Animals Are Not Ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment or abuse in any other way.

PETA Australia
  • Action Centre
  • Campaigns
  • Living
  • News
  • About
  • EMAIL SIGN-UP
  • DONATE NOW
    • VANGUARD SOCIETY
    • PETA PRESENTS
    • SUPPORT OUR WORK
    • MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
    • GIFTS IN WILLS
  • EMAIL SIGN-UP
  • DONATE NOW
    • VANGUARD SOCIETY
    • PETA PRESENTS
    • SUPPORT OUR WORK
    • MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
    • GIFTS IN WILLS
  • EMAIL SIGN-UP
  • DONATE NOW
    • VANGUARD SOCIETY
    • PETA PRESENTS
    • SUPPORT OUR WORK
    • MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
    • GIFTS IN WILLS
  • Action Centre
  • Campaigns
  • Living
  • News
  • About
  • EMAIL SIGN-UP
  • DONATE NOW
    • VANGUARD SOCIETY
    • PETA PRESENTS
    • SUPPORT OUR WORK
    • MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
    • GIFTS IN WILLS
PETA Australia
  • EMAIL SIGN-UP
  • DONATE NOW
    • VANGUARD SOCIETY
    • PETA PRESENTS
    • SUPPORT OUR WORK
    • MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
    • GIFTS IN WILLS
PETA Search Icon
World’s Loneliest Captive Orca, Lolita, Dies

World’s Loneliest Captive Orca, Lolita, Dies

News / World’s Loneliest Captive Orca, Lolita, Dies
22 August 2023

Lolita has died. After more than 50 years in a cramped tank, her miserable existence at the Miami Seaquarium is over.

Earlier this year, during a news conference held in Miami on 30 March, the Miami Seaquarium announced plans to release the long-suffering Lolita (aka “Tokitae”, “Toki”, and “Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut”) to a seaside sanctuary in Washington state.

Lolita the orca opens her mouth and shows her teeth at the Miami Seaquarium.

This announcement followed a massive campaign by PETA entities – including several lawsuits pursued by PETA US on Lolita’s behalf – in addition to the campaigning by local residents and celebrities, who raised awareness of her plight through dozens of protests, and The Dolphin Company’s partnership with Friends of Toki. Though the plan never came to fruition, it was made possible through the generosity of philanthropist Jim Irsay, owner and CEO of American football team the Indianapolis Colts.

Lolita’s Capture

Lolita was about 4 years old when she was torn away from her family and ocean home during the largest capture of wild orcas in history. She had no way of knowing that she’d spend the next half-century in the smallest orca tank in the world, never to see her family again.

In 1970, teams used speedboats, aeroplanes, and explosives to corral the entire Southern Resident orca community – numbering 80 members – into a narrow cove. Four drowned, and seven young ones were removed and sold to aquariums around the world. The Miami Seaquarium valued Lolita’s life at $6,000.
Of the seven orcas taken from their home during the capture, Lolita was the last survivor. The orca believed to be her mother, who is apparently still swimming in nature, has likely outlived her.

First named “Tokitae”, Lolita suffered in a tank smaller than any other that had ever been used to imprison an orca for life. The move was not just cruel but also illegal, according to the US federal Animal Welfare Act. The plan to move her to a seaside sanctuary came far too late, and she languished in her hellish prison until the day she died.

Her Lonely Life

For more than 50 years, Lolita saw nothing but the concrete walls surrounding her. Her only orca companion was Hugo, another unfortunate orca who had been netted and removed in the round-ups. He railed against captivity, routinely banging his head against the walls – and even severely cutting himself in one instance in which he broke the glass of a viewing window. Eventually, in 1980, he rammed the wall of the tank so hard that he died. The official report said that he had died of a brain aneurysm. Hugo had taken decisive action to end his suffering, but then Lolita was alone.

For decades, Lolita performed her sad and desultory tricks. She called out to her lost family, using the dialect unique to her pod. Orcas have keen memories, and she no doubt thought about her family or longed for the days when she could swim free and dive deep.

Close to Freedom

When Lolita’s Southern Resident family was classified as endangered, the US government excluded her from the Endangered Species Act’s protections. Following a lawsuit, the government agreed with a formal petition submitted by PETA US, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and the Orca Network that Lolita could not be excluded from her family’s Endangered Species Act classification. Other lawsuits by the groups demonstrated that her tank did not meet even the bare minimum size required by federal law. Plans were finally underway to return her to the ocean, but she didn’t make it.

Captive Orcas Still Need Help

It’s too late for Lolita, but it’s not too late for other captive orcas. Please honour Lolita by refusing to buy a ticket to any marine park.

Orcas and other dolphins don’t belong in cramped tanks. PETA is campaigning for an end to dolphin breeding in Queensland. Join us in urging the government to ban the practice of breeding and to allow captive dolphins to retire to seaside sanctuaries:

Justice for Captives
A dolphin being touched by a stranger at Sea World.

Send the Queensland Government a Message

Help Animals in 2025: Renew Your PETA Membership!

Donate Now

Also of Interest

  • Gradient background with a white rabbit silhouette and the text ‘PETA.’
    When Vegans and Non-Vegans Collide
  • A person with short hair hugs a smiling dog
    How to Host a Cruelty-Free Hottest 100 Party
  • Gradient background with a white rabbit silhouette and the text ‘PETA.’
    Wool Is as Cruel as Fur: PETA Tells Donatella Versace

Get PETA Updates

Sign me up for the following e-mail:
Our collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information is guided by the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles. More information about our privacy policies and practices is available in our privacy policy. That policy also details how you may access, seek correction of and pursue complaints regarding the personal information we hold about you. If you have any queries about these procedures or any aspect of our work, please contact us on (08) 8556 5828 or at [email protected] or write to us at PO Box 20308, World Square, Sydney NSW 2002. Current subscribers: You will continue to receive e-mails unless you explicitly opt out here.
PETA Fist Logo

Connect with PETA

  • Facebook Icon, PETA International
  • Instagram Icon, PETA International
  • Youtube Icon, PETA International

PETA International Logo

Mailing address:
PO Box 20308 World Square Sydney NSW 2002 ACN – 128209923

Info

  • Contact Us
  • Media Centre
  • Careers
  • Donate Now
  • Subscribe to E-News
  • Bequests

Services

  • Accessibility
  • Site Map
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • © 2025 PETA Australia Pty Ltd. Read our full policy.

International Sites

  • PETA US
  • PETA France
  • PETA Netherlands
  • PETA Germany
  • PETA India
  • PETA UK
  • PETA Asia
  • 亚洲善待动物组织
  • PETA Latino

PETA acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and live. We pay our respects to elders past and present and extend that respect to all other indigenous peoples.

Registered address: PETA Australia Pty Ltd, 219 Henley Beach Road, Torrensville. SA, 5031