PETA has released a heartbreaking statement following the death of Lolita the orca and have called for the release of all animals in captivity.
Lolita was captured and held in captivity for five decades at Miami Seaquarium. She is estimated to have been born between 1966 and 1967 and was captured in Penn Cove in the waters off the Pacific Northwest on August 8, 1970.
Lolita, who was also known by the Native American name Tokitae, was a Southern Resident orca that weighed roughly 5,000 pounds according to the Miami Herald. She was believed to be around 57-years-old prior to her death on Friday (August 18), which made her the oldest orca in captivity.
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In March, it was decided that Lolita would be released from Miami Seaquarium to be returned to ‘home waters’ in the Pacific Northwest for the rest of her life.
However, in the two days leading up to her death, she started showing serious signs of discomfort and medical teams from the Seaquarium and the Friends of Toki organisation began treating her but she died from an apparent renal condition, a statement released by Friends of Toki said.
Now, PETA - the largest animal rights organisation in the world - has paid tribute to Lolita and confirmed plans for a vigil at the Miami Seaquarium this weekend.
PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said: “Kind people begged the Miami Seaquarium to end Lolita’s hellish life in a concrete cell and release her to a seaside sanctuary, where she could dive deep, feel the ocean’s currents, and even be reunited with the orca believed to be her mother, but plans to move her to a seaside sanctuary came too late, and Lolita was denied even a minute of freedom from her grinding 53 years in captivity.
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“PETA urges families to honor Lolita’s memory by never visiting marine parks and is calling on the Seaquarium to continue with plans to send the dolphin who was Lolita’s tank mate to a sea sanctuary, along with all of the other dolphins, before the death toll rises, and for SeaWorld to learn from this tragedy and relinquish the orca Corky, who has been imprisoned in tiny tanks for nearly 54 years, before she shares Lolita’s fate. May all wild animals be free!"
UNILAD has contacted Miami Seaquarium and SeaWorld for comment.
The statement released by the non-profit group Friends of Toki and shared by Miami Seaquarium said: “Toki was an inspiration to all who had the fortune to hear her story and especially to the Lummi nation that considered her family.
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“Those who have had the privilege to spend time with her will forever remember her beautiful spirit.”
News of Lolita’s death comes after the world's ‘saddest orca’, Kiska, who got her nickname due to her life of solitude after being removed from her family in Iceland in 1979 and being sold into the aquarium industry, died at 46-years-old in March. Kiska had been in a solo tank at the aquarium since 2011.
Topics: Animals, US News, World News