Women of the World united against Taiji in collaboration with Peggy Oki's Origami Whales Project are working towards Lolita's retirement from the entertainment industry.

Lolita, also known as Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut and Tokitae is a captive killer whale who has lived at the Miami Seaquarium since September 24, 1970, she was born in 1964 and was captured from the wild on August 8, 1970 in Penn Cove, Washington when she was approximately four years old . She is the second oldest killer whale in captivity behind Corky at Sea World San Diego.

Lolita is approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) long and 7,000 pounds and she resides in a tiny tank that is only 35 feet (11 m) wide from the front wall to the slide-out barrier. It is 20 feet (6.1 m) deep at the deepest point and a mere 12 feet (3.7 m) deep around the edges.

In the wild an Orca can swim on average 75 miles per day, They dive 100 to 500 feet, several times a day, every day. They forage for food and have a very varied diet. Lolita is a solitary Orca yet in the wild Orcas are social animals, spending their lives in groups or pods where they hunt together and share responsibility for raising their young and taking care of the sick or injured.

Orcas are a highly intelligent species yet Lolita has been denied the natural stimulus of the wild for over 51 years. 51 long years going around and around in a tank, it must be truly unbearable.

Please join us to raise awareness of her plight, we owe it to her to continue to fight for her.

Thank you

Event: (click on link to join)
Raise your voice for Tokitae/Lolita

Tweetsheet: (click on link to Tweet)
Tweet for Tokitae/Lolita

Websites: (click on links)
Women of the World united against Taiji
Origami Whales Project - Lolita

Facebook: (click on links)
Women of the World united against Taiji
Origami Whales Project

 

Letter to be addressed and delivered to:

Mr Eduardo Albor,
CEO and Chairman of the Board
The Dolphin Company

Dear Mr Eduardo Albor, 

Over 10,500 letters & art pieces have been hand-delivered or mailed via the Origami Whales Project to Fernando Eiroa and Palace Entertainment and to Ms. Carolina Perrina, Public Relations Manager at Miami Seaquarium requesting retirement for Lolita, an Orca who has lived over 51 years in a small concrete tank at the Miami Seaquarium.

In addition to the 10,534 people whose wishes were represented through these letters, several thousand more persons through campaigns such as Until Lolita is Home, Women of the World united against Taiji and other organizations have expressed their strong desire for Lolita’s retirement.

I urge you to reflect on the sentiments conveyed in these letters and consider how retiring Lolita could not only demonstrate your park’s receptiveness to the will of the public but also be an opportunity to develop innovative new exhibits and emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic as a leading amusement park.       

Parques Reunidos owned theme park Marineland Antibes in France must phase out cetacean captivity under a new law. It could be advantageous for The Dolphin Company to act prior to such legislation being adopted in the U.S. and could demonstrate good will by adopting a “win-win” decision allowing Lolita to be retired to her native waters. Marine mammal experts have proposed a very sound and well-supported plan for Lolita: https://bit.ly/3qgOEJm

Creative solutions that would bring tremendous positive publicity to The Dolphin Company are already available. Please consider two ideas phasing out captive Orcas at all theme parks:

1) An incredible opportunity to lead the way with cutting edge CGI / virtual reality encounters technology as an alternative to displaying live marine animals. A 7-D Laser Animal Show now implemented at Dubai Mall demonstrates this attractive solution in the face of controversy and growing public opinion against keeping Orcas in captivity.  http://bit.ly/1QfWSZ5

2) A multi-layered managed agreement to retire Lolita to a sea sanctuary in her home waters where ownership by The Dolphin Company is retained for a defined period such as 1-2 years. Following the designated period regular, such as quarterly impartial review by marine mammal experts could assess Lolita’s condition for future options that would reflect in most popular public opinion towards her well-being.

I hope that you are as excited as we are about ideas that would benefit all involved and look forward to further dialog with you on what you will do for Lolita. For further information, please visit the Origami Whales Project website. https://www.origamiwhalesproject.org/lolita

Sincerely,

Peggy Oki (Origami Whales Project) and Women of the World united against Taiji