Releasing a formerly captive orca that subsequently didn’t do well in the wild isn’t unprecedented. Keiko (Willy) lasted just a year on his own and was unable to socialize with any of his own kind.

My comment is a throwaway joke given how quickly Sea World was on the scene but a killer whale dying this far from their usual turf hasn’t been recorded either. I don’t know if anyone else has released an orca lately given Keiko’s fate but they’re usually social animals so you’d expect sightings of her pod.