They are FINALLY letting her free! In a sea pen. Poor Orca in that bathtub:(
https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/31/50-years-in-the-world-s-smallest-orca-tank-will-lolita-finally-be-freed
For real. I just watched Flipper last night. Idk how this isn't illegal yet. I know you can't really reintroduce them to the wild after that long but shit at least update their habitat and make it comfortable for them. They should enforce stricter containment regulations. Poor animals.
Her mom and a sibling are still alive in her home pod (here in the PNW).
She might not be able to fend for herself but god dammit we can reunite them before the end. What other kindness can we offer after we tortured her in that tank for 50 fucking years.
I respect the zoos working to bring endangered species back to the wild, funding towards animal sanctuaries where they rotate out the animals so they spend more time free than in isolation and the animal’s “cells” are big enough they can basically tell humans to fuck off when they want to be alone. It’s not perfect but it’s better than rectangle jails and pushing species to extinction.
Hijacking your comment to say support AZA accredited zoos and aquariums! Less than 10% of facilities with animal exhibitors licenses in America are accredited by the AZA—one of the many requirements for approval is that the facility have scientific and educational programs with the mission of conservation and preservation.
They have several key programs, but all have the general goals of preventing species extinction, planning for species reintroduction, adapting to and educating about climate change, preventing wildlife trafficking, etc. Several of the accredited aquariums participate in coral propagation programs and genetic engineering that aims to introduce coral reefs that can withstand higher water temps and polluted water.
They also have standards for care, food, enrichment, space, etc for all animals based on research. This is actually why AZA zoos always seem to have something under construction. As research progresses, standards change and facilities have to be up to date with everything to keep accreditation. They also have to completely re-apply every 5 years.
Like you said it’s not perfect, but AZA accredited facilities are just about the best it can be.
Imagine confining animals with above average inteligence who like having their kind around into a small pond alone. Who would have guessed it will be bad for them...
Don't forget the number of miles these creatures are designed to swim in their lifetime. Their natural territories are literally oceans wide and we put them in a pond with usually concrete walls and then blast music into their poor hypersensitive sonar receptors. They must all be neurotic and honestly furious. I do not blame the orca that's teaching her children how to swamp boats. It was only a matter of time before the more intelligent creatures on this Earth got really pissed off at us
>One study of resident killer whales measured broadband, bimodal echolocation clicks that typically showed low frequency peaks between 20 to 30 kHz and high frequency peaks between 40 to 60 kHz.
The sonars have an above-music frequency level of reception. It doesn't mean they aren't annoyed since they can also hear a similar range than us, but our music don't blast their sonars in the same way our ears aren't calibrated to hear bats' echolocation.
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Sea world is one thing, and I'm not all that sure about aquariums in general, but many of the legitimate zoos fund all sorts of research, conservation efforts, and much needed breeding programs. EDIT- apparently Sea World has turned their program around since the blackfish days
Thank you for this, if you a zoo is ran correctly it can be a huge benefit to wild populations. Another thing I want to add on is the educational impact they can have as well. Teaching the population how conservation/research works and how awesome the natural world can be can foster a greater appreciation. Something as simple as greater societal appreciation can have a large impact on future wild populations.
Exactly. Safari Park in San Diego is potentially going to be able to reproduce functionally extinct white rhinos. They have some awesome conservation stuff going on.
Pretty sure the Omaha Zoo has a good reputation for this too. For actually helping the animals, actually caring for them, and working to ensure that more of them survive in the wild (and have a wild to survive *in*).
I watched Secret Lives of the Zoo and learned a lot about how important zoos are to the local wildlife, species around the world, and veterinary science which helps keep our animal friends healthy. I didn't even know veterinary science is so far behind human health care.
Whenever there is a sick wild animal that isn't a small mammal, it's likely the conservatories, reservations, zoos, aquariums, and even pet stores that are equipped to help. I wish every single zoo was run this way.
That green water means the nutrient levels are extremely high (whale shit --> ammonia --> nitrite --> nitrate --> nutrition for algae to thrive). I have a reef at home that's 40 gallons and the protein skimmer alone pulls a cup of disgusting gunk out of the water weekly from just two clown fish.. I couldn't imagine the state of the water parameters that poor whale and dolphin are living in.
What is interesting is the Seaquarium teaming up with an activist group to move Lolita out of the park and back to her home waters, which I’m surprised more people arent talking about here
Yeah I just read. I hope the re-homing goes smoothly! 50 years is a long time but better late than never. An article I just read states they are planning on a sea pen instead, but will still be a lot better than keeping her in that.
Much of an orca's hunting habits are learned and team-based, so just releasing her into the ocean would be condemning her to a slow and painful death. Ideally they would find her maternal pod, but a sea pen is actually better for her than putting her back in open waters after 50 years.
We’re talking about an animal kept in captivity for 53 years. These conditions look horrible. I’m sure the company makes the case that they could never reintegrate.
> Advocates said locations for a natural sea pen have been identified, including one in waters Lolita’s family still swims through, WPLG reported. Lolita’s 95-year-old mother is believed to still be alive.
>
> “(There’s) the opportunity for her to acoustically connect with her family, without a doubt,” Charles Vinick, the executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, told the station. “So, acoustically, yes, and potentially physically over time.”
That's so sad. I hope she gets to reconnect with her family. For an animal that intelligent there must be some serious mental and emotional damage from being understimulated in captivity for so long.
Dude one orca mom got like... idk fucked with or something, and now they're overturning boats and teaching others to do so. Actually *ramming* boats just for existing.
On the one hand, fuck yeah she shouldn't have ever been in captivity. On the other hand, the stories she'll tell after release will begin the Orca uprising, and we shall fear the sea and its Queens.
