Tokitae (also known as Lolita) has died. Photo Credit: Dr. Ingrid Visser, Orca Research Trust
By David Phillips
“We are deeply saddened at the death of orca whale Tokitae. Calls for her release were denied for decades and it’s shameful that she never got a chance to go home. Today there are still eighteen orcas stranded in US amusement parks. They will all die in concrete tanks unless the whale captivity industry reverses course and commits to relocating captive orcas to certified seaside sanctuaries. Tokitae’s tragic death will have meaning only if it results in change. Orca whales belong in the ocean; not in concrete tanks.”
David Phillips, Director of the International Marine Mammal Project at Earth Island Institute, and the Founder of the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation