Orca released from captivity thrives in the wild | Behind the Scenes of Frozen Planet II | BBC Earth

Now let's release the ones in sea world 👍

Holding such intelligent and social animals captive is a crime. I'm happy to see there are efforts to release them back into the wild.

We need more people to pay attention to kiska the worlds loneliest orca, captive in marineland alone. She’s been held for about 43 years now and was captured at 3 years old in Iceland. All her babies have died in marinelands captivity. If she’s not released she will most likely die from the stress of isolation as she’s been isolated for around 11 years

Orcas are my favorite sea animals. They're incredibly intelligent and so beautiful. I love seeing the interactions of the family members--and it warms my heart to know that captive orcas can be reacclimated and released into the wild to live out their lives.

I'm glad the former captive orca has survived! This gives great hope for their future.

😮 there are no words to describe this. Thank you to those responsible for their release!

She had a better chance than most since she wasn't born in captivity. And it said she was held for under a year. Otherwise we probably wouldn't be looking at such a happy ending. :) So glad she made it.

It's beautiful seeing the ORCAS in the wild where they belong and not in a tank ❤❤

The way the pod of whale swam gracefully and synchronously is just so astonishingly beautiful to watch

Orcas are my favorite animals. Seeing this footage and hearing that the released wild-born captive is thriving fills me with joy.

It's criminally stupid to even think that these extremely intelligent and versatile and adaptable top predators would not be able to thrive again in the wild or even learn to survive in the wild if born in captivity. If any animal can manage this, it's the orca. The only hindrance is their compromised health due to bad captivity conditions.

One of the most beautiful creatures to see. Knowing that they are not prisoners anymore. I wish that all animals in captivity will no longer experience that. Thank you to the people who did this release.

Orcas actually have very good long term memory. I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up back with her pod.

i'm literally crying in happy tears watching this video. i hope there are more and more captive orcas can be released to the ocean.

It’s truly jaw dropping how they all move in perfect unison.

Lolita will soon be free! May she find her mom and live happily for a long long time. This was an awesome video!

This is amazing news! I’m a huge whale activist, being born and raised on the Island of Newfoundland, a Mecca for whales. The first time I saw whales in captivity was in Marine Land in Canada. There was so little space they couldn’t even turn around. I was so angry and crying I had to leave. These are amazingly intelligent creatures. Some say just as if not more emotionally intelligent as humans, yet we see fit to lock them in bath tubs for our own entertainment. If anyone is looking for charities to support the Whale Sanctuary Project is one project trying to give captive whales a better home as are the WWF and the Whale Conservation Society. 🐳 Empty the Tanks! 🐋

I'm always amazed at just how intelligent orcas are. It breaks my heart when I think about the mass orca hunts that took places throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s in which hundreds of orcas were rounded up, traumatized and often killed. Babies being stolen from their crying mothers and then flown thousands of miles away from home to be put in a child sized swimming pool and forced to perform stupid shows every day for the rest of their lives

This made me cry, so happy to see how they treat a returned orca. Makes all the hard work people do to return them worth every second. Thank-yo to them and you.

MORE POSITIVE UPDATES LIKE THIS! HUMANS NEED THIS! I always assumed that animals died in the wild if they grew up in captivity! This gives me such a burst of hope and inspiration toward nature conservation and its future! ❤❤❤