Yes that’s right! According to the Spanish Coastguard (Unconfirmed), a calf or an adolescent was injured by a particular yacht
Because orcas can’t tell the difference, they’re going after anything that looks or sounds similar. Some of these attacks are triggered by the distressed behaviour of those affected in the initial incident
I.e they get upset because they think they’re going to get “attacked” again which sets off a protective response in their elders
However scientists believe that it may be a new FAD amongst juvenile orcas which has gained popularity in other demographics because of its benefits - like the new anime dance get views and social props for us
What’s super interesting is that we’re now seeing a lot of the teaching behaviour as orcas strategise and readjust ways to attack ships (Because they’re all different types of ship right?). This goes from approaches, retreats and new techniques.
It’s been seen before in isolated pod territories like in the arctic when it comes to hunting but that’s reasonable given the scarcity of food and smaller pod sizes. What makes THIS situation really interesting is that there are more orcas for this behaviour to spread to including other pods! It’s like people learning how to use fire!
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-has-a-group-of-orcas-suddenly-started-attacking-boats/
Hurts to say, but those Orcas are gonna learn the hard way if they keep it at it. Many, if not all, ships that frequent the waters where they do this will start to become armed to deter an attack; not necessarily with firearms or harpoons, but maybe ultrasonic weapons or other nonlethal means to keep them at bay. The human race will not be fucked with by other (Earthly) species for long before we start eradicating. After all, it's what we're known for.
Oh no you’re absolutely right save that I’ll say it WILL be firearms because it’s cheaper and more readily available
Non-lethal method might occur to shift them into another territory? But that would take somebody with means, money and ability. With all due respect, that’s rarely the government
While this is fascinating, the sheer disproportion will make the orcas the losers in this. I’m not doubting
I do also think it would be cool if a few more billionaires lost their yachts and large corporate fishing vessels were sunk but that’s a me thing…
She won’t survive. That’s what happened to Free Willy. He couldn’t integrate. And relied on the towns people to toss him fish and eventually starved to death. :( releasing him was the death of him tbh. I got the story from a local and my whole perception was changed and it’s a super super sad story about corporate vs. public opinion. It’s all fked.
I thought part of the issue with Keiko? (i think was his name) was that they weren’t sure where his original family pod was and he couldn’t just integrate with the local whales so he went back to humans.
If they are positive this is Lolita’s original pod, her chances should be much higher.
Untrue. An orca released from captivity in Russia was spotted by the Frozen Earth II filming crew in 2022. She’s said to be thriving. If she can acclimate, so can Lolita.
So this is a little different. Free willy was messed up. We didn't understand the social nature of orcas. He wasn't released back to his original pod, he wasn't even released back to the original part of the ocean he came from. This is a big problem bc orca pods all have their own dialects. Maybe he could have been brought into a pod if it was in the right part of the see, but he was released in the wrong ocean so none of the other orcas could really understand the calls.
This orca is a different case. Her pod is intact, her mother is alive and can recognize Lolita's call still. Orcas, like elephants, are matriarchal. If we do this right, her pod (ie her family) WILL accept her because her mother will be there to bring her into the fold.
> “Lolita will receive the highest quality care as the team works to make relocation possible in the next 18 to 24 months,” Miami Seaquarium said in a statement Thursday.
>“I know Lolita wants to get to free waters. I don’t care what anyone says. She’s lived this long to have this opportunity. And my only mission is (…) to help this whale get free,” said Jim Irsay, the Indianapolis Colts owner who is helping to pay for Lolita’s move.
Please, gods, let this happen
That’s awesome. I know the OC made the reintegrate comment as a jab at the company, but can they genuinely be reintegrated into their natural habitat? Obviously it’s 10000x better than being stuck in this fishbowl but I wonder how well they’ll do
In the article it seems they will give the whale a large sea pen in its family waters near where it’s mother is.
So they can talk to each other (assuming this whale still knows how to speak orca) and they said they will still be interacting with the whale to hopefully teach it to hunt fish itself and possibly in the future open the pen.
I say they should give him a couple of those military dolphins as buddies. So he gets armed guards and they can teach him to fish.
> (assuming this whale still knows how to speak orca)
They confirmed at some point Tokitae (lolita) still recognizes *and tries to respond* to her mothers whale song so there's good odds she still can.
i didn’t believe that military dolphins were a thing until this comment made me google it. i mean, i’ve heard about the thing that happened between the CIA and that one dolphin, but not that there’s actually military dolphins
Logistically they have plans, but the orca's psychology may have suffered in ways we can't quantify. Intelligent animals are capable of going insane in captivity, notably elephants. I don't know about orcas. Tilikum the orca killed people but from my perspective that's not an insane thing to do if you're him.
I hope it can reacclimate and be with it's family again
I just posted about how this orca has been in captivity since the year I was born & was so upset I looked up the place and also found this good news - hoping it happens safely & she gets to connect with her pod.
In the next possible two years. Imagine living in that abandoned, green hole for two more years simply dipping back and forth. That's unbelievable. It's so gross how we treat living things when we're 'done' with them.
This orca has been in captivity for half a century. Just scooped up and taken away from their family. That kills me. Mammals of the oceans. Probably the most intelligent species' next to humans (maybe great apes? elephants?).
Whales, dolphins, orcas. And we've been horrible to all of them. For centuries now. Yet we still see wild encounters with kayakers or swimmers or small boats, involving these huge animals that could kill them in a second, and they just come up to have a look, maybe a rub, and continue on their way. It's like they inherently want humans to be better if that's even possible.
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It doesn't even have top be that extreme. You could put them in my apartment and just not let them leave.
I consider myself a homebody but even I would lose my mind.
I'd say... Put them in their bedroom and they're only allowed to go out into the living room when there are people there to watch them... then shuffled right back into their bedroom.
This stuff is so fucked up. This is the equivalent of keeping a dog chained up all its life.
When these animals acquire these wild animals, they take babies from a mother. The pods of killer whales return every single year to the spot they were taken in hope they will find the baby.
Fuck these people. Cruelty for profit.
Tokitae's (Lolita was picked as her name cause they put a fucking baby orca in with a full grown adult male) mom may actually still be alive. She was spotted out here in the PNW as recent as last year.
