HOLLYWOOD—A killer whale at the Miami Seaquarium has recently gained the attention of Hollywood celebrities that are now campaigning for her freedom.  Since 1995, activists have endeavored to return Lolita to her native waters and her family off the coast of Washington State.  However, not everyone agrees that Lolita should be released into the wild.

Lolita's capture Courtesy of the Orca Network

 

Lolita was three years old when she was first captured from the Puget Sound in 1970.  Aircraft and capture boats threw bombs into the water to herd the family of orcas towards their nets.  Six calves were separated from their mothers and sold to marine parks worldwide.  Lolita was taken to Miami and placed in a pool 18 feet deep and 35 feet by 80 feet across.  She has remained there for 37 years.  

Lolita At Miami Seaquarium Courtesy of the Orca Network

 

Before the practice was outlawed in 1976, a total of 134 orcas were snatched from the ocean and only 44 of those have survived.  At the age of 42, Lolita is a true exception as the average life expectancy of a captive whale is 25-35 years.  Miami Seaquarium owners say she gets daily check-ups and receives only the best care. 

The Seaquarium is concerned about the well-fare of Lolita because she never had to find her own food, and has had constant human contact for nearly four decades; therefore, a move across the country could be too stressful.  Some scientists have suggested the transport could even kill her.

Howard Garret, Board President of the Orca Network has been striving for Lolita’s freedom since 1995 and says a careful transport and reintroduction program has been developed to bring the orca home safely. “Moving orcas by transport aircraft is routine and has never resulted in any harm to an orca,” Garret says.  The estimated time from pool to ocean is about 12 hours. Lolita will be kept in a sea pen, re-taught to eat live fish, and other skills to live in the wild.  “Every step of the way Lolita would be accompanied by the care staff she has grown to trust,” Garret explained.  

Producer and philanthropist Raul Julia-Levy has recently become involved in the effort and has gathered some star-studded support.  “This beautiful animal deserves to be free, she won’t live another five years in that stinky tank,” declared Levy.  Richard Greco, Johnny Depp, Harrison Ford, Jonathan Silverman, and Billy Zane are just a few of the celebrities that have joined the campaign. “We are not activists. We are directors, we are producers, we are actors that have a tremendous love for animals and this is a very sad story,” stated Levy.

The Swedish auto maker Saab has even produced a commercial featuring Lolita in her tank.  The commercial’s message is “the power of nature wants to be free, release it,” and it presents images of a butterfly trapped indoors, a chained dog, and Lolita.     

The Earth Island Institute (EII) has also come on board.  In 1994, the EII established the Free Willy Keiko Foundation and with the help of the executive producer of the film “Free Willy,” Richard Donner, eventually reintroduced the Orca back into the wild.  Keiko starred in three films before he was rescued from an aquarium in Mexico City, rehabilitated, and released near Iceland in 2002.  Unfortunately, about a year later Keiko died of acute pneumonia in the Taknes fjord, Norway.   

At 27 years old, Keiko was the second oldest male orca in captivity.  David Phillips of the EII said in a press release, “Keiko was a trailblazer, the first orca whale ever rescued from captivity. Keiko showed what is possible if these animals are just given the chance."         

Orcas are very social and normally stay with their family pods for their entire lives. Scientists were never able to locate Keiko’s family which might have improved his chances for survival.  However, scientists have studied Lolita’s family and the pod still appears in the Puget Sound.  Howard Garret says, “The very fact that Lolita's family has been thoroughly documented for over 30 years and predictably appears along San Juan Island every summer guarantees that Lolita will have the opportunity to communicate with her family.” 

Raul Julia-Levy says, “We are getting ready to negotiate with Mr. Hertz (Miami Seaqurium owner) and I believe, in my heart, he will do the right thing. Whales are not pets to make money off of.”  With some of the most powerful movie producers, influential actors, and top scientists on hand, Levy is confident of Lolita’s inevitable freedom.