#the dolphin company would rather take the easy way out and fork her over to activists

[orcinus-veterinarius]

hi, i learned about Tokitae/Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut thought my engagement in Indigenous environmental justice projects and subsequently the Lummi's efforts to have her repatriated. i initially felt very strongly about this but since learning more from you about marine mammals in captivity and how awful the whole Keiko situation was, I'm no longer sure. what are feasible options for an orca as old as her assuming the priority is continued good health? is releasing a long-captive wild-caught orca something that necessarily ends badly?

Hello, thank you for asking! I've let this one sit for a while because it's a very sensitive subject. I'm not Indigenous, so obviously I cannot speak for the pain and injustice suffered by the Lummi people. Taking orcas from the Puget Sound was horribly cruel not only to the animals, but also to the people who have cherished them for millennia, and I don't want to diminish that in the slightest. I can only speak on the feasibility of actually returning Tokitae/Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut/"Lolita" (who I'll refer to by her nickname "Toki") to her native waters.

Toki was estimated to be 4 years old when she captured in 1970. While calves only nurse for 1-2 years, she was very likely still socially dependent on her mom (who has never been confirmed to be Ocean Sun as is often claimed) at this time. She was sold to Miami Seaquarium in Septemer of the same year and placed in an undersized tank called the "Whale Bowl." She has not left that same pool in the 52 and a half years that have passed since. Furthermore, her mate, Hugo, died in March 1980, meaning she has not seen or communicated with another orca in 43 years. All of this is to say: she is quite literally the worst possible candidate for transfer to a sea pen.

But that doesn't seem to matter. Today, the Dolphin Company gave in to pressure from animal rights groups and the public and announced that Toki is going to be "released" to a sea pen.

It seems we learned nothing from Keiko's heartbreaking fate. At the very least, it seems that they plan to allow her to live out what little remains of her life in managed care, rather than attempting to completely release her as was done with Keiko.

I do not wish harm on Toki. More than anything, I hope this goes well, for her sake. But I, and every other animal care professional I've talked to, do not beleive it will. Toki is a geriatric animal in delicate health. She has spent half a century with extrememly minimal change in her environment, and she is going to be removed from her habitat in a sling, placed in a very large crate, driven to the airport, and flown clear across the country. Cetaceans are transported between facilities routinely, but they have to be in excellent health and are properly trained and desensitized to the process. Toki has never been transported, not once in her long life. I will be genuinely surprised if the shock of transport doesn't kill her. And if she survives the move, she is going to face a barage of pathogens she hasn't encountered in 50+ years the second she hits the water. While in an immunocompromised state due to her age and stress. Folks expect her ails to be magically cured once she's in her natural environment. Let me tell you that the opposite is true.

And if she dies, it will inevitably be blamed on her "years of captivity." No one will admit that this misguided experiment was the cause of her demise. They'll just say, "at least she died free!" Just like they say about Keiko.

And that doesn't even touch on how they plan to fund her ongoing care. Keiko was a beloved movie star, and the donations dried up shortly after he arrived in his sea pen. The general public just doesn't understand how nigh-impossible it is to "free" an animal that has spent decades upon decades in human care.

I'm terrified for Toki, and I'm terrified of the precedent this will set for other animals. I can only hope that AZA facilities with cetaceans buckle down to protect their animals from activists.

#the dolphin company would rather take the easy way out and fork her over to activists #than actually put in the work to fix the disaster of a park they purchased #orcas #killer whales #cetaceans #marine mammals #tokitae #keiko #miami seaquarium #dolphin company #answered asks #hechizoh