MIAMI More than 50 years after the orca known as lolita made publicly available, it must be returned miami seaquarium to its native waters in the northwest Pacificwhere a nearly hundredyearold whale is believed to be its mother.
An unlikely partnership involving the amusement park’s owner, an animal rights group and a philanthropic NFL team owner announced the agreement during a news conference on Thursday the 30th. “I’m excited to be a part of Lolita’s journey to freedom,” said Jim, owner of the Indianapolis Colts Irsay. “I know that Lolita wants to go to open water.”
Lolita, also known as tokitae, was about 4 years old when she was caught in Puget Sound during an orca culling season in the summer of 1970. She spent decades performing to paying crowds before falling ill.
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Last year, the Miami Seaquarium announced it would no longer perform with her as part of an agreement with federal authorities. Lolita now 57 years old and weighing over 2 tons is currently living in a pool that measures 24 meters by 11 meters and is 6 meters deep.
The orca named Ocean Sun, who is believed to be his mother, continues to swim freely with other members of her clan and is in his 90s. This gave supporters of its release optimism that Tokitae could still live a long life in the wild.
“It’s a step towards restoring our natural environment by fixing what we got wrong in exploration,” said Howard Garrett, chair of the Orca Network advocacy group of Whidbey Island, Washington. “I think she will be excited and relieved to be back home.”
The deal between Irsay; Eduardo Albor, who runs The Dolphin Company, which owns the Seaquarium; and the Floridabased nonprofit Friends of Lolita, cofounded by environmentalist Pritam Singh; still faces obstacles to gain government approval.
The timeframe for transporting the animal could be 18 to 24 months, the group said, and the cost could be as high as $20 million.
The plan is to fly Lolita to a marine sanctuary in the waters between Washington and Canada, where she will first swim in a large net while trainers and vets teach her how to fish.
She also needs to strengthen her muscles, since orcas typically swim about 100 miles a day, said Raynell Morris, a member of the Lummi Indian tribe in Washington who is also on the board of Friends of Lolita.
“She was 4 when she was kidnapped, so she learned to hunt. She knows her family sound,” Morris said. “She will remember, but it will take time.”
The orca would be cared for 24 hours a day until he adjusted to his new environment.
Seaquarium keepers are already preparing them for the trip, officials said.
The Dolphin Company assumed ownership of Seaquarium in 2021. It operates around 27 other parks and habitats in Mexico, Argentina, the Caribbean and Italy.
Animal rights activists, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), have long campaigned for Lolita to spend her final years at home in a controlled environment. Activists often protest along the road past the Seaquarium, which they call the “abuse park.” Peta doesn’t want Lolita to suffer the same fate as her partner Hugo, who died of a brain aneurysm in 1980 after repeatedly banging his head against the tank walls./AP