Teno the orca turns one… and Loro Parque are calling it a milestone
Loro Parque have been celebrating this week after Teno, their orca calf, hit his first birthday.
Now, that might not sound like headline news at first… but in their world, it’s a big deal.
Apparently, close to half of orca calves in the wild don’t make it through the first year. So getting to this point, healthy and developing well, is being seen as a proper milestone.
How he’s doing so far
From what they’ve said, Teno’s development has been solid.
He’s growing well, active, starting to socialise… all the things you’d want to see at this stage.
And he’s not exactly been left to figure it out on his own.
There’s been a full team around him since day one… vets, carers, researchers… all keeping a close eye on things.
Which, to be fair, is what you’d expect in that kind of environment.
The birthday moment
They marked the occasion with a “cake”… although not quite what you’d get from the local bakery.
It was designed for him and dropped into the water as part of what they call enrichment… basically keeping him stimulated and engaged.
It might sound a bit gimmicky, but these sorts of things are meant to encourage natural behaviour and keep the animals active.
His mum… Morgan
Probably the more interesting part of the story is his mother.
Morgan was rescued back in 2010 off the Netherlands coast, in pretty bad shape, and it turned out she was deaf.
Since then, Loro Parque say they’ve developed a way of communicating with her using light signals… which is obviously quite different from the usual setup.
Over the last year, she’s apparently taken to motherhood well.
Strong bond with Teno, proper feeding, stable development… all the right signs.
The bigger message
As expected, Loro Parque are positioning this as more than just a birthday.
They’re talking about conservation, research, education… and the role of modern zoos in protecting species.
Which is always a bit of a debated topic, depending on who you ask.
But from their point of view, this is proof that the work they’re doing has value.
Worth keeping in mind
However you look at it, raising an orca calf successfully isn’t a small thing.
It takes time, resources, and a lot of oversight.
Whether you see it as conservation, research, or something else entirely… that part’s down to personal opinion.
But getting a calf through that first year in good condition… that’s the bit they’re celebrating.