The Uncertain Fate of France’s Last Two Captive Orcas

At a closed marine park in the south of France, two orcas swim lonely circles in an aging tank, its walls caked with green algae. Their fate has become a drama in France, where the government must decide soon whether to transfer them to another marine park or release them into a sanctuary in the sea. While the prospect of sending them into nature is appealing, evoking a sense of restitution for captive mammals, critics argue it is both experimental and unrealistic. These orcas — a female, Wikie, 25, and her son Keijo, 13 — were born in Marineland,...