captivity

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Orca Dies at Miami Seaquarium After Half-Century in Captivity
Orca, 57, Died From
Old Age, Chronic Illnesses
UPDATED
Oct 17, 2023 6:03 PM CDT

Orca, 57, Died From Old Age, Chronic Illnesses

Plans had been underway to return Lolita to her native waters from the Miami Seaquarium

(Newser) - Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century, died from old age and multiple chronic illnesses, according to a report released Tuesday by the Miami Seaquarium. Lolita—also known as Tokitae, or Toki—died Aug. 18 at age 57. The veterinarian who conducted the necropsy found that...

In Houston Suburb, a 'Very, Very Evil, Evil Thing'

Couple accused of kidnapping teen, holding her captive for a month

(Newser) - An 18-year-old woman was sexually abused over the course of a month while held against her will in a Texas neighborhood before escaping her restraints and running for help, according to police. A resident of the Houston suburb of Humble tells KHOU that a "shaking" barefoot woman showed up...

Watch Chimp's Reaction to Seeing Sky for First Time

Vanilla in awe upon being released into the open in Florida, after 28 years of being kept in cages

(Newser) - Imagine being alive for nearly three decades without ever seeing the sun. That's been the fate of Vanilla, a former research chimpanzee who's spent her entire 28 years inside cages—until recently, when she was transferred to a Florida primates sanctuary and was released into the open for...

Nun's 'Peaceful Patience' Helped Her Survive Kidnapping

Sister Suellen Tennyson, who lost 20 pounds in captivity, was held for 5 months in Burkina Faso

(Newser) - Sister Suellen Tennyson sat amazed as one of her captors began washing her feet. "I was just taken aback," the 83-year-old Roman Catholic nun and former international leader of the Marianites of Holy Cross tells the Clarion Herald from a safe haven in the Archdiocese of New Orleans,...

KFC Worker Calls 911 After Customer Writes Note for Help

Woman told Memphis police that her boyfriend was holding her against her will

(Newser) - A Memphis woman told police her partner was holding her against her will, had confiscated her phone, and punched her in the face when she tried to leave. That she was able to speak to police was thanks to her quick thinking, and a KFC worker who took action. The...

Here's Why Cher Just Rushed to Pakistan

Singer is there to celebrate departure of 'world's loneliest elephant' from Islamabad zoo

(Newser) - Iconic singer and actress Cher is in Pakistan to celebrate the departure of Kaavan, dubbed the "world's loneliest elephant," who will soon leave a Pakistani zoo for better conditions after years of lobbying by animal rights groups and activists. Because of security concerns, Cher's schedule was...

More Details Emerge in Dutch Farmhouse Mystery

Father charged with 'deprivation of liberty'

(Newser) - A second suspect has been arrested in the baffling case of a family kept in a farmhouse in the Netherlands for nine years—and he's part of the family. The 67-year-old father was arrested Thursday and faces charges of deprivation of liberty, abuse, and money laundering, Deutsche Welle reports....

Bizarre Mystery Uncovered at Netherlands Farmhouse

Man, 25, said he and four siblings hadn't been outside in 9 years

(Newser) - A bizarre mystery in the Netherlands was uncovered after a scruffy man in old clothes visited a local bar. The Guardian reports that bar owner Chris Westerbeek told Dutch media that the man first visited 10 days ago and drank five beers on his own. He returned on Sunday saying...

Oldest Manatee Dies in Aquarium Accident a Day After Turning 69

The 1.3K-pound Snooty's death is under investigation at Florida aquarium

(Newser) - In an unfolding story still under investigation, the world's oldest known manatee was found dead in a submerged cage on Sunday, the morning after his 69th birthday. Snooty, who's lived in the South Florida Museum for 68 of his 69 years, was found stuck in a maintenance hatch...

