Corky has survived at Sea World for fifteen years. Her physical condition has fluctuated over the time she has been there. At one point Sea World listed her condition as "poor", perhaps because her kidneys were not functioning well. She has also stopped ovulating, her teeth are worn, and she is almost blind in one eye. Sea World considers Corky "old" and tells visitors that orca whales only live to about 35 years. They used to say 30 years. For a while, Sea World decreased the number of shows Corky performed, but now (2001) she is doing a full schedule. When she is not performing, Corky is held in one of the back tanks with some of Sea World's eight other orcas. Mostly she passes time by circling her tank. She has found some companionship from the younger whales in the Sea World tanks, including Orkid (Orky's daughter). In April 2001, Bjossa, an Icelandic female orca, was added to Sea World's San Diego "collection". Bjossa had previously been held captive at the aquarium in Vancouver, B.C., where her companion for many years was Corky's cousin Hyak. Bjossa knows the calls of the A5 pod, and uses them as well as her native Icelandic dialect... so Corky and Bjossa may find they have a common bond, in Hyak.

Back in the wild, Corky's family carries on. The A5 pod originally had 18 members but the 7 who were removed in the 1968 capture all died. Of the six taken in 1969 only Corky survives. Slowly over the years, as their fortunes waxed and waned, the wild pod has been rejuvenated. There are now 11 members, which is about the same as in 1969. The group still loves to hunt the big Spring salmon and they still continue to travel the waters of Johnstone Strait, Blackfish Sound and the rest of the Inside Passage. But they have never been seen near Pender Harbour again.

The time left for Corky to rejoin her family is disappearing. She has already survived longer than any other captive orca. This tells us that Corky is an incredibly strong individual... but no one, no matter how strong, can last forever.

That's why we're asking everyone to help Corky, now!