The sad story of the orca Lolita, who will return to the sea after 50 years in captivity – 02/04/2023 – Environment

The longest-lived orca in captivity is due to be returned to its natural habitat in the northwest Pacific Ocean more than 50 years after it was captured.

The orca Lolita is 56 years old and was the main attraction of the Miami Seaquarium water park, in the United States, for decades. In the wild, an orca’s life expectancy is between 50 and 80 years, with some females reaching 90.

Animal rights activists have spent years demanding Lolita’s release. The project Whale and Dolphin Conservation (Whale and Dolphin Conservation) states that the estimated lifespan of orcas born in captivity is, on average, four years.

Last week the aquarium announced that it would begin the process of returning the orca to its natural habitat within the next two years.

The Miami Seaquarium must work in partnership with the NGO Friends of Lolita (Friends of Lolita, in English) to rehabilitate the animal to return home.

Who will foot the bill for the process of changing Lolita will be Jim Irsay, owner of the football team Indianapolis Colts.

“I’m excited to be a part of Lolita’s journey,” said Irsay. “She’s a strong creature, it’s amazing.”

Lolita, also known by her original name Tokitae or Toki, belongs to a group of orcas that live exclusively in the North Pacific Ocean and spend several months of the year in Puget Sound, in the state of Washington, according to the US agency NOAA, which operates in matters relating to the oceans and the atmosphere.

This special population of orcas was considered endangered in 2005, in part due to the capture of the animals during the 1970s, when Lolita was captured.

cruel capture

In his book documenting the history of the global fascination with orcas, environmental historian and University of Victoria professor Jason Colby tells how Lolita was captured in August 1970.

At the time, captors partnered with local fishermen to take the baby killer whales into nets, separate them from their pods, and ultimately sell them to water parks such as Seaworld and the Miami Seaquarium.

“When Lolita was captured, they accidentally ended up arresting almost the entire population of the area,” Colby tells the BBC.

“At one point there were about 90 orcas trapped in the nets”

Colby says animal rights activists tried to free the animals by cutting the fishermen’s nets, but some were trapped and four cubs drowned.

Killer whales are mammals, and although they live in the sea, they have to come to the surface to breathe. Eight of them were captured that month, including Lolita.

“That was in August 1970. The Vietnam War was going on. It was the first term of Richard Nixon’s presidency. I say this so you can have an idea of ​​how long she has been in captivity”, contextualizes Colby.

40 years alone

After the capture, Lolita was sold to the Miami Seaquarium, where she would perform alongside another orca, named Hugo, according to the park’s website.

Hugo died in 1980, so she didn’t have another orca to socialize with for over 40 years.

Once released, she will be the oldest orca ever transported to a new habitat, Colby said.

For the more than 50 years since then, she has lived in a 26-by-11-metre tank at the Seaquarium, a space that activists say is dangerously small for an animal approximately 6 meters long.

One of the criticisms of the size of the tank came from the daughter of Eduardo Albor, CEO of The Dolphin Company, the largest owner of amusement parks in Latin America.

Albor visited the theme park with the girl shortly before acquiring it in 2021.

“She said to me, ‘If we ever take over running this place, will you promise me that you’ll see how we can improve this?'” Albor recalls.

The following year, Seaquarium announced Lolita’s retirement after 52 years of performing.

Albor commended animal rights activists and Seaquarium staff for putting aside differences and working together.

“We have the same goal, and now the world will see that amazing things are possible when we listen to each other and work together,” he said.

difficulties

But experts warn that Lolita’s relocation will have major hurdles.

“I’m afraid that when they see her being taken home, people will imagine it will be a ‘Free Willy moment’ where she swims and connects with her family. I can’t imagine that happening,” Colby reckons.

Lolita’s age and the fact that she has lived in captivity for decades and is unable to feed herself could complicate her release into the wild, says the environmental historian.

Rather than fully releasing Lolita back into the sea to live in the wild, Colby believes the orca will likely live out her remaining days in a sort of marine enclosure, which will allow her to feel the waters of her natural habitat and acoustically reconnect with the group. from which she was separated decades ago.

While sad, this scenario would still be a “powerful and symbolic victory” according to Colby.

“If her return causes people to commit to ensuring that this group of orcas have a healthy place to live, it will be a huge success,” he says.

This text was originally published here.