Woman Chained in Container Describes What Captor Did

Kala Brown says Todd Kohlhepp never let her go unchained

(Newser) - A South Carolina woman who spent two months chained inside a large metal container says her captor raped her daily and bragged that he was good at killing, claiming that his victims tallied nearly 100. "He told me as long as I served my purpose, I was safe,"...

SeaWorld's Dead Killer Whale Is 3rd in 6 Months

Activists fear stress led to 18-year-old killer whale's death

(Newser) - SeaWorld San Antonio has seen its third whale death in six months with the passing of Unna, an 18-year-old killer whale suffering from a fungal infection. The whale, who died Monday, had been undergoing treatment for a pathogen, Candida, in her bladder for months and was under "constant care,...

SeaWorld Has Just Been Dealt a Killer Blow

Commission says San Diego park can no longer breed killer whales

(Newser) - SeaWorld San Diego's top attraction may be on its last legs, er, fins. In approving a $100 million project that will see a larger holding facility for the park's orcas, the California Coastal Commission imposed some conditions: bans on captive whale breeding and bringing in wild-caught orcas—changes...

What Bergdahl Was Thinking Before He Disappeared

Hearing testimony paints him as 'naive,' 'unrealistically idealistic,' 'remorseful'

(Newser) - Stories of Bowe Bergdahl's brutal captivity by the Taliban are already well-documented, but it's what was reportedly going through his head before his 2009 disappearance from his Afghanistan base that emerged at a hearing last week at Joint Base San Antonio in Texas. Specifically, that he didn't...

Woman Escapes Nightmare Captivity With Rent Check

She'd been held in her own apartment since April

(Newser) - A woman held hostage since April by her boyfriend in her apartment in Lenexa, Kansas, ended her horrifying ordeal via one of life's more innocuous chores: Paying the rent. "Do not call police, but send help," read the note tucked in her rent payment, reports KSHB . So...

No Freedom for 2 Chimps Being Used for Research

Chimps Hercules, Leo are denied legal personhood rights

(Newser) - Two chimpanzees being used for mobility research at Stony Brook University in New York will not be released to a sanctuary because a state supreme court judge has dismissed the lawsuit seeking to grant them personhood. The reason comes down to legal precedent: A higher court ruled last year that...

This Man Spent 5 Years as Hostage, Then 'Thrived'

Joe Cicippio explains why the experience didn't ruin him

(Newser) - Joe Cicippio spent five years often chained to a radiator, a captive of Hezbollah in Lebanon. His only companions were his masked kidnappers and one or two other captives. But he's thrived since his release in 1991, and now Cicippio, 83, reveals how in an interview with NPR . “...

Months Ago, Cops Went to Home Where Girls Were Held

But couldn't hear anything, saw no evidence of children

(Newser) - The mother and stepfather arrested and accused of holding their three daughters captive in Tucson soundproofed the girls' bedrooms so well that when police officers went to the house two and a half months ago on a robbery call, they saw no evidence of the girls. Among other things, the...

London Captives Appeared in 1997 Documentary

Film crew was looking into death of woman at commune

(Newser) - Eerie: A documentary crew caught two of the captives recently rescued in London on film, ever so briefly, in 1997. The ITV documentary focused on the death of a woman who fell from the window of a house used by the alleged slavery commune that year, the Telegraph reports. Investigators...

One London Captive Spent Entire Life Imprisoned

London cops hunt for more captives—or bodies

(Newser) - Investigators piecing together the bizarre case of three women held in servitude for decades suspect there may be more victims involved, reports the Telegraph . After the arrest of a man and woman in south London, both aged 67, police are searching possible linked addresses for other slaves—or possibly bodies....

3 Women Freed After 30 Years' Captivity in London

2 arrested in investigation into 'slavery, domestic servitude'

(Newser) - Police have rescued three women from a London house where they were allegedly held captive and may have been treated as slaves for 30 years or more, NBC News reports. Authorities were first contacted about the situation last month, by a domestic abuse nonprofit. The women—a 69-year-old Malaysian woman,...

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