Ulises (orca)

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Ulises (also spelled Ulysses) is a male orca living at SeaWorld San Diego in California. He was born around 1977, and his birthday is January 2. As of 2022, he was the oldest male captive orca.

Capture and travel history
He was captured on November 7, 1980, off Reydarfjördur, Iceland, when he was about three years old. He spent time at Hafnarfjörður Aquarium in Iceland, then Río León Safari in Tarragona, Spain, and later the Barcelona Zoo. In 1992 the Barcelona Zoo decided to move him to a larger tank at SeaWorld, and he arrived at SeaWorld San Diego on February 9, 1994.

At SeaWorld
Ulises was the largest male orca at SeaWorld San Diego until 2021. He is about 21 feet long and weighs around 9,800 pounds. He initially performed waterwork, but those in-water trainings were halted in 2006 after behavioral incidents, and after the 2010 death of trainer Dawn Brancheau, waterwork was not resumed.

He has a mate named Kalia (born 2004). They have two calves:
- Moana, a son born in 2011, sired by Ulises through artificial insemination.
- Amaya, a daughter born in 2014, resulting from a combination of natural mating and artificial insemination attempts.

Ulises remains at SeaWorld San Diego, known for his long life in captivity and his role in ongoing discussions about orca care and training.