As many currently active orca captivity folks these days were not involved at the beginning of the Morgan tug-o-war, here is a lengthy timeline from the day of her discovery (June 22, 2010) to the end of 2012:
Morgan was found emaciated and dehydrated on June 22, 2010 by fishermen in the Wadden Sea off the coast of The Netherlands. On June 23 she was taken to Dolfinarium Harderwijk on a rescue and release permit for rehabilitation.
On June 29 Morgan weighed in at 952lb (432kg). She was recovering quickly - by July 5 she weighed 997lb (452kg) and later on in July she weighed 1169lb (530kg).
On August 3rd, 41 days after Morgan was first taken into captivity, Dolfinarium Harderwijk invited the public to come and see Morgan, who by then weighed 1439lb (654kg).
In August the Orca Coalition (Orka Coalitie) was formed to spearhead the campaign for Morgan's freedom. This followed the warning signs of Morgan being displayed to the public and being trained, both of which highly suggested that Dolfinarium Harderwijk was conditioning Morgan for a life in captivity, which would be in violation of the rescue and release permit.
Another alarm bell followed - Dolfinarium Harderwijk selected seven "independent experts" to decide whether Morgan should be released. Among those included an orca trainer, a seabird expert, a SeaWorld veterinarian, and someone who has been working with Dolfinarium Harderwijk for years.
Morgan weighed 1543lb (700kg) in September 2010.
By October the Free Morgan Foundation and the Orca Coalition were working together to appeal to Dolfinarium Harderwijk to listen to the advice of more than forty orca experts who hailed from around the globe. All of these experts recommended that Morgan can and should be released back into the wild.
On November 3, 2010, the Free Morgan Foundation announced that a release plan had been prepared for Morgan. On November 21 they announced that one of their experts had analyzed Morgan's acoustic repertoire - Morgan originates from the herring-eating population in Norway, which has a dynamic pod structure. A report on the findings was sent to Dolfinarium Harderwijk.
December 10: As per the advice of the seven "independent experts," Dolfinarium Harderwijk announced that Morgan will not be returned to the wild. Again, in violation of the rescue and release permit.
The Orca Coalition announced on February 11, 2011 that they had hired a lawyer for a second opinion from the Ministry of Agriculture and began accepting donations to fund this legal action. Orca Coalition sought to have Morgan transferred to a sea pen at Delta Park Neeltje Jans as a first step toward Morgan's release to the wild.
In March, Morgan weighed 2205lb (1000kg).
On June 6, Orca Coalition sent a letter to Marten Foppen (the director of Dolfinarium Harderwijk) requesting that Morgan be moved to a more suitable location as the tank she had been staying in was much too small for her. There was also concern over the fact that Morgan was developing stereotypical behaviour and had a wound on her chin and rostrum.
It was learned on July 19 that Dolfinarium Harderwijk had applied for a permit to move Morgan to Loro Parque in the Canary Islands. Orca Coalition submitted an injunction to prevent the move and to have a judge review the case. Efforts for the Free Morgan Foundation to identify Morgan's family via DNA and further acoustic analyzation were hindered due to Dolfinarium Harderwijk's refusal to co-operate. The court date was set for August 3.
Four days later the Free Morgan Foundation released an update. Terry Hardie and Ingrid Visser had visited Morgan several times to observe her condition. It was noted that Morgan's physical condition could use improvement - her tank was much too small to satisfy that need. It was also observed that Morgan needed more mental stimulation as she was developing behaviours associated with stereotypy.
On August 3, the judge ruled that Morgan should not be moved to Loro Parque. The Ministry of Agriculture must investigate further on whether the proposed "scientific research" at Loro Parque is not just a guise under which Morgan could quickly and conveniently be moved. The judge also ruled that Morgan must be moved to a larger tank at Dolfinarium Harderwijk in the short term so that Morgan can have more room and finally have contact with other animals (in this case, dolphins). He additionally recommended that all parties (Orca Coalition, Free Morgan Foundation, and Dolfinarium Harderwijk) must collaborate together to come up with a common solution for Morgan under the guidance of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Orca Coalition reported on August 27 that they, Minister Henk Bleker, and Dolfinarium Harderwijk had had a constructive conversation about Morgan.
Six days later (September 5), Dolfinarium Harderwijk issued a press release stating that Morgan must be moved to Loro Parque as soon as possible.
