Captured in Sept. 24, 1970 at just four years old, Miami Seaquarium’s Lolita who is now the world’s oldest captive orca will now return to home waters after 52 years in captivity. 

Native to the water of the Pacific Northwest Lolita also known as Tokitae was taken from her pod known as L-pod of the Southern Residents during one of the many Orca roundups that took place in the early 70’s. Tokitae would adopt the stage name “Lolita” and spend decades performing in shows at the Miami Seaquarium. 

After suffering from extreme illness over her more then 50-year-long captivity it was announced under federal regulations on March 4 2022 that the beloved and infamous Orca would no longer be on public display or be used for stage shows of any kind. This was a big step for animal rights activists all over the world who were fighting for Lolita’s release back into her home waters. 

On March 30 2023 after decades long of fighting for her freedom The Dolphin Company who currently owns and operates the parks of Miami Seaquarium came to an agreement with a non-profit known as Friends of Lolita to return her to her home and hopefully reunite her with her pod that still reside in the waters of Washington. 

Eduardo Eldor, CEO of The Dolphin Company explains that the return of Lolita has always been a plan since he first took over ownership of Miami Seaquarium, “Finding a better future for Lolita is one of the reasons that motivated us to acquire the Miami Seaquarium” said Eldor. 

The plan to return Miami’s favorite Orca is said to take place within the next 18-24 months, while returning a captive Orca back into its natural habitat may seem like a simple push back into ocean waters it is much more than that. After spending almost half a century in a small confined tank Lolita’s life is nothing like what it would be if she were living in the wild, she has forgotten how to survive on her own. Lolita has received constant care from skilled trainers, physicians, and behavioral experts since the start of her captivity and would be unable to survive in the ocean on her own. Luckily, Lolita will not be released into the open ocean upon her journey home. The plan is to have what is called a sea pen likely in the Salish Sea that will represent an ocean habitat, this situation similar to the release of Keiko who was reintroduced into the water of Iceland back in 2002. After portraying Willy in the 1996 film “Free Willy” the International Marine Mammal Project fought to return Keiko into his native waters, unfortunately Keiko would only live to the young age of 27 after passing from pneumonia in the Norwegian Coastal waters.  

All of Lolita’s fans are rooting for a safe and joyful return back to the Pacific Northwest where the beloved Orca will hopefully someday reunite with her family still left in the waters of the Salish Sea. It is unknown whether or not Lolita will be able to be successfully reintroduced back into a life she hasn’t lived since the young age of four years old but it is all of our hope that the process will go as smoothly as possible.