MIAMI.- More than 50 years after the orca Lolita arrived at the Miami Seaquarium, making it one of the oldest whales in captivity, it will be returned to its native waters in the Pacific, but with a… guard, she will be in a marine sanctuary built for her.
The announcement was made at a press conference attended by Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, representatives from The Dolphin Company, concession company Miami Seaquarium, Amigos de Lolita organization and philanthropist Jim Irsay.
The Miami Seaquarium has signed a deal with non-profit group Amigos de Lolita (Friends of Lolita) to relocate the orca, with the help of philanthropist and NFL Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.
“I’m thrilled to be part of Lolita’s journey,” Irsay said. “Ever since I was a child, I have loved whales, I have loved whales for their power, their greatness and their gentleness.”
A SANCTUARY FOR LOLITA
Irsay said the cost of moving Lolita could reach eight figures, but said they hadn’t allocated a budget for the move.
The plan is to build a net sea sanctuary, where Lolita will receive constant attention from trainers, Irsay said.
The move will likely be by plane, possibly a huge military C-17, Irsay added.
LOLITA’S HEALTH PROBLEMS
Lolita has improved from the health issues that plagued her in 2022, according to the latest examination carried out in February by two independent veterinarians.
After suffering a serious infection last year, the orca is showing signs of “significant improvement and better health”, according to the report.
According to data provided by animal rights activists, Lolita, which was sold in 1970 to the Miami Seaquarium for approximately $20,000, is confined in a pool approximately 60 feet (18 meters) in length and a depth of maximum of 20 feet (6.1 meters).
“Lolita should be taken to the area of the sea where she was captured, her mother is there,” Charlene Aleck, a representative of the Tsleil-Waututh Indigenous Nation, for whom killer whales hold religious significance, said last December.
Lolita has been a symbol of struggle and perseverance in our community, and one of the questions swirling around is how will she travel safely from South Florida to the Pacific Northwest, from where does she come from?
PETA REACTS
In a statement posted on its website, animal welfare organization PETA said that if the release were granted, even they would applaud the measure.
“If Lolita is finally returned to her native waters, there will be applause from around the world, including PETA, which has pursued multiple lawsuits on Lolita’s behalf and staged numerous protests demanding her release over the years. If the Seaquarium agrees to move her, He will offer her long-awaited relief after five miserable decades in a cramped tank and send a clear signal to other parks that the days of confined highly intelligent, long-range marine mammals in dark prisons is over.
Since September 24, 1970, Lolita has been in the Miami Seaquarium, which was opened in 1955 on an island in Biscayne Bay and served as the setting for the famous television series “Flipper”.