Four days after that, Orca Coalition posted a lengthy response to Dolfinarium Harderwijk's press release, addressing all of the park's concerns. At the hearing, Orca Coalition presented a detailed plea for Morgan to the Ministry of Agriculture.
On September 26, the Free Morgan Foundation announced that Morgan's extended family had been identified: 77.7% of Morgan's calls (7 of 9) were matched to P pod. This pod frequents the Vesterålen region and the Lofoten Islands in Norway.
Orca Coalition stated that Dolfinarium Harderwijk is guilty of animal cruelty - as of October 10, 68 days after being ordered by a judge to move Morgan to a larger tank, she was still in the small hospital tank with no forms of enrichment.
Two days later, Minister Henk Bleker announced that Morgan cannot be returned to the wild and must be moved to Loro Parque. The reason? The ocean is too dangerous.
On October 28, Orca Coalition publicized a copy of a letter written by Kriton Arsenis (member of the European Parliament for the Socialists and Democrats), asking the European Commission if they were aware of the circumstances surrounding Morgan, including the planned export from The Netherlands to Spain. The letter also asks if the Dutch authorities are in breach of regulations by issuing an exemption for the trade of a live specimen for commercial rather than scientific/educational purposes.
Orca Coalition confirmed on November 2 that the trial appealing Henk Bleker's decision had been set for the 7th.
Four days later Orca Coalition announced that four of the seven "independent experts" that the Dolfinarium had asked for opinions from in August 2010, had turned against the proposal to export Morgan to Loro Parque after learning that Morgan is related to P pod.
The next day, arguments were presented to Judge Marianne de Rooij. Free Morgan Foundation revealed Dolfinarium Harderwijk's dolphins have herpes, which may explain why Morgan was never moved to a larger tank. The judge will decide Morgan's fate on the 21st.
The day before the judge's decision, Free Morgan Foundation released a report that the community of Stø is committed to the rehabilitation plan for Morgan - including allowing a sheltered cove to be used as a sea pen for Morgan. This location would bring Morgan very close to the area that P pod frequents. Stø residents eagerly await Morgan's return.
Judge Marianne de Rooij ruled on November 21 that Morgan must be moved to Loro Parque right away.
Eight days later, Morgan is exported to Loro Parque, weighing 2370lb (1075kg). The transport plane used to move Morgan is owned by a company called ULS Cargo Airlines (formerly Kuzu). The airline was criticized in 2009 for transporting 11 wild dolphins from the Solomon Islands to the Philippines - and that was not the first time they transported live dolphins. In 2010 ULS transported 4 wild dolphins from Taiji to Egypt. A week prior to Morgan's transfer, 25 wild dolphins were moved from the Solomon Islands to China.
One day after being transported some 3,800km (2360 miles), Morgan was introduced to one-year-old Adán, who had been rejected at birth by his mother Kohana.
The day after that, Morgan was introduced to Skyla.
On December 7, photos surfaced showing that Morgan had been introduced to Tekoa.
The next day, Loro Parque posted a photo of Kohana, Skyla, and Morgan swimming together on their Facebook page.
On December 22, Orca Coalition posted an update on Morgan, including some screencaps from a video showing Morgan with a deep rake on her dorsal fin.
The next day, a Youtube video showed an underwater view, showing Morgan being chased and raked by Skyla and Kohana. The guide tells the guests in the video that the orcas are playing. For a moment Morgan stops in front of the glass and screeches at the people watching her. The people laugh and Morgan swims away as Kohana and Skyla close in for another attack. It is seen in the video that Morgan defecates a couple of times during the attacks. The video was quickly taken down, and was then reuploaded within 24 hours by an activist (https://youtu.be/Z5MyNC2s-Mw).
On the 27th of December, 28 days after Morgan had arrived, Loro Parque posted a Youtube video of Javier Almunia talking about how Morgan had successfully integrated with the orcas at Loro Parque.
An article published January 12, 2012 mentioned Loro Parque's intention to breed Morgan with Adán when they are older. This would be in violation of the export permit, as there is no scientific benefit from breeding Morgan.
Six days later Loro Parque uploaded another Youtube video showing Morgan swimming with the other orcas.
To sum up January, Morgan weighed in at 2444lb (1109kg). It was noted that Morgan was primarily being kept in the medical pool (which is 15% smaller than the tank she lived in at Dolfinarium Harderwijk), but while in Loro Parque's medical pool she was housed with Adán.
