Location

SeaWorld Orlando

Birth

Date of Birth

23rd of November, 2005

Location of Birth

SeaWorld Orlando

Time of Birth

10:22 am

Type of Birth

Tail First

Immediate Family

Mother

Takara (b. 1991)

Father

Taku* (d. 2007)

Grandmothers

Kasatka* (e. 2017)
Katina (c. 1978)

Grandfathers

Kotar* (d. 1995)
Tilikum* (d. 2017)

Extended Family

Half SIsters

Kohana* (d. 2022)
Nalani (b .2006, IB)
Sakari (b. 2010)
Kamea (b. 2013 via AI)
Kyara* (d. 2017)

Other Half Sibling

SWT-OO-U1201* (m. 2012)

Aunts

Kalina* (d. 2010)
Katerina* (d. 1999)
SWT-OO-U9201* (d. 1992)
Nyar* (d. 1995)
Baby Namu* (d. 1994)
Unna* (d. 2015)
SWF-OO-U9701* (s. 1997)
Kohana* (d. 2022)
Skyla* (d. 2021)
Kalia (b. 2004)
Nalani (b. 2006, IB)
Malia (b. 2007)

Uncles

SWF-OO-U9101* (d. 1991)
Kyuquot (b. 1991)
SLP-OO-B9201* (d. 1992)
Sumar* (d. 2010)
Tuar (b. 1999)
Tekoa (b. 2000)
SWT-OO-U0101* (d. 2001)
Nakai* (d. 2022)
Ikaika (b. 2002)
SWF-OO-U1001* (s. 2010)
Makaio (b. 2010)
Makani (b. 2013 via AI)

Other Aunts/Uncles

SWT-OO-U9001* (m. 1990)
SWF-OO-U9401* (d. 1994)
SWF-OO-U9601* (d. 1996)
SWF-OO-U1001* (d. 2010)
MLF-OO-U1501* (m. 2015)

Niece

Victoria* (d. 2013, IB)

Nephew

Adán (b. 2010, IB)

Female Cousins

SWF-OO-U9701* (d. 1997)
Skyla* (d. 2021)
SWT-OO-U0601* (m. 2006)
Victoria* (d. 2013, IB)
Amaya* (d. 2021)
Kyara* (d. 2017)
Ula* (d. 2021)

Male Cousins

Keet (b. 1993)
Keto (b. 1995)
Tuar (b. 2004)
Adán (b. 2010, IB)

Other Cousin

SWT-OO-U0901* (m. 2009)

Wild Pod

Icelandic

Naming

Origin of Name

"Believe" in Icelandic (after the new upcoming show at the time)

Pronunciation

tru-AH

IDs

SWF-OO-B0501, SWF-OO-0501, 56546

NOAA ID

NOA0006301

Measurements

Lengths

7 ft (2005)
11.8 ft (2010)
16 ft (2016)
17.5 ft (November, 2016)
18 ft (July, 2017)

Weights

300 lbs (2005)
2,200 lbs (2010)
3,000 lbs (2013)
3,500 lbs (January, 2014)
4,080 lbs (September, 2015)
4,200 lbs (2016)
5,300 lbs (November, 2016)
5,500 lbs (July, 2017)
6,500 lbs (April, 2021)

Ecotype

Total

Icelandic

Birth of Believe

On the 23rd of November, 2005, Takara gave birth to her second and only male(possibly) calf. Soon after birth, Trua was nursing and beginning to grow. The staff were excited and he was later named "Trua", which is the Icelandic word for "Believe"(after the new show). Amazingly, Trua's father, Taku, was only 11 at the time of his birth. Trua also met his older half sister/aunt, Kohana, before she was shipped to Loro Parque 4 months after his birth.

Tikitrua — Takara and Young Trua. Photo by SeaWorld.

Unfortunately, it was later found out that Takara was pregnant(with later to be known as Sakari), and she was moved to SeaWorld Texas on the 2nd of February, 2009, to give birth there. This left 4 year old Trua behind. He had a large bond with his mother and was "shaken" by the event. Takara may have also been aggressive to her calf, probably to protect him as she had already lost Kohana. She more likely didn't want this to happen again, for as it was the exact opposite that occurred. Although they were slowly being separated more often before the move, this only made Takara's aggression worse.

Before waterworks stopped in 2010, Trua had begun learning some of the basic behaviors of them. It is presumed he preformed them in shows, as others around his age at the time would have done the same(Nakai had been seen often at a younger age doing waterworks). Around this time, Takara gave birth to Sakari.

Best Buddies

Glassorcas — Tilikum(left) and Trua. Photo by SeaWorld.

Without the company and companionship of his mother, Trua was paired with other whales more often. At first, he was with Malia and Nalani, as they are around the same age as him. Later, he was paired with Kayla, who was a great friend to Trua. Eventually, Katina's aggression against Tilikum became worse(if they were paired for long periods of time) with Makaio, Katina's son. Trua was thought to be a good companion for the bull male as he and his mother had got along greatly with Tilikum. The only other orca that got along with him was Malia(until her mother Taima died in 2010), but Trua was often seen with him. There was hardly any aggression between the two, and were always noticed in Pool "G", better known as the underwater viewing pool, playing with a variety of toys. Tilikum was later discovered to be fighting a bacterial infection, and it was decided to slowly start separating Trua from him in risk of Tilikum passing it on.

Kayla ended up spending much of her time with Trua(and Malia), and as a result of Trua becoming more mature, he tried to mate with her several times. Although Kayla declined this, a ban was put in place to prevent more calves from being born. Takara ended up giving birth to the last orca at SeaWorld, later named Kyara, who passed away 3 months later. Takara had also given birth to Trua's other younger sisters, Sakari and Kamea, as well as a miscarriage in 2012. This makes Trua Takara's only living male calf, if the miscarriage was a male.

Present Days

Trua and kayla3 — Trua(left) and Kayla. Photo by SeaWorld.

In 2017, Tilikum passed away, and Trua was paired with Kayla and Malia more often. Later, in 2018, Katina was spotted with a large injury on her dorsal fin. Trua was rumored to be the "main suspect" until it was proved he couldn't have caused a injury like this. In November of that year, however, the orcas were separated into same sex pods. Although it has been previously thought that Makaio and Trua share a bond, he was seen raking and chasing Makaio for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, he suffered yet another loss to one of his greatest companions, Kayla, passed away in early 2019. After a long wait, the pods were finally seen together during a night show in July of 2019. More recently, Malia seems to be placing herself at the bottom of the dominant "pyramid". When the males were reunited with the females in January of 2021(they had been separated and regrouped multiple times), Trua seemed to "help prove" this along with the other three whales. Although many people thought it was a series aggressive attacks, they could simply be working out their social structures. In this case, Malia would be at the bottom, not Trua. They entire pod has not been reunited since.

In September of 2022, Kohana suddenly passed away, making Trua Takara's oldest living calf. He is also an uncle to Kohana's calves, Adán(born in 2010) and Victoria(born in 2012, died in 2013), at Loro Parque.

Personality and Appearance

Over the past couple years, Trua has become the more noticeable whale. His dorsal is bending left, and is pectoral fins have also gotten bigger as well. Trua also has a large, noticeable "nic" in his fluke. Despite his size, he has a curious, playful, and gentle personality, as stated by park staff. Trua will sometimes come up to park guests at the underwater viewing, stating his curiosity to others. As of 2021, he is now the largest whale at SeaWorld Orlando, weighing around 6,500 lbs.