Morgan (orca)

Morgan

Morgan in August 2010
Species	Orcinus orca
Sex	female
Years active	2010 - present

Morgan is a female orca who was "rescued" in the Wadden Sea, off the northwestern coast of the Netherlands in June 2010. She was found in an unhealthy condition, severely underweight and malnourished. She lived several months at the Dolfinarium Harderwijk in the Netherlands. After it became clear that the basin at Dolfinarium was too small, multiple options were considered, including releasing Morgan and transferring her to another facility. Over a year later, after litigation and debate between scientists, a Dutch court ruled that she was to be moved. Morgan was transported to the Loro Parque in Spain in November 2011.

The orca, now named Morgan, was administered medical assistance and provided with food. The reason for the orca's rescue was emaciation (weighing approximately 430 kg) and likely also dehydration. Her body length was 3.5 m.

Controversy surrounds Morgan, as she was rescued with the provision that she was not to be displayed to the public and that she would be released back into the wild when she had recovered. However, the Harderwijk Dolfinarium and the Free Morgan Foundation, composed of independent international experts, have come to loggerheads over Morgan's future. The Free Morgan Foundation includes the orca research and education organisations of Orcalab, Orca Network, Orca Research Trust, Centre for Whale Research, and Project SeaWolf Coastal Protection. It also includes the conservation and animal welfare groups the Cetacean Society International, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island, as well as their affiliated scientists and experts.

Currently, the Harderwijk Dolfinarium has advised that they wish to ship Morgan to another captive marine mammal facility after an independent team of experts concluded that she is not a suitable candidate for release into the wild. Yet the Free Morgan Foundation presented a detailed rehabilitation and release plan which to date (June 2011) has not openly been considered by those who hold her.

The Free Morgan Foundation rehabilitation and release plan included a number of phases with contingency plans. The plan incorporated a ‘soft-release’ where Morgan would first be moved to a sea-pen and care for her would continue. The process would, should her health allow, also involve taking Morgan out into the open sea to increase her fitness and reacquaint her with the area. During that time she would be provided with food whilst she continued to readapt to the wild (somewhat like a half-way house for people who are in the process of reintegrating into society).