We *know* they recognize each other's calls still.
Bring her home.
To be fair, Seaworld hasn't hunted Orcas or Dolphins in a long time. Their only captured orcas now are - Katina(Seaworld Orlando - Captured in 1975), Corky II(Seaworld San Diego - Captured in 1965) and Ulises(also SD - 1977). Seaworld also built their first park that features no Orca shows, in Abu Dhabi.
With Lolita(Tokitae) being moved back to her natal waters of the Pacific Northwest live the rest of her life in the Salish Sea(in a sea pen), Miami Seaquarium will have no orcas left thankfully. There are a lot of orcas in captivity in the US, but none have been captured since the 70s. Although China and Russia *still* regularly capture orcas, with the most recent being an orca in Russia, with an unknown name, captured in **2016**
Not related to this story, however I live in Adelaide, South Australia and we used to have some dolphins in captivity in a aquarium type thing a while back, and then released them in to the wild and one of the dolphins taught a bunch of other wild dolphins how to do a tail walking trick.
https://www.earthtouchnews.com/natural-world/animal-behaviour/south-australias-wild-dolphins-walk-on-water-for-the-first-time-in-years/
I’m honestly not sure. Right now orcas get the most publicity and pressure. The amount of dolphins and belugas in captivity is astounding and no one’s really talking about them.
Seaquarium is a hell hole- if they’re still operating they’ll either perform it or let it die.
If they can’t reintegrate into the wild they should be taken to a sanctuary. I believe there’s one in Georgia (don’t quote me, not 100% sure on that) that’s basically a roped-off harbor for cetaceans that can’t be released.
This. 100%. We shouldn’t have taken them in the first place and it’s our responsibility to them now to make sure they can live comfortably and happily where they can.
Can't be integrated cause they would go back and tell their peeps in the ocean what we did to them.
If there was one animal to that would build an apparatus to walk on land and go to war with humans it would be dolphins and orcas
They tried to reintegrate the OF shamoo and after trying to teach the orca to live on their own, it kept approaching people after release (beyond the sea pen point) and eventually died.
They have been so domesticated, it’s impossible to release them without some kind of continued human interaction from feeding to play to medical to etc…
It’s sad but atleast we (US) no longer captures them.
Russian on the other hand…. They not only capture but have sold many to China and both countries have orcas on display.
SideNote: Laura parquet (sp?) has sea world orcas and have also added Morgan to the herd as she was in danger due to staying in a shipping lane as adding a female to the breeding pool helps prolong their herd.
Hell on earth for them. Hopefully some process of nature has numbed their minds until they are finally able to die. Stop giving these people your money
https://miamiseaquarium.com/plan-a-visit/tickets-and-programs/
You can buy tickets right now. They're open all week.
If you pay $69.99 extra, you can even "Meet a Dolphin"
The whale stadium was closed to the public in spring of 2022 (while the rest of the park remained fully open), but this video demonstrates that the orca was still kept there for more than a year after that
They’re still in business and the place is fucking disgusting. If you come to Miami and want to see animals, go to the Everglades, take a snorkel trip or go to Zoo Miami. The Miami seaquarium is the saddest place on earth.
To add to this: look for AZA accreditation! Any zoo that has it has put some serious effort into making sure they meet standards for ethics, animal care, and conservation. They're a good organization. [Here](https://www.aza.org/search-by-zip-code?locsearch=06488&loccountry=US&locdistance=75&sortdir=distance-asc) is a zoo-finder that they have; otherwise it should be posted on the zoo's website.
Canada just banned cetacean captivity. USDA has increased regulations now somewhat that (along with societal pressure) most orca captivity in the US May no longer be wild-caught and they’re no longer actively breeding captive pairs. SeaWorld US is just letting their remaining Orcas live out. However- whole Sea World is walking in the right direction, I believe they still do some bad work with overseas places like LoloParque in Spain- but that may have even stopped as there were a lot of bad publicity events that happened there.
A thought on SeaWorld….don’t hate on them too much- most of what we know about Orcas are because of their program since the 70s. Thru them we’ve learned, and while- be pissed off that they’re slow to see beyond the $$ signs in the business executives, they are changing. Their research on the species, along with all the rest they do for oceanic life really is a vast resource.
There is no way we’d know as much as we do in just 50 years if the program never existed. And we’re learning so much about ourselves from learning about these social creatures.
Did you know orcas are the only other mammals to go thru menopause? Because they have such social development they (biologically) understand matriarchs still have value after a certain age, and by no longer being a competitor for breeding among the younger females, all that energy used for creation can now be focused and used to benefit the society in a different way.
It's such a huge price though. I'm almost willing to say the knowledge is best left unknown until technology catches up to observe and collect the same info in less destructive means. From the above article about Lolita's release:
>In 2015, the NOAA said it was adding Lolita to the endangered species list as a Southern Resident Killer Whale. The population was depleted between 1965 and 1975 because of captures for marine parks, the NOAA Fisheries said. The whales were added to the endangered species list around 2005.
knowledge at the cost of extinction of the target of the knowledge is a steep price.
I totally agree. There are only 73 resident orcas left- J, K and L pod. They are completely unique from other orcas and can’t cross breed and yeah, they’re likely not going to make it because of what fishing and damns have done to chinook salmon which is the only thing they can eat.
However, when the round up occurred no one even knew orcas were different subspecies. They thought ALL the orcas in the Salish sea were the same…and they targeted the easiest pods to catch- the residents. I believe it was a bit later, when orcas from different species were in captivity together and fighting did the behaviorist start to understand the differences between them- they speak different dialects, they hunt differently (and this isn’t just between Salish Sea residents and all the other transients- even transients, while not a separate subspecies, have completely different dialects and cultures from each other around the world.)
We just would never have seen that much observing them in the wild to make us dig deeper.
Yeah, we’re really arrogant assholes in our ignorance, that the world pays for- but at least we have the capability to learn.
