Ocean Park Once Owned Two Killer Wales

Ocean Park is one of Hong Kong’s main tourist attractions. Opened on January 10, 1977, it became very popular in the territory; and, as of 2026, it remains the second-largest theme park in Hong Kong, behind Hong Kong Disneyland.

However, Ocean Park stands out from other theme parks in that it is also an animal theme park, an oceanarium, an amusement park, and a marine mammal park. As such, Ocean Park is home to dolphins, seals, walruses, and sea lions.

However, there was a time when Ocean Park also owned killer whales. In 1977, a female killer whale measuring 5 meters (16 feet) in length was captured in Iceland. She was transported to Ocean Park in January 1979 and was named Hoi Wai, which literally translates to "Mighty of the Ocean," and was often nicknamed Susie Wong. She spent the next 18 years of her life at Ocean Park until she died in April 1997.

In April 1989, she was joined at the park by a male killer whale named Bubba, sometimes nicknamed Prince. Captured in Iceland as well, in October 1987, he died at Ocean Park in 1991.

Hoi Wai performed at Ocean Park for 18 years. Although Bubba was much younger than Hoi Wai, Ocean Park hoped they would produce offspring together. However, that never happened.