Taima was assisted during the birth by Kalina, an experienced mother of 4, along with her latest calf Tuar, born in 1999. Kalina not only assisted with the birth, but also stayed with Taima before & after, making sure she took care of the calf. Unfortunately, Taima, an inexperienced fist time mother with her first calf Sumar, had ultimately been separated from him because of aggression. Sea World, trying to make sure things went well this time, kept Kalina & Tuar with Taima for quite a while after the delivery.

About a month after his birth, Sea World announced that Tekoa was a male. Months later, they named him Tekoa, the Cherokee word for "beautiful". A very fitting name!

Since his birth, Tekoa has grown well. While Taima has not shown aggression towards her calf, as she did with his brother Sumar, she still has not turned into the usual devoted mother Orca. Tekoa usually spends his time with half-siblings Unna and Taku, along with their mother Katina. He also spends a great deal of time with Kalina, Katina's daughter who assisted during his birth.

Tekoa has also begun performing in shows. At first he only mimicked his mother Taima and Kalina, but he has now begun to perform a little bit on his own. And thankfully, dispite some earlier concerns, no apparent health problems have surfaced. Because of his mother's almost indifference from him, Tekoa has become an unusually independent calf, making him a good candidate for a later transfer. However, we can only hope that Sea World chooses to keep him in Orlando until he is significantly older.