Save Lolita ~ Tokitae

The 60’s…along came Carolina Snowball  Beluga Whale! What the heck was a white whale it seemed so rare. I knew that I wanted to be a dolphin trainer. How I wondered what it would be like to have you Carolina as my friend. I was a young child looking at this wonderful animal with wonderment.  I dreamed of standing at the Dolphin Show on the bow of that dingy, just like Ric, Ric O’Barry used to do,  and have these wonderful animals rise up to meet me from the water, I would then blow the whistle and give them a fishy treat. I visited the Miami Seaquarium quite regularly in my younger years.  I have a friend that worked as a trainer in 1990. She quit. I often wondered why would she quit just a wonderful job. Swimming with the Dolphins, mingling with the seals. Maybe she really couldn’t say. Maybe she saw the truth. She was as animal lover,  a vet tech.

How I loved to watch that Shark spinning  advertising the Miami Seaquarium . While we waited to make a left turn into Rickenbacker Causeway I would stare at the Seaquarium advertising it was a shark,  a stuffed tiger shark at the entrance to Key Biscayne and you had to pay a dime to pay for the toll. Yes a dime. Tolls were not that expensive then, now its $1.00 or it could be higher 4 years after I left Dade County.  The stuffed, dessicated Tiger shark advertising the Seaquarium it spun around and around.  I remember one year someone put a mannequin’s leg in the mouth of that shark with fake blood and all it made the news. I think it was around the time that “Jaws” the movie had become a hit and how all of us got scared of going into the water.

Then, there came Lolita.  The orca (Orcinus orca) is a toothed black and white whale that is a very fast swimmer and an efficient predator that eats fish, squid, and marine mammals. I was in awe of you. Your name was Tokitae , Killer Whale,

Seaquarium Lolita show

Orca. Your name was changed to Lolita and you joined Hugo.  That brought emotions  of fear but at the same time wonderment.  I didn’t know much about your species so you were a mystery to me and everyone.

You were a gorgeous looking whale with your white patches and your body so jet black. I didn’t know then that you were taken from your family. I just didn’t simply know about you or your species.

Now you sit in a prison and your family wonders where you are.  Here is a List of Captive Orcas. These huge and magnificent animals should not be kept in captivity. They need lots of space to swim. Orcas travel thousands of miles together in a pack. A pack might be of 5-7  or even maybe more and they teach their calves to hunt.  Killer Whales teaching their young to hunt. These are wild animals that must teach their young to survive in the wild, search for food. Orcas are extremely smart. The fact that they are so smart and quick to learn has been the demise of the species. All Aquariums and Dolphinariums want a Killer Whale to bring in the masses. To teach & educate the masses and be close to an animal that they would never be able to encounter in the wild. But at what price does this become educational?

~Snatched from the wild as “Keiko ~Free Willy” !

The above was part of my memory of my younger days. Now I sound my voice and type and read up on how I can help these wonderful animals. Long gone are the days of my innocence of my youth. Reality is the here and now. We must protect our Oceans, our Whales and Dolphins. See the 6-Part Video made of the Life of Lolita.

But this is only my humble opinion..Now you form your own.

Save Lolita part 1

Save Lolita part 2

Save Lolita part 3

Save Lolita part 4

Save Lolita part 5

Save Lolita part 6

Now I march along with those that are trying to free you or at least build you a larger home.

Please help the Save Lolita Movement.

Save Lolita

Lolita PSA & website

Save Lolita ~Facebook

If I was a whale in captivity I rather have died just like Keiko, he  did get to experience the feel and sounds of the ocean once again, after being surrounded by barren concrete walls for most of his life, and that, I believe, must have come as a profound relief to him. Let Lolita retire and try to reintroduce her to her family or pod. Free Lolita!!!

Lolita slave to the Government

Death Chart of Animals at Miami Seaquarium Prison