Free Lolita
On August 8, 1970, Lolita was swimming with her family pod through Admiralty Inlet on their way to a gathering of all Puget Sound's resident killer whales. Superpod congregations are typically ceremonious for the whales, but it turned out very differently... The entire community of about 85 resident orcas was driven into Penn Cove, Whidbey Island. Four baby whales and a young mother drowned in the capture, and seven very young whales were sold into the entertainment industry. Of at least 45 whales removed or killed during the capture era, only one survives ... alone ... in a Miami marine park.
About a dozen of her family members that survived the captures are still alive and well in the Salish Sea of Washington State and British Columbia. There is an active campaign to reunite Lolita with her home waters and, if possible, with her family. First contact could be by cellular phone / satellite link, then, if she deemed healthy, she could return home to her native waters.
Lolita was born around 1966 - she's believed to be the oldest orca in captivity. Killer whales in captivity tend to die in their youth, but if she comes back to her home waters she could live to fifty more years of age. She has been alone since 1980, when a young male from her community of resident orcas died in the tank with her.
Lolita, first known as Tokitae, is still bobbing listlessly in the oldest, and smallest, whale tank in North America. Whether the tank meets the federal standards is heavily disputed. In April 1996, Lolita's stadium was closed for a long period of time to repair the worst. In November 2005 the park had to close once more after heavy damages during the hurricane season. We believe it is abusive to keep her there. Over 35 years of field research on the Southern Community of resident killer whales, the clan from which Lolita was taken, indicate that she will successfully re-adapt to her home waters, physically and socially. The species' natural condition is to always maintain peak physical conditioning - they swim actively day and night - and in all probability her family will recognize her and will assist her to rejoin them. If for some reason she is unable to return to her family, she will be cared for in perpetuity. She could have a chance to be in her natural habitat again.
There will be coordinated preparations for a temporary rehabilitation seapen in Penn Cove on Whidbey Island. The seapen may become permanently available for rescue and rehabilitation of marine life.
The late Dr. Jesse White, who selected Lolita in 1970, said she was "so courageous, yet so gentle." Her perseverence is remarkable, but how much longer can she survive in isolated confinement? She needs help, now.
The involved projects are seeking further funding to demonstrate to the public and the marine park industry that there are better alternatives than captivity for Lolita. Informational campaigns can be costly, and with the logistics of a return to home waters it all adds up to a large and complex project.
Source: The Lolita Come Home Project
About a dozen of her family members that survived the captures are still alive and well in the Salish Sea of Washington State and British Columbia. There is an active campaign to reunite Lolita with her home waters and, if possible, with her family. First contact could be by cellular phone / satellite link, then, if she deemed healthy, she could return home to her native waters.
Lolita was born around 1966 - she's believed to be the oldest orca in captivity. Killer whales in captivity tend to die in their youth, but if she comes back to her home waters she could live to fifty more years of age. She has been alone since 1980, when a young male from her community of resident orcas died in the tank with her.
Lolita, first known as Tokitae, is still bobbing listlessly in the oldest, and smallest, whale tank in North America. Whether the tank meets the federal standards is heavily disputed. In April 1996, Lolita's stadium was closed for a long period of time to repair the worst. In November 2005 the park had to close once more after heavy damages during the hurricane season. We believe it is abusive to keep her there. Over 35 years of field research on the Southern Community of resident killer whales, the clan from which Lolita was taken, indicate that she will successfully re-adapt to her home waters, physically and socially. The species' natural condition is to always maintain peak physical conditioning - they swim actively day and night - and in all probability her family will recognize her and will assist her to rejoin them. If for some reason she is unable to return to her family, she will be cared for in perpetuity. She could have a chance to be in her natural habitat again.
There will be coordinated preparations for a temporary rehabilitation seapen in Penn Cove on Whidbey Island. The seapen may become permanently available for rescue and rehabilitation of marine life.
The late Dr. Jesse White, who selected Lolita in 1970, said she was "so courageous, yet so gentle." Her perseverence is remarkable, but how much longer can she survive in isolated confinement? She needs help, now.
The involved projects are seeking further funding to demonstrate to the public and the marine park industry that there are better alternatives than captivity for Lolita. Informational campaigns can be costly, and with the logistics of a return to home waters it all adds up to a large and complex project.
Source: The Lolita Come Home Project
When Lolita was transported to the Miami Seaquarium on August 8, 1970, she was reunited with a fellow member of her pod, Hugo, who was caught in 1968. Hugo killed himself in 1980 by bashing his head off an underwater viewing window and giving himself a brain aneurysm according to the marine mammal inventory report from the Miami Seaquarium. Since Hugo’s death Lolita has lived either alone or with 1-3 pacific white sided dolphins.
Lolita, slave to entertainment
The following, provocative and revealing must-see documentary uniquely addresses man's relationship with wildlife. It speaks not only to animal lovers and activists, but to anyone at all who may have been duped by marine theme park propaganda.
In fact, this is the film that an entire industry would rather you not see.
October 2012 ~ important update by PETA
Written by Jeff Mackey / 10-12-2012
Update: We have a promising development to report. Following the filing of our lawsuit, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has agreed to reconsider its exclusion of Lolita from the Endangered Species Act listing of the Southern Resident orcas—the family from which she was taken more than 40 years ago.
Under this agreement, PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund will submit a new petition asking for Lolita to be included in the listing, and NMFS must make a decision based solely on the biological status of the orcas—whether the population is threatened or endangered—within the legally required time frame. The time has come for the government to give Lolita the same protection offered to her family in the wild and reunite her with her pod, whose calls she recognized when they were played to her even after decades in captivity!
Originally posted August 23:
The fight to free Lolita, the lone captive orca at the Miami Seaquarium, continues: PETA, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), the Orca Network, and private citizens concerned about Lolita's living conditions have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), challenging its outrageous decision to renew the Seaquarium's federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) license.
FAILING LOLITA - AND THE LAW
The AWA, which the USDA is charged with enforcing, prohibits licensing a facility that is out of compliance with the act. Yet the Seaquarium keeps Lolita without the company of another orca in a tank so small that it fails to meet the minimum legal size requirements and also offers no protection from the burning sun—all violations of the law.
In nature, where Lolita's mother still thrives at more than 80 years of age, orcas live in tight family units, with bonds that may last a lifetime. At the Seaquarium, Lolita swims in endless circles in a tiny barren cement tank. This highly intelligent and social wild animal has been without an orca companion since 1980, when her tank mate, Hugo, died of a brain aneurysm after reportedly ramming his head into the side of their tank, in what many believe to be a desperate attempt to break out of the tank—or even commit suicide.
What you can do
Please send a polite e-mail to Dr. Elizabeth Goldentyer, eastern regional director of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the USDA, asking that the agency revoke the Miami Seaquarium's exhibitor license.
Dr. Elizabeth Goldentyer
Regional Director, Eastern Region USDA/APHIS/Animal Care (AC)
920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27606-5210
Fax: 919-855-7123
Phone (general office): 919-855-7100
Email (general office): [email protected]
Dr. Elizabeth Goldentyer
Regional Director, Eastern Region USDA/APHIS/Animal Care (AC)
920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27606-5210
Fax: 919-855-7123
Phone (general office): 919-855-7100
Email (general office): [email protected]