1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
SocietyFrance

France: who will save the orcas?

05:28

This browser does not support the video element.

March 21, 2026

Two orcas, both born in captivity, live in a shuttered aquarium. They urgently need a new home, but no one can agree on where that should be.

Wikie and Keijo, two captive orcas in a closed Côte d’Azur park, await a new home as officials delay a decision. Activists warn the whales are lethargic and neglected, while Tenerife’s Loro Parque offers to take them in. Yet concerns over transport risks and welfare stall the move. With France’s captivity ban nearing, the orcas’ future remains uncertain.

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW

More stories from DW