On February 8 the Free Morgan Foundation posted photos on their website of P pod and Morgan, asking the public if they had seen any Norwegian orca photos dating from January 1, 2004 to June 22, 2010 that match Morgan.
Orca Coalition revealed that a visitor to Loro Parque on February 17 observed that Morgan performed in a show. Morgan performed 80 days after arriving at Loro Parque. The next day Morgan apparently performed in all of the day's shows. This is in violation of the export permit; Morgan must only be used for scientific purposes, not for commercial purposes.
To sum up February, Morgan weighed 2822lb (1280kg).
On March 25, Orca Coalition posted photos of Morgan with a deep rake mark in her left eye patch. The scar remains to this day.
Three days later, Loro Parque uploaded photos to their Facebook page, with the album titled "6 Orcas en Familia." It showed all of the orcas together, including group photos in the medical pool with trainers feeding them.
For March, Morgan weighed in at 2701lb (1225kg) - meaning she lost 121lb (55kg) in one month.
In April, Morgan weighed 2646lb (1200kg), having lost another 55lb (25kg). Photos surfaced of Morgan being trained regularly, occasional visits with the older orcas in the show pool, and photos of Morgan with Adán, the latter of whom had sustained severe rakes on his right rostrum and left chin.
Loro Parque also uploaded a video in April (later reuploaded by Dolfinariumweb) talking about how they're using hydrophones to monitor Morgan's vocalizations to keep track of how they're changing over time in relation to the calls of the other whales and vice versa. (https://youtu.be/OZ232sY-IgE?t=11m13s)
On May 8, Orca Coalition posted an update asking the public for donations to fund the final appeal ot the Dutch court, which may occur in August.
Loro Parque revealed on May 24 that Morgan may be deaf and experts will study Morgan for the next few months. Efforts by the Free Morgan Foundation to have other experts not paid by Loro Parque to test Morgan’s hearing are denied.
For the month of May, Morgan weighed 3031lb (1375kg), a gain of 385lb (175kg).
In June, photos showed Morgan exhibiting stereotypy - constantly beaching herself on the slideouts. The photos also showed that Morgan was still primarily kept with Adán. Photos that included trainers showed that they were still using their whistles with Morgan. Morgan's sides had lots of new rakes. Adán also had more rakes.
Ingrid Visser publicized a status report on Morgan, indicating that Morgan was being subjected to an unprecedented rate of aggression events, and her teeth were already showing signs of wear from chewing on concrete. (http://www.freemorgan.org/status-report/)
By July, photos showed that Morgan was completely covered in rakes, reminiscent of Tekoa.
In August, pictures and first-hand accounts revealed that Morgan's stereotypy was intensifying. Beaching herself on the slideouts. Screaming loudly. One photo showed Morgan performing in a show, again in violation of the permit.
On September 6, the Orca Coalition confirmed a court date for November 1 with a panel of three judges.
In September, more accounts (including photos) further underlined Morgan's participation in shows. One photo showed that Morgan had sustained a deep rake close to her right eye - that scar remains to this day.
More pictures in October showed Morgan performing, and spending time with Vicky, Kohana's two-month-old inbred and rejected calf.
Following the November 1 hearing, it was determined by the judges that no federal laws were broken and that Morgan is not releasable. The Free Morgan Foundation requested another appeal.
On November 15, Loro Parque issued a press release stating that research confirmed that Morgan has a "hearing impairment."
The Free Morgan Foundation takes issue with this research (http://www.freemorgan.org/is-morgan-deaf/), among the contentions being that in their conclusions the authors of the paper (published March 2013) state: "The lack of a click-evoked response in the killer whale, Morgan, suggests that this animal suffers from a hearing deficit," and later indicate it is "possible" that she has a “profound hearing deficit” but they cannot test for it due to the limitations of the techniques used (both in frequency (Hz) and volume (dB)), stressing that more studies should be done.
In detail: there was issues in relation to most aspects of the tests - insufficient data with full submersion, lack of jawphone calibration for air testing, and insufficient data with two of the three tones. Only the data from partial submersion with click tones up to 134 dB re 1 μPa (ppe) was used.
So yes, Morgan has a hearing deficit, but the extent at this time is unknown.
To date Loro Parque has not conducted further research on the hearing of their killer whales - if they have, there has been no mention of it to the public.
Update: 11 days after I posted this, Loro Parque published an article detailing how American researchers would be arriving the following week to conduct a hearing study.
