Our visit to Loro Parque has been very full and very productive! We are here for two reasons: 1) to observe killer whale behavior and 2) to film sequences for a longer film to showcase our studies of killer whale behavior at Loro Parque with a comparison to our observations of other groups both in managed care and in the wild.
The Orca Ocean team (Julian, David, Miguel, Dani, Maria, Idaira, Jorge, Juan, Renee, Cecylia) could not have been more welcoming! 
They opened their arms and the viewing windows and shared with us their husbandry care and operant conditioning approach to developing relationships with the four killer whales who call Loro Parque home. These killer whales (Tekoa, Adán, Morgan, & Teno) are true ambassadors for their in situ counterparts.
We’ve been able to watch Tekoa and Adán socialize with rubbing and cross swims and other affiliative actions. 
(Adán & Tekoa)
Of course, we’ve also been fortunate to spend time watching Morgan and Teno engage in all sorts of behavioral exchanges! Morgan is a very relaxed mom who offers Teno the chance to explore his world and test out new behaviors as he grows and develops.
(Morgan & Teno)
This week he seemed to have just learned about low leaps and side beaching … actions he did as often as possible! Adán and Tekoa showed interest in both Teno and Morgan while we’ve been here with Teno seemingly learning to vocally imitate their calls.
John was able to film nearly every sequence he planned … just one more on-camera comment from both me and Manon planned for Saturday, our last day onsite.
He’s been moving all over to film not just me and Manon doing our observations but also the extensive care and attention all Orca Ocean trainers provide to these four killer whales. Every day and every session, their relationships with Tekoa, Adán, Morgan, and Teno are evident. These relationships are built on mutual respect and trust, and we applaud and admire their dedication.
We have many months of data analyses ongoing and upcoming (as always with our behavioral analyses) and John will also be busy logging footage and editing together our next film focused on DCP’s studies of the Loro Parque killer whales, with comparison to our results of research into small dolphin (bottlenose and spotted) behavior and other killer whales (both in situ and ex situ). (Stay tuned to some time late January 2026 for that film to be available.)
A huge thank you to all the Loro Parque and Loro Parque Fundación team members for making our visit so very productive!! Thank you especially also to Mr. Wolfgang Kiessling and Mr. Christoph Kiessling for encouraging and supporting our research initiatives. We look forward to sharing our results as our analyses progress!
Cheers
Kathleen, Manon, and John