Ted Griffin riding Namu 1966
'Namu' was one of the first killer whales (Orcinus orca) to be exhibited in captivity.
Trapped in a salmon net in June 1965 in British Columbia, the
24-ft. 5-ton male orca was purchased for $8000 by Ted Griffin of the
Seattle Marine Aquarium.
In October 1965 Griffin set out to capture a mate for Namu. The
14-ft. female, named 'Shamu' was considered too young to be a mate for
the bull orca so Griffin sold her to Sea World in December 1965 for
$20,000. The rest is theme park history . . .
Namu sadly drowned by becoming entangled in the nets of his 500-ft. diameter enclosure at Rich Cove in July 1966.
Namu's capture and exhibition launched a multi-million dollar
industry which saw Griffin capturing and selling killer whales to
aquaria throughout the U.S. and Canada.
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