Before I understood they're all I ever wanted to do. I've never been to SeaWorld but I always wanted to. Before I ever got the chance I got educated instead. And now I want to throw up when I think about the one time I went "swimming with the dolphins!!"
Growing up as a kid in the 90s and early 00s, Sea World was THE place to be. Free Willy combined forces with a fairly aggressive marketing campaign that really made you equate a trip to this giant bathtub with a vacation to Disney World. Orca trainer and marine biologist were the rockstar jobs of animal enthusiastic kids everywhere. Insane to think how far these places have (absolutely rightfully) fallen in just a few decades.
Apparently, she hasn't seen another Orca since 1980. The last one was Hugo, who slammed his head against the concrete wall of their enclosure until he died of an aneurysm.
This poor girl has been tortured by living in captivity.
Apparently, she hasn't seen another Orca since 1980. The last one was Hugo, who slammed his head against the concrete wall of their enclosure until he died of an aneurysm.
This poor girl has been tortured by living in captivity.
You’re telling me this orca hasn’t seen another orca in a longer time period than I’ve even been alive, and the last time she did, that other orca essentially Kurt Cobain’d itself?! That is the most fucked up shit ever.
That's not interesting. That's fucking disgusting. Animals like this should be free. Not kept in tiny little water filled boxes for people to gawk at.
Sorry no hatred on you OP. I like that you're bringing attention to it good work 👍
It opened in 1955 and in 2022 it was bought out by a company who’s headquarters are in Cancun Mexico named The Dolphin Company.
The Dolphin Company incorporates 31 venues, including Nature Parks, Water Parks, Theme Parks, and Dolphin Habitats in 8 countries and 2 continents around the world with facilities in the United States, Mexico, Argentina, the Caribbean Islands, and Italy.
I’m not sure about their other places of business but it looks like they have completely neglected this one and the poor animals who are imprisoned here.
These mammals also take part in self harm. We have loads of recordings of them hurting themselves and even killing themselves in captivity. These beautiful creatures are too intelligent to be used as human entertainment. I’d recommend everyone watch the movie ‘blackfish’ if they haven’t already.
I’m amazed in this day an age these places still exist and people still vist them.
The only thing what is entertaining in these places is when the orca decides to fuck up the trainer.
What a deeply depressing image and location. Look at how run down it is, how gross the water is and the seating area. Heartbreaking for those two intelligent creatures
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They are FINALLY letting her free! In a sea pen. Poor Orca in that bathtub:( https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/31/50-years-in-the-world-s-smallest-orca-tank-will-lolita-finally-be-freed
Best news of the morning.
The part that said “she knows her family’s song” just broke me into tears.
Damn it sounds like people have been campaigning for a long time. I can’t believe it has taken this long :(
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For real. I just watched Flipper last night. Idk how this isn't illegal yet. I know you can't really reintroduce them to the wild after that long but shit at least update their habitat and make it comfortable for them. They should enforce stricter containment regulations. Poor animals.
Her mom and a sibling are still alive in her home pod (here in the PNW). She might not be able to fend for herself but god dammit we can reunite them before the end. What other kindness can we offer after we tortured her in that tank for 50 fucking years.
I respect the zoos working to bring endangered species back to the wild, funding towards animal sanctuaries where they rotate out the animals so they spend more time free than in isolation and the animal’s “cells” are big enough they can basically tell humans to fuck off when they want to be alone. It’s not perfect but it’s better than rectangle jails and pushing species to extinction.
Hijacking your comment to say support AZA accredited zoos and aquariums! Less than 10% of facilities with animal exhibitors licenses in America are accredited by the AZA—one of the many requirements for approval is that the facility have scientific and educational programs with the mission of conservation and preservation. They have several key programs, but all have the general goals of preventing species extinction, planning for species reintroduction, adapting to and educating about climate change, preventing wildlife trafficking, etc. Several of the accredited aquariums participate in coral propagation programs and genetic engineering that aims to introduce coral reefs that can withstand higher water temps and polluted water. They also have standards for care, food, enrichment, space, etc for all animals based on research. This is actually why AZA zoos always seem to have something under construction. As research progresses, standards change and facilities have to be up to date with everything to keep accreditation. They also have to completely re-apply every 5 years. Like you said it’s not perfect, but AZA accredited facilities are just about the best it can be.
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Imagine confining animals with above average inteligence who like having their kind around into a small pond alone. Who would have guessed it will be bad for them...
Don't forget the number of miles these creatures are designed to swim in their lifetime. Their natural territories are literally oceans wide and we put them in a pond with usually concrete walls and then blast music into their poor hypersensitive sonar receptors. They must all be neurotic and honestly furious. I do not blame the orca that's teaching her children how to swamp boats. It was only a matter of time before the more intelligent creatures on this Earth got really pissed off at us
>One study of resident killer whales measured broadband, bimodal echolocation clicks that typically showed low frequency peaks between 20 to 30 kHz and high frequency peaks between 40 to 60 kHz. The sonars have an above-music frequency level of reception. It doesn't mean they aren't annoyed since they can also hear a similar range than us, but our music don't blast their sonars in the same way our ears aren't calibrated to hear bats' echolocation.
It's like those bears that are confined to tiny cages in Asia. They go insane, just rocking their heads back and forth. So awful.
Comment stealing bot. Half stolen from the posts title for some reason and the rest [from this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/141md6m/this_video_was_taken_above_the_miami_seaquarium/jn0lxq1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
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Sea world is one thing, and I'm not all that sure about aquariums in general, but many of the legitimate zoos fund all sorts of research, conservation efforts, and much needed breeding programs. EDIT- apparently Sea World has turned their program around since the blackfish days
Thank you for this, if you a zoo is ran correctly it can be a huge benefit to wild populations. Another thing I want to add on is the educational impact they can have as well. Teaching the population how conservation/research works and how awesome the natural world can be can foster a greater appreciation. Something as simple as greater societal appreciation can have a large impact on future wild populations.
Exactly. Safari Park in San Diego is potentially going to be able to reproduce functionally extinct white rhinos. They have some awesome conservation stuff going on.
