After more than 50 years - now Lolita gets to swim in the sea

Killer whales Orca Lolita, 56, is released into the wild  

 

Of:  

 

Nelly Kronstrand  

 

Published: Yesterday 17.43 

 

 

Lolita was captured in the northwestern United States 53 years ago. Photo: Nuri Vallbona / AP 

 

NEWS 

 

The killer whale Lolita, 56, was captured in the 1970s. 

 

For over 50 years she has lived in captivity.  

 

Now she will be freed from the Miami Seaquarium and released into the sea.  

 

For almost her entire life, she has lived in captivity.  

 

But now - after several years of struggle by animal rights activists - the orca Lolita will soon be allowed to swim freely in the big blue. 

 

- I am so excited about Lolita's journey. She is a tough creature. It's fantastic, says philanthropist Jim Irsay, who helped finance Lolita's journey home, to the BBC.  

 

The Expert: No Free Willy moment  

 

At a press conference on Thursday, the American Miami Seaquarium announced that they are working to effect Lolita's release within two years. But according to experts, the move from captivity to the wild can be a difficult adjustment for an orca. 

 

- I'm afraid that when people see her being brought home, that they're going to imagine that it's just going to be some kind of "Free Willy" moment where she swims across and connects with her family. But it won't happen, says Jason Colby, environmental historian and professor to the BBC.  

 

 

Lolita was sold to the Miami Seaquarium shortly after she was captured. Photo: Alie Skowronski / AP  

 

Instead, he hopes that Lolita will be transferred to an enclosure in the sea for a period of time before she is released into the open.  

 

He states that there she could "feel at home" and live with her two dolphin friends with whom she shared a pool at Miami Seaquarium.

 

Must learn to hunt  

 

Lolita's move is expected to be expensive. The bill is believed to land around $15 million to $20 million, according to financier and philanthropist Jim Irsay. 

 

He states that two trainers will work with Lolita if and when she is moved to the enclosure in the sea. The goal is to teach her how to live as a free killer whale.  

 

 

Animal rights activists have long called for Lolita's release, as in this 2015 file  Photo: WilfredLee/AP 

 

- We have to teach her to hunt fish again. Lolita doesn't know how to do it anymore because she's been in captivity for too long, says Jim Irsay to CBS News. 

 

Suffered from failing health  

 

Now Lolita, whose real name is Tokitae, is retired.  

 

And despite her young age – in relation to the fact that killer whales can live to be around 100 years old – she has had to be cared for by veterinarians frequently. 

  

At the press conference, where the local mayor Daniella Levine Cava also participated, she announced that the move to the big blue will be handled according to Lolita's failing health.  

 

"To all of you who care, we want to thank you for your care and concern for Toki.The most important thing is Toki's long-term well-being, and together, guided by the experts, we will continue to do what is best for her," the mayor told Miami-Dade County according to CBS News.  

 

Facts  

 

The oldest to be relocated to the sea  

 

* Lolita's real name is Tokitae and goes by the nickname Toki or the stage name Lolita. 

   

* She is 56 years old and was captured along with six other orca calves in the northwestern United States in 1970.  

 

* Lolita is the only one of the group still alive. 

 

* She was sold to the Miami Seaquarium shortly after she was captured. There she would perform together with another killer whale named Hugo. However, Lolita has lived alone since Hugo died in 1980. 

 

* Over the years, Lolita, who weighs 3.2 tons and is 6 meters long, has lived in a pool at the Miami Seaquarium that is 26 by 11 meters.  

 

* When she is released into the wild, she will have been the oldest killer whale to be relocated to the sea. 

 

Source: BBC and CBS News.