Miami Seaquarium: Captive orca Lolita dies after 2 days of ‘serious signs’

By Louis Aguirre, Christian de la Rosa, Andrea Torres, Eden Checkol, Jenise Fernandez

On August 21, 2023

VIRGINIA KEY, Fla. – The Miami Seaquarium announced on Friday that the captive orca whale Lolita, also known as Tokitae and Toki, died of a renal condition. Over the last two days, the beloved orca had been exhibiting “serious signs” of discomfort, according to the Seaquarium.

A white tarp covered the dead whale in the tank. A man used a crane to pull her out of the tank and the open-air amphitheater where she had been the park’s main attraction. The crane placed the 5,000-pound whale into a rectangular container.

Several people worked together to place bags of ice into a refrigerated trailer. A small tractor raised the open container with the whale and pushed it inside the back of the semi-trailer truck. A couple of men in wet suits stood nearby.

“RIP Lolita. 53 years of abuse,” read a sign that a man was holding when the semi-truck left the Miami Seaquarium on Friday night with a police escort.

The orca was captured in 1970 and performed with trainers as a tourist attraction for decades in the same tank at the park in Miami’s Virginia Key. This pained two women who hugged outside of the Seaquarium in tears.

“She was an angel. I can’t believe she has left us,” Alejandro Dintino said through tears on Friday night in Virginia Key.

The 57-year-old orca retired from her performances last year, but she remained in the — 80-feet long, 35-feet wide, and 20-feet deep — tank, which was closed to the public.

The Lummi, a Native American tribe, wanted the orca to return to her native Pacific Northwest. There was a natural sea pen in the waters where her family still swims.

Raynell Zuni-Morris, a Lummi tribal member and the vice president of the Sacred Lands Conservancy, said she was heartbroken and had received a report that she was “doing really good” on Tuesday.

“I feel like a significant member of my family has passed suddenly,” Zuni-Morris said.

Eduardo Albor, the chief executive officer of The Dolphin Company, which has operated the Miami Seaquarium since last year, agreed to the move. They were working with Friends of Toki, a nonprofit organization. Jim Irsay, the Indianapolis Colts owner, had agreed to help cover the cost.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who was also in support of the move, released a statement after the announcement: “Our collective wish was to see Toki in her native waters and we are heartbroken to learn of this sudden loss.”

Federal and state regulators still needed to approve the plan amid the whale’s chronic health problems.

“Plans to make this move came too late, and Lolita was denied even a minute of freedom from her grinding 53 years in captivity,” said Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, in a statement.

Newkirk also called on the Miami Seaquarium to continue with plans to send the dolphin that was Lolita’s tankmate to a seaside sanctuary, along with all of the other dolphins in captivity.

Newkirk said PETA also wants SeaWorld to “learn from this tragedy” and free the orca Corky that she said has been in captivity for nearly 54 years.

The Miami Seaquarium’s announcement:

Over the last two days, Toki started exhibiting serious signs of discomfort, which her full Miami Seaquarium and Friends of Toki medical team began treating immediately and aggressively. Despite receiving the best possible medical care, she passed away Friday afternoon … from what is believed to be a renal condition. Toki was an inspiration to all who had the fortune to hear her story and especially to the Lummi nation that considered her family. Those who have had the privilege to spend time with her will forever remember her beautiful spirit.

This piece was republished from the Local 10 News.