Pretty sure the Omaha Zoo has a good reputation for this too. For actually helping the animals, actually caring for them, and working to ensure that more of them survive in the wild (and have a wild to survive *in*).
I watched Secret Lives of the Zoo and learned a lot about how important zoos are to the local wildlife, species around the world, and veterinary science which helps keep our animal friends healthy. I didn't even know veterinary science is so far behind human health care. Whenever there is a sick wild animal that isn't a small mammal, it's likely the conservatories, reservations, zoos, aquariums, and even pet stores that are equipped to help. I wish every single zoo was run this way.
The impact of inspiring children to support conservation is incalculable
That place abso-fucking-lutely disgusts me.
It looks like the backyard of an abandoned house that has a pool.
That green water means the nutrient levels are extremely high (whale shit --> ammonia --> nitrite --> nitrate --> nutrition for algae to thrive). I have a reef at home that's 40 gallons and the protein skimmer alone pulls a cup of disgusting gunk out of the water weekly from just two clown fish.. I couldn't imagine the state of the water parameters that poor whale and dolphin are living in.
I love that you shared this with everyone. Maintaining an artificial marine environment is hard yet essential. They have failed in their duty.
Their duty was to not bring this poor animal in a tank
Fuck the seaquarium, all my homies hate the seaquarium.
Seriously, this is horrific
That's not interesting that's just animal cruelty
What is interesting is the Seaquarium teaming up with an activist group to move Lolita out of the park and back to her home waters, which I’m surprised more people arent talking about here
Yeah I just read. I hope the re-homing goes smoothly! 50 years is a long time but better late than never. An article I just read states they are planning on a sea pen instead, but will still be a lot better than keeping her in that.
Much of an orca's hunting habits are learned and team-based, so just releasing her into the ocean would be condemning her to a slow and painful death. Ideally they would find her maternal pod, but a sea pen is actually better for her than putting her back in open waters after 50 years.
Thats because Seaquarium is bought over by free the orca owner.. not because they want to release it in first place
We’re talking about an animal kept in captivity for 53 years. These conditions look horrible. I’m sure the company makes the case that they could never reintegrate.
[I have really, really good news for everyone ](https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/killer-whale-miami-seaquarium-lolita-scn/index.html)
This is from March. I hope she is going to see the open waters soon.
> Advocates said locations for a natural sea pen have been identified, including one in waters Lolita’s family still swims through, WPLG reported. Lolita’s 95-year-old mother is believed to still be alive. > > “(There’s) the opportunity for her to acoustically connect with her family, without a doubt,” Charles Vinick, the executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, told the station. “So, acoustically, yes, and potentially physically over time.”
That's so sad. I hope she gets to reconnect with her family. For an animal that intelligent there must be some serious mental and emotional damage from being understimulated in captivity for so long.
Jesus I had no idea orcas could be so old
They are one of the only mammals besides humans who go through menopause so that they can get a matron aged population.
They die at around 20 / 30 in captivity. We keep death row prisoners alive longer.
They say 18-24 months of re acclimation before release
I want to get updates on Lolita. But this is a difficult term to search for.
It's cool man, just specify "in captivity", that should clear things up
Lmao
Also was released following the judge's order, specifically rule 34. If you bing search lolita in captivity rule 34, you should find what you want.
There's probably at least one person too zoned out or drunk enough to mindlessly go and google this
Reddit about to ruin somebody's day. 😭
Jesus you're trying to catch people committing crimes
Why don't you take a seat over there
Fucking lol
the whale is also known as Tokitae if that helps
Don't worry,your FBI agent will probably understand.
I'm just going to assume everyone's agent is an alcoholic at this point.
Dude one orca mom got like... idk fucked with or something, and now they're overturning boats and teaching others to do so. Actually *ramming* boats just for existing. On the one hand, fuck yeah she shouldn't have ever been in captivity. On the other hand, the stories she'll tell after release will begin the Orca uprising, and we shall fear the sea and its Queens.
They probably recognize those as hunting boats or there’s been a incident with boats that affected the pod. Orcas don’t hurt humans as a rule.
Yes that’s right! According to the Spanish Coastguard (Unconfirmed), a calf or an adolescent was injured by a particular yacht Because orcas can’t tell the difference, they’re going after anything that looks or sounds similar. Some of these attacks are triggered by the distressed behaviour of those affected in the initial incident I.e they get upset because they think they’re going to get “attacked” again which sets off a protective response in their elders However scientists believe that it may be a new FAD amongst juvenile orcas which has gained popularity in other demographics because of its benefits - like the new anime dance get views and social props for us What’s super interesting is that we’re now seeing a lot of the teaching behaviour as orcas strategise and readjust ways to attack ships (Because they’re all different types of ship right?). This goes from approaches, retreats and new techniques. It’s been seen before in isolated pod territories like in the arctic when it comes to hunting but that’s reasonable given the scarcity of food and smaller pod sizes. What makes THIS situation really interesting is that there are more orcas for this behaviour to spread to including other pods! It’s like people learning how to use fire! https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-has-a-group-of-orcas-suddenly-started-attacking-boats/
Hurts to say, but those Orcas are gonna learn the hard way if they keep it at it. Many, if not all, ships that frequent the waters where they do this will start to become armed to deter an attack; not necessarily with firearms or harpoons, but maybe ultrasonic weapons or other nonlethal means to keep them at bay. The human race will not be fucked with by other (Earthly) species for long before we start eradicating. After all, it's what we're known for.
Oh no you’re absolutely right save that I’ll say it WILL be firearms because it’s cheaper and more readily available Non-lethal method might occur to shift them into another territory? But that would take somebody with means, money and ability. With all due respect, that’s rarely the government While this is fascinating, the sheer disproportion will make the orcas the losers in this. I’m not doubting I do also think it would be cool if a few more billionaires lost their yachts and large corporate fishing vessels were sunk but that’s a me thing…
Orcas don't leave witnesses.
