“The first thing is her health and taking care of her as much as we can here and then we absolutely want to look forward to what is possible,” Pritam Singh, who leads Friends of Toki, said.

Though she is getting stronger, she still has her down days. At one point, she was even close to death.Ī special antibiotic flown in from Japan has helped to stabilize her. “She wants her environment back, her home back,” said Raynell Morris, of Friends of Toki.īefore she can be moved, however, the hurdles are many and challenging.įederal regulatory agencies like NOAA and the USDA would need to approve such a move before it can happen and Toki, who was officially retired from performing in March, has been dealing with a serious respiratory illness ever since. The Lummi Nation has been trying for years to have her returned. The orca, also known as Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, was torn from her pod in the Salish Sea about half a century ago.

“We are just taking it day by day, and learning from the Dolphin Company and the veterinarians,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. The considerations include moving the orca, formerly known as performer Lolita, out of the 80-foot long and 35-foot wide tank and into a more spacious enclosure. The Seaquarium is “100% committed,” said Eduardo Albor, the chief executive officer of the Dolphin Company, the owner of the Miami Seaquarium. MIAMI – The health and future of the beloved captive orca at the Miami Seaquarium in Virginia Key was the focus of discussion during a conference Tuesday at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami.įor the first time, the leadership of the Miami Seaquarium stated publicly that they are on board with efforts to retire the 56-year-old orca, known as Tokitae or Toki, to a sea pen in her native waters.

Instaling Lolita