Keijo

Wikie, 23, and her 11-year-old son Keijo are currently held at Marineland Antibes, a marine zoo in southern France, where they were born and have been kept their entire lives.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French ecology minister, said in February she was looking for a European sanctuary but a suitable site for Wikie and Keijo has not been secured yet.

They stressed that Wikie and Keijo "must leave now" for their own welfare, adding: "Marineland reaffirms the extreme urgency of transferring the animals to an operational destination."

There is no chance Wikie and Keijo will be released into the wild as, unlike Keiko, they were born in captivity.

Until a decision is made Wikie and Keijo remain in Marineland, unaware the rest of their home is now empty.