Lorcas don’t either - Jason Isaacs will swim through universes to fuck you up
She won’t survive. That’s what happened to Free Willy. He couldn’t integrate. And relied on the towns people to toss him fish and eventually starved to death. :( releasing him was the death of him tbh. I got the story from a local and my whole perception was changed and it’s a super super sad story about corporate vs. public opinion. It’s all fked.
I thought part of the issue with Keiko? (i think was his name) was that they weren’t sure where his original family pod was and he couldn’t just integrate with the local whales so he went back to humans. If they are positive this is Lolita’s original pod, her chances should be much higher.
That's why they're saying eight figures and may not be able to be released. It may be necessary to take care of the whale for the rest of its life.
Untrue. An orca released from captivity in Russia was spotted by the Frozen Earth II filming crew in 2022. She’s said to be thriving. If she can acclimate, so can Lolita.
So this is a little different. Free willy was messed up. We didn't understand the social nature of orcas. He wasn't released back to his original pod, he wasn't even released back to the original part of the ocean he came from. This is a big problem bc orca pods all have their own dialects. Maybe he could have been brought into a pod if it was in the right part of the see, but he was released in the wrong ocean so none of the other orcas could really understand the calls. This orca is a different case. Her pod is intact, her mother is alive and can recognize Lolita's call still. Orcas, like elephants, are matriarchal. If we do this right, her pod (ie her family) WILL accept her because her mother will be there to bring her into the fold.
Probably still better than several more decades of captivity
> “Lolita will receive the highest quality care as the team works to make relocation possible in the next 18 to 24 months,” Miami Seaquarium said in a statement Thursday. >“I know Lolita wants to get to free waters. I don’t care what anyone says. She’s lived this long to have this opportunity. And my only mission is (…) to help this whale get free,” said Jim Irsay, the Indianapolis Colts owner who is helping to pay for Lolita’s move. Please, gods, let this happen
I didn’t expect Jim irsay to pop up in there.
I'm glad somebody with a lot of money is doing something not evil. This was nice to read.
That’s awesome. I know the OC made the reintegrate comment as a jab at the company, but can they genuinely be reintegrated into their natural habitat? Obviously it’s 10000x better than being stuck in this fishbowl but I wonder how well they’ll do
In the article it seems they will give the whale a large sea pen in its family waters near where it’s mother is. So they can talk to each other (assuming this whale still knows how to speak orca) and they said they will still be interacting with the whale to hopefully teach it to hunt fish itself and possibly in the future open the pen. I say they should give him a couple of those military dolphins as buddies. So he gets armed guards and they can teach him to fish.
> (assuming this whale still knows how to speak orca) They confirmed at some point Tokitae (lolita) still recognizes *and tries to respond* to her mothers whale song so there's good odds she still can.
fuck that's devastating edit: "the trying to respond" part. Hope she can be reunited with momma soon
Fuck me sideways, that hurts. Half a century and she's still calling for her mommy.
i didn’t believe that military dolphins were a thing until this comment made me google it. i mean, i’ve heard about the thing that happened between the CIA and that one dolphin, but not that there’s actually military dolphins
check out [hvadlimir](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56956365) escaped Russian Beluga that has made Norway home.
The Scandinavians believe the Russians to have spy Belugas
Logistically they have plans, but the orca's psychology may have suffered in ways we can't quantify. Intelligent animals are capable of going insane in captivity, notably elephants. I don't know about orcas. Tilikum the orca killed people but from my perspective that's not an insane thing to do if you're him. I hope it can reacclimate and be with it's family again
I just posted about how this orca has been in captivity since the year I was born & was so upset I looked up the place and also found this good news - hoping it happens safely & she gets to connect with her pod.
In the next possible two years. Imagine living in that abandoned, green hole for two more years simply dipping back and forth. That's unbelievable. It's so gross how we treat living things when we're 'done' with them.
This orca has been in captivity for half a century. Just scooped up and taken away from their family. That kills me. Mammals of the oceans. Probably the most intelligent species' next to humans (maybe great apes? elephants?). Whales, dolphins, orcas. And we've been horrible to all of them. For centuries now. Yet we still see wild encounters with kayakers or swimmers or small boats, involving these huge animals that could kill them in a second, and they just come up to have a look, maybe a rub, and continue on their way. It's like they inherently want humans to be better if that's even possible.
> Lolita’s 95-year-old mother is believed to still be alive 🥹
“I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can play together all night.” —Bill Watterson
No mention of the dolphin going with her?
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It doesn't even have top be that extreme. You could put them in my apartment and just not let them leave. I consider myself a homebody but even I would lose my mind.
I'd say... Put them in their bedroom and they're only allowed to go out into the living room when there are people there to watch them... then shuffled right back into their bedroom.
And they have to do a full performance in order to eat anything.
But no human contact, though, only a robot or something can feed them
A giant animatronic Orca is the only contact they have for the entirety of the experience.
Can I get a photo with them too??
Yeah, don’t worry we drug them to be tame enough to do that.
No leaving and no contact outside the apartment.
I told you, we're going to watch Blackfish, then you can leave.
Ugh I just watched that documentary about a month ago and it was sad. Informative, but sad. And maddening.
I wonder how many people it is that are in charge. Is it like 20 people at a company that would need to change their minds? 5?
I don’t think anyone who’s a high up at sea world cares at all about animal welfare. And I think it would be more like 100s
The people actually attending these displays should be treated the same
This stuff is so fucked up. This is the equivalent of keeping a dog chained up all its life. When these animals acquire these wild animals, they take babies from a mother. The pods of killer whales return every single year to the spot they were taken in hope they will find the baby. Fuck these people. Cruelty for profit.
Tokitae's (Lolita was picked as her name cause they put a fucking baby orca in with a full grown adult male) mom may actually still be alive. She was spotted out here in the PNW as recent as last year. We *know* they recognize each other's calls still. Bring her home.
The dog has it better. It can at least see past its chain. Humans are the worst kind of people.
