Introduction
On 23 June 2010, a young female killer whale was reported swimming in the Dutch Wadden Sea — a rare event for this species, with the last stranding in Dutch waters recorded in 1963.
The animal was monitored, and it became clear she was in distress. With permission from the Dutch government, the cetacean rescue foundation SOS Dolfijn, together with staff from Dolfinarium Harderwijk, rescued the whale and transported her to a temporary holding pool at Harderwijk for assessment and treatment.
Morgan, as she came to be called, was clearly malnourished upon arrival, weighing around 430 kilograms. However, there were no signs of underlying disease. She was monitored, and medical parameters such as blood chemistry were measured. Her condition improved steadily, and by March 2011 she weighed more than 1,000 kilograms.
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| Photograph: Morgan in June 2010 showing her malnourished state, noted by the depression of body tissue behind her head. |
Rehabilitation
In the case of other rescued cetaceans, such as harbour porpoises, SOS Dolfijn would normally aim to release them back into the wild if considered fit.
However, with a killer whale the situation is far more complex. These animals form close social bonds, unlike some species such as porpoises or bottlenose dolphins whose social groupings change more fluidly — a phenomenon known as a fission–fusion society. Moreover, rescued and rehabilitated animals are generally expected to be released into an area within their natural home range, ideally near where they originally stranded.
In Morgan’s case, there was no clear information about her origin. Research from the North Atlantic Killer Whale ID Project, contacted by Harderwijk, suggested she may have come from the herring-eating killer whales off Norway.
Harderwijk commissioned a report from wildlife experts on the best possible course of action for Morgan’s long-term welfare. This report is linked below:
Expert advice on the releasability of the rescued killer whale (Orcinus orca) Morgan
The report concluded that, for several reasons, Morgan was not a suitable candidate for release. A suitable long-term facility for her care therefore needed to be arranged.
During this time, several animal-rights groups began to campaign for Morgan’s release, proposing an experimental return to the wild. They produced their own report:
Suggestions for returning “Morgan” the orca (killer whale) to a natural life in the ocean
Dr Ingrid Visser, a scientist who had studied wild killer whales in New Zealand, and Terry Hardie of the Orca Research Trust, also produced a second report arguing for her release:
“Morgan” the orca can and should be rehabilitated: With additional notes on why a transfer to another ‘captive orca facility’ is inappropriate and release is preferred
Court Cases
In early July 2011, Harderwijk announced plans to move Morgan to join a group of captive-born killer whales at Loro Parque in Tenerife, Spain, and was granted an export permit by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation.
However, the Orca Coalition, along with Dr Visser, challenged this decision in court and temporarily halted the export. The judge ruled that the Ministry must conduct a more independent investigation into Morgan’s welfare.
On 11 October 2011, Dutch Agriculture Secretary Henk Bleker ruled that Morgan’s chances of survival in the wild were too low and approved her transfer to Loro Parque.
Despite this, the Orca Coalition appealed again, but on 21 November the judge upheld the decision, allowing the transfer to proceed. Morgan was transported from Harderwijk to Loro Parque on 29 November 2011, arriving safely and integrating into the resident pod.
In the spring 2012 edition of Zooquaria, the publication of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, Harderwijk’s veterinarian reported on the efforts by animal-rights groups to discredit Harderwijk’s handling of Morgan’s rescue.
On 24 May 2012, Loro Parque announced that Morgan might be deaf, based on her behaviour during training and her limited response to auditory cues (see Hearing Test section).
This claim was dismissed by the Orca Coalition as an attempt to justify retaining her. They cited the case of Sully, a pilot whale stranded on Curaçao in July 2009, rehabilitated by the Southern Caribbean Cetacean Network (SCCN). Despite efforts to release Sully, the whale’s hearing loss made reintroduction impossible. Sully was transferred to SeaWorld California in January 2010 and died in May 2012 from health issues related to his original stranding.
Despite Morgan’s move to Loro Parque, animal-rights groups led by the Orca Coalition filed yet another appeal in Dutch courts. The ruling, delivered on 13 December 2012, upheld that the transfer was legal, as Loro Parque conducted research and education, satisfying the permit’s conditions. The court found no evidence that Morgan’s welfare was at risk and advised that further disputes should be pursued through Spanish courts.
The appeal’s broader aim was to obtain Morgan for a release experiment and to challenge the authority of rescue projects such as SOS Dolfijn and Harderwijk. The groups also argued Morgan should never have been removed from the sea, despite clear evidence she would have died without intervention.
On 3 December 2013, the Free Morgan Foundation again brought the case to the High Court in The Hague, but on 23 May 2014 the court ruled for the third time in favour of the Dutch Minister for Agriculture, confirming the legality of Morgan’s transfer.
In 2017, seven years after her rescue, the Free Morgan Foundation filed further complaints with the Dutch and Spanish CITES committees, which were again dismissed. The committees stated:
“The transfer of the whale Morgan from Harderwijk Dolfinarium in Holland to the facilities of Loro Parque in Tenerife in 2011 was carried out in accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EC) 338/97 and endorsed by the Dutch State Council ruling that the return of the animal to the ocean was neither an alternative nor a satisfactory solution.”
Hearing Test
In November 2012, Morgan underwent an “evoked potential” auditory test, which records brain responses to sound stimuli. All orcas at Loro Parque, except Morgan, showed responses. The test concluded:
“The lack of a click-evoked response in Morgan suggests that this animal suffers from a hearing deficit... It is possible that Morgan suffers from a profound hearing deficit, or even complete loss of hearing... The failure to observe a click-evoked response is consistent with behavioural observations by trainers, who indicated that Morgan did not respond to acoustic cues and often failed to react to hand slaps on the water surface behind her.”
Assessment of basic audiometric functions in killer whales (Orcinus orca) at Loro Parque, Tenerife, Spain. Technical Report No. C045.13.
The research team included specialists from the Netherlands Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES) and the U.S. Office of Naval Research. This type of test is routinely used by U.S. government agencies to assess hearing in dolphins and small cetaceans before release after rehabilitation.
The findings were later published in a peer-reviewed paper:
Lucke, K., Finneran, J.J., Almunia, J., & Houser, D.S. (2016). Variability
in Click-Evoked Potentials in Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) and
Determination of a Hearing Impairment in a Rehabilitated Killer Whale. Aquatic Mammals, 42(2).
Conclusion
Despite ongoing efforts by animal-rights groups to challenge Morgan’s placement at Loro Parque, including appeals to Dutch and Spanish CITES committees, all complaints were dismissed. The committees confirmed that Morgan’s transfer was legal and that her return to the ocean was not a viable option.
In summary, Morgan’s rescue, rehabilitation, and eventual transfer to Loro Parque were subject to extensive legal and scientific scrutiny, with final decisions guided by her welfare and prospects for survival.
Article reviewed and amended, November 2025.