Skyla and Skoot: “Save my baby!”

On the evening of May 28th, 2012 at Marineland Canada, baby beluga Skoot died in the arms of two trainers who had arrived too late to protect her from a pair of aggressive male whales.

The brutal two-hour assault, during which Skoot’s mother, Skyla, had tried in vain to protect her baby, was witnessed by tour guide Jamie Charron, who tried to intervene but didn’t have the skills to do much more than slap the water. In his account, as reported by the Toronto Star, Charron wrote that the attack began at around 6:30 pm in the Arctic Cove pool after the trainers had gone home. Despite his radio appeals for help, none of them came to his assistance for almost two hours.

Here is Charron’s log of Skoot’s final hours:

5:00–6:00 p.m.: Skoot would swim into C pool where she acted normal. Swam around while Andre joined her. He didn’t act aggressive or anything. Just swam with her. Once Skoot left C pool Andre also left.

6 p.m.: [A Marineland veterinarian] came by to see how things were going. She then left.

6:30 p.m.: Orion began going with Andre and Skoot into C pool. He then became aggressive with Skoot and started jaw popping (rapidly opening and closing jaws, threatening). Once Andre saw Orion doing it, he joined in.

“Despite his radio appeals for help, none of them came to his assistance for almost two hours.”

6:35ish p.m.: Radioed for [the veterinarian.] No answer. Then radioed [an office employee] to see if anyone was still there from Marine Mammals of Arctic and Friendship [staff looking after the two main coves with belugas and a single orca]. No one was, so I radioed for [Marineland owner] John Holer. He sent out [the operations manager] . . . [who] then called [a marine mammal supervisor] and [the veterinarian.]

6:40–7:15 p.m.: Andre and Orion are both biting and raking Skoot [with their teeth]. She was still in C pool. Andre going more towards the head while Orion for tail and right side. Skoot then made a vocalization. After that while I was smacking the water the whole time trying to get them away, Orion grabbed Skoot’s tail and spun her around literally 360 degrees. Then Andre came back and continued biting her melon [the rounded top of head used for echolocation] while Orion went for her right side.

7:15–7:20 p.m.: Breath rates: 18 [Counting times she surfaces to breathe over 5 minutes.]

7:20 p.m.: [Operations manager] got an answer from [marine mammal supervisor] on the phone where [supervisor] called into [trainers] Hugo and Jackie.

7:20–7:45 p.m.: Skoot was being very unresponsive with swimming. You could see her pectorals [side flippers] move but not her tail. She made her way to me by the back wall of C pool while I tried to keep them away by slapping the water. She eventually floated away from the edge where they began attacking her once again. Andre switching between her melon and her right side where Orion went for her tail and her right side.

7:45–7:50: Breath rates: 24 [The higher breath rate not good.]

Andre and Orion leave C pool. Andre comes back and begins bashing Skoot towards the A/C pool gate. He then bashes her into the gate twice trying to get her into A pool. Skoot at this point isn’t swimming at all. Her pectorals and flukes [two lobes of her tail] aren’t moving. She is just floating helplessly wherever she is pushed or the whales take her. She enters A pool where Orion and Andre going after her again. I continue to keep slapping the water whenever they go after her. She is pushed to the center of the pool where Andre and Orion can go at her from all sides. Slapping the water doesn’t help but I do it anyways. Orion grabs her fluke and spins her around 275 degrees.

“Skyla looks at me as if she’s counting on me for help.”

Skyla finally does something by going to Skoot and pushing her towards the wall. Orion and Andre follow her continuing to attack Skoot. Skyla pushes Skoot against the wall right in front of me. Skyla looks at me as if she’s counting on me for help. Skyla keeps Skoot against the wall in front of me while she stayed on the other side trying to keep Orion and Andre away. Andre keeps going after Skoot while Skyla kept bashing Orion away. Skyla gives up, looks at me, then swims to the middle of the pool.

Andre and Orion push Skoot to the middle of the pool away from me. When Skyla gets a chance she pushes Skoot back to me, looks at me, vocalizes, then swims back to the middle. Andre and Orion go after Skoot. I slap the water but they just ignore me. I grab Orion’s attention and try to get him away from Skoot. It lasts for only a minute then he goes back.

Andre pushes Skoot away from the wall and towards the center of the bubble [underwater viewing area]. I manage to scare them away for a moment while Skoot begins to float towards the bubble wall. Andre then pushes her hard towards the rock wall where she becomes pushed up enough to be stuck on it. Andre and Orion begin to corner her and attack her from all sides as she is stuck on the wall. I take off my shoes to try and at least get her off the wall. Before I even finish getting my sock off Orion grabs Skoot by the fluke and literally yanks her off the wall, and pushes her towards A/B gate. Andre and Orion continue to go after Skoot while I slap the water as much as possible.

8:15ish p.m.: Jackie and Hugo showed up. Hugo jumped into the pool around A/C gate. Skoot didn’t even move. He then jumped in again from the bubble. Skoot still didn’t move so he literally swam up to her and grabbed her. She didn’t even try to swim away or put up a struggle. Jackie went in and helped him guide Skoot into C pool and they closed the gate.

Marineland owner John Holer told the Star that Skoot had meningitis. And in a letter to the newspaper, Marineland veterinarian Dr. June Mergl wrote that Skoot “passed away after a sudden onset of illness” caused by an “acute bacterial infection.”

Note: Aggression is not uncommon among whales and dolphins, especially from young males. In the ocean, however, it rarely leads to serious harm because an animal who is being harassed can simply swim away. In the confines of a concrete tank, where Skoot found herself, no such escape is possible.