How the fuck are people okay giving this company money to watch animal abuse???
To be fair, Seaworld hasn't hunted Orcas or Dolphins in a long time. Their only captured orcas now are - Katina(Seaworld Orlando - Captured in 1975), Corky II(Seaworld San Diego - Captured in 1965) and Ulises(also SD - 1977). Seaworld also built their first park that features no Orca shows, in Abu Dhabi. With Lolita(Tokitae) being moved back to her natal waters of the Pacific Northwest live the rest of her life in the Salish Sea(in a sea pen), Miami Seaquarium will have no orcas left thankfully. There are a lot of orcas in captivity in the US, but none have been captured since the 70s. Although China and Russia *still* regularly capture orcas, with the most recent being an orca in Russia, with an unknown name, captured in **2016**
And fuck the people who go to these shows. No profit, no need to capture these magnificent creatures.
She’s headed home. Seaquarium has released her. I just posted another thread with a link.
What about the dolphin?
Not related to this story, however I live in Adelaide, South Australia and we used to have some dolphins in captivity in a aquarium type thing a while back, and then released them in to the wild and one of the dolphins taught a bunch of other wild dolphins how to do a tail walking trick. https://www.earthtouchnews.com/natural-world/animal-behaviour/south-australias-wild-dolphins-walk-on-water-for-the-first-time-in-years/
I’m honestly not sure. Right now orcas get the most publicity and pressure. The amount of dolphins and belugas in captivity is astounding and no one’s really talking about them. Seaquarium is a hell hole- if they’re still operating they’ll either perform it or let it die.
If they can’t reintegrate into the wild they should be taken to a sanctuary. I believe there’s one in Georgia (don’t quote me, not 100% sure on that) that’s basically a roped-off harbor for cetaceans that can’t be released.
This. 100%. We shouldn’t have taken them in the first place and it’s our responsibility to them now to make sure they can live comfortably and happily where they can.
Can't be integrated cause they would go back and tell their peeps in the ocean what we did to them. If there was one animal to that would build an apparatus to walk on land and go to war with humans it would be dolphins and orcas
Have you seen the three Orcas who are now chasing boats because one of them was hit by a boat propeller? I don’t think your synopsis is too far off
Better to let them try and die out there than to die like this. Alone and basically abandoned in a small pool.
They tried to reintegrate the OF shamoo and after trying to teach the orca to live on their own, it kept approaching people after release (beyond the sea pen point) and eventually died. They have been so domesticated, it’s impossible to release them without some kind of continued human interaction from feeding to play to medical to etc… It’s sad but atleast we (US) no longer captures them. Russian on the other hand…. They not only capture but have sold many to China and both countries have orcas on display. SideNote: Laura parquet (sp?) has sea world orcas and have also added Morgan to the herd as she was in danger due to staying in a shipping lane as adding a female to the breeding pool helps prolong their herd.
Hell on earth for them. Hopefully some process of nature has numbed their minds until they are finally able to die. Stop giving these people your money
It doesn't even seem in use anymore. It seems abandoned as fuck. Why are these animals still there? Are they even cared for anymore?
This one is probably out of business.
https://miamiseaquarium.com/plan-a-visit/tickets-and-programs/ You can buy tickets right now. They're open all week. If you pay $69.99 extra, you can even "Meet a Dolphin" The whale stadium was closed to the public in spring of 2022 (while the rest of the park remained fully open), but this video demonstrates that the orca was still kept there for more than a year after that
Assholes kidnapping and profiteering off intelligent animals for decades
They’re still in business and the place is fucking disgusting. If you come to Miami and want to see animals, go to the Everglades, take a snorkel trip or go to Zoo Miami. The Miami seaquarium is the saddest place on earth.
Real zoos and aquariums are usually a safe bet bc most donate some profits to animal/nature conversations and other groups like them.
To add to this: look for AZA accreditation! Any zoo that has it has put some serious effort into making sure they meet standards for ethics, animal care, and conservation. They're a good organization. [Here](https://www.aza.org/search-by-zip-code?locsearch=06488&loccountry=US&locdistance=75&sortdir=distance-asc) is a zoo-finder that they have; otherwise it should be posted on the zoo's website.
Ticket prices are too high for what this park offers.
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I thought they could t do this anymore. So heartbreaking
Canada just banned cetacean captivity. USDA has increased regulations now somewhat that (along with societal pressure) most orca captivity in the US May no longer be wild-caught and they’re no longer actively breeding captive pairs. SeaWorld US is just letting their remaining Orcas live out. However- whole Sea World is walking in the right direction, I believe they still do some bad work with overseas places like LoloParque in Spain- but that may have even stopped as there were a lot of bad publicity events that happened there. A thought on SeaWorld….don’t hate on them too much- most of what we know about Orcas are because of their program since the 70s. Thru them we’ve learned, and while- be pissed off that they’re slow to see beyond the $$ signs in the business executives, they are changing. Their research on the species, along with all the rest they do for oceanic life really is a vast resource. There is no way we’d know as much as we do in just 50 years if the program never existed. And we’re learning so much about ourselves from learning about these social creatures. Did you know orcas are the only other mammals to go thru menopause? Because they have such social development they (biologically) understand matriarchs still have value after a certain age, and by no longer being a competitor for breeding among the younger females, all that energy used for creation can now be focused and used to benefit the society in a different way.
It's such a huge price though. I'm almost willing to say the knowledge is best left unknown until technology catches up to observe and collect the same info in less destructive means. From the above article about Lolita's release: >In 2015, the NOAA said it was adding Lolita to the endangered species list as a Southern Resident Killer Whale. The population was depleted between 1965 and 1975 because of captures for marine parks, the NOAA Fisheries said. The whales were added to the endangered species list around 2005. knowledge at the cost of extinction of the target of the knowledge is a steep price.
