Tokitae – the orca making history

Tokitae has been dubbed the ‘world’s loneliest dolphin’ due to her being the only orca (or killer whale) in the smallest orca tank in North America for decades. She was originally housed with another orca, Hugo, until 1980 when he suffered a brain aneurysm and died after charging into a tank wall repeatedly.

Tokitae’s life in captivity began 10 years before that in 1970 when she was captured in what are now infamously known as the Penn Cove captures. A company had been set up in the United States to capture orcas for the burgeoning marine park market and in August 1970, they used boats, planes and explosives to drive a pod of Southern Resident orcas into shallow waters in Penn Cove, near Seattle.

They started by separating panicked screaming mothers from their calves with several orcas drowned in the nets in the process. The bodies of the dead animals were then filled with rocks and sunk. The surviving calves were taken and shipped to marine parks around the world. Most died within a few years.

But not Tokitae. Tokitae has been in captivity for 52 years at Miami Seaquarium in what is known as the smallest orca tank in North America, or the ‘Whale Bowl’. Her name means ‘bright day, pretty colours’ in the Chinook language, but she was later renamed 'Lolita' for shows.

For decades, campaigners, protesters and lawyers have fought for Tokitae to be released into her home waters in the Salish Sea, with the hope that she could even be reintegrated into her pod (the L pod). In fact, the orca thought to be Tokitae’s mother is still alive in her 90s and is the pod’s matriarch. All cries for her release were ignored.

In March 2022, the Miami Seaquarium announced that Tokitae would no longer be used for shows and rumours began to circulate of a possible release plan.

On the 30th of March 2023, a press conference took place announcing plans to relocate Tokitae which featured Mayor Danielle Levine Cava of Miami-Dade County, Edward Albor – the CEO of The Dolphin Company (one of the largest captive dolphin entertainment companies in the world) who own Miami Seaquarium, Pritam Singh – co-founder of ‘Friends of Lolita’, and Jim Irsay, owner and CEO of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, who is funding the relocation.

What has been shared of the plan so far is that, pending government approval, Tokitae will be moved to an ocean sanctuary off the coast of Washington State and Canada, where she will be able to swim in a netted-off area of her home waters with continuous human care.

The ideal outcome would be a position where she is self-sufficient enough for a full release. The timeline for the relocation is currently estimated to be 18 - 24 months but the hope is that the move to the west coast could be sooner.

While this news has been long-anticipated, and most people are thrilled and relieved that Tokitae will be able to swim in her home waters again, naturally there are also concerns for her. She has been in captivity for over 50 years and hasn’t always been in the best health.

What are her chances for survival?

It is hard to know. In the wild, female orcas can live into their 90s but her situation is far from that of most wild orcas. What we do know is that currently Tokitae is languishing in the smallest orca tank in North America. The orca thought to be her mother is in her 90s and Tokitae is 57, so may still have decades ahead of her. In that time she has the opportunity to be in a sea sanctuary in her home waters with human care, or even potentially fully released and able to communicate with her own pod. It is optimistic but it is not impossible.

Tokitae’s story is heart-breaking – she has led a life far from her natural home, her pod and has been made to perform for human entertainment for half a century. We desperately hope that her tragic story gets a happier ending.

Whether bred in captivity, or captured from the wild, making wild animals perform for tourist entertainment is cruel, outdated and needs to end. Tokitae’s story highlights the need to end the captive whale and dolphin entertainment industry once and for all and stop future generations from suffering in this way.

An aerial view of Tokitae in her tank at Miami Seaquarium

At World Animal Protection, we believe that wild animals should have the right to a wild life. We want to end the commercial exploitation of wildlife and move the tourism industry away from cruel wildlife entertainment.

Please join us in helping change the tourism industry by telling major travel companies that the show can’t go on. 

Make a difference today.

Image credits: Hero image: Emily Huggins

Tokitae’s story is heart-breaking – she has led a life far from her natural home, her pod and has been made to perform for human entertainment for half a century.