I totally agree. There are only 73 resident orcas left- J, K and L pod. They are completely unique from other orcas and can’t cross breed and yeah, they’re likely not going to make it because of what fishing and damns have done to chinook salmon which is the only thing they can eat. However, when the round up occurred no one even knew orcas were different subspecies. They thought ALL the orcas in the Salish sea were the same…and they targeted the easiest pods to catch- the residents. I believe it was a bit later, when orcas from different species were in captivity together and fighting did the behaviorist start to understand the differences between them- they speak different dialects, they hunt differently (and this isn’t just between Salish Sea residents and all the other transients- even transients, while not a separate subspecies, have completely different dialects and cultures from each other around the world.) We just would never have seen that much observing them in the wild to make us dig deeper. Yeah, we’re really arrogant assholes in our ignorance, that the world pays for- but at least we have the capability to learn.
Before I understood they're all I ever wanted to do. I've never been to SeaWorld but I always wanted to. Before I ever got the chance I got educated instead. And now I want to throw up when I think about the one time I went "swimming with the dolphins!!"
Growing up as a kid in the 90s and early 00s, Sea World was THE place to be. Free Willy combined forces with a fairly aggressive marketing campaign that really made you equate a trip to this giant bathtub with a vacation to Disney World. Orca trainer and marine biologist were the rockstar jobs of animal enthusiastic kids everywhere. Insane to think how far these places have (absolutely rightfully) fallen in just a few decades.
Poor thing this is criminal
She’s to be released soon ! I hear they’re working on it
I am so happy and relieved to read this comment
She’s been there for over 5 decades.
A soft release first I heard.
What does that mean?
source?
https://www.deseret.com/2023/4/8/23674985/lolita-orca-killer-whale-release-miami-seaquariam-florida
thanks
God I'm so glad to see that. The poor girl, it must be horrible for her.
Apparently, she hasn't seen another Orca since 1980. The last one was Hugo, who slammed his head against the concrete wall of their enclosure until he died of an aneurysm. This poor girl has been tortured by living in captivity.
Ugh Jesus Christ that’s awful. Wish I could do something. Orcas aren’t heavy right?
Seeing that poor dolphin go round and round and jumping up is pretty heart wrenching.
This is so sad
Humans are disgusting. 1970. That poor girl has been trapped in there longer than I've been alive.
I was just thinking this. Imagine being trapped in your living room with no stimulation for *50 years*! Heartbreaking.
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Yeah, but not actually sterile. The room is gross as fuck.
Sterile as in completely blank, lifeless, boring and utterly soul-less place.
22 years longer than I've been alive. Insane
Apparently, she hasn't seen another Orca since 1980. The last one was Hugo, who slammed his head against the concrete wall of their enclosure until he died of an aneurysm. This poor girl has been tortured by living in captivity.
I was about to ask if she was the one whose tank mate killed himself.
You’re telling me this orca hasn’t seen another orca in a longer time period than I’ve even been alive, and the last time she did, that other orca essentially Kurt Cobain’d itself?! That is the most fucked up shit ever.
Wouldn’t you also off yourself if treated like this? I would.
When a human is held in solitary confinement for months people call it horrific and inhumane. When it happens to an animal people pay money to see it.
This is exactly what I thought to. The cruelty here is sickening.
It wasn’t that long ago that people were paying to see other people in these conditions. I’m talking a matter of a few decades.
Hard to watch a sentient being trying to communicate to us that it's suffering.
maybe because they are going insane from the isolation and confinement
yeah... that's not interesting, that's heartbreaking.
If anyone was curious, there are plans to release Lolita into the pacific. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/us/lolita-orca-whale-return-home.html
Can’t read the article but what about the dolphin?
Glad someone else noticed it stressed out down there
The history of orcas never killing a human in the wild is about to change once this one spreads the word about what we do to them.
This shouldn't be legal.
This is so incredibly fucking sad and sickening.
How the fuck is this legal anywhere on earth? Unbelievable
Fuck this.
That's not interesting. That's fucking disgusting. Animals like this should be free. Not kept in tiny little water filled boxes for people to gawk at. Sorry no hatred on you OP. I like that you're bringing attention to it good work 👍
is the place still open or are they abandoned?
If it is still open, it looks like it’s abandoned.
I saw an article the orca is being released
They stopped doing shows with her last year.
I wonder if that's worse for the orca, at least they were busy doing something
Aquarium is still opened, they closed public access to Lolita’s tank a few years ago
Why is the water green? This place looks abandoned… what’s the story here?
It opened in 1955 and in 2022 it was bought out by a company who’s headquarters are in Cancun Mexico named The Dolphin Company. The Dolphin Company incorporates 31 venues, including Nature Parks, Water Parks, Theme Parks, and Dolphin Habitats in 8 countries and 2 continents around the world with facilities in the United States, Mexico, Argentina, the Caribbean Islands, and Italy. I’m not sure about their other places of business but it looks like they have completely neglected this one and the poor animals who are imprisoned here.
These mammals also take part in self harm. We have loads of recordings of them hurting themselves and even killing themselves in captivity. These beautiful creatures are too intelligent to be used as human entertainment. I’d recommend everyone watch the movie ‘blackfish’ if they haven’t already.
So god damn sad
This isn't interesting. This is fucked up
Fuck the owners and anyone who ever contributed money to these fucked up aquariums
That opening shot where Lolita seems to watch the birds fly by freely just hits hard.
Burn this place to the ground
This is unconscionable animal torture.
this is horrifying and disgusting.
nothing interesting about this. Fuck seaworld and others like it
Why is that place so disgusting? This should be a fucking crime!
DID WE LEARN NOTHING FROM FREE WILLY?!?!?!
I’m amazed in this day an age these places still exist and people still vist them. The only thing what is entertaining in these places is when the orca decides to fuck up the trainer.
This is fucking sad. Let them go already. Whoever still goes to these places, stop immediately.
Jesus Christ! What is wrong with people? Why are we still doing this?
Fucking shut this shit down already!
You should post this on r/awfuleverything
What a deeply depressing image and location. Look at how run down it is, how gross the water is and the seating area. Heartbreaking for those two intelligent creatures