On August 18, 2023, 57-year-old Lolita — whose native Lummi name is Tokitae — died in her prison of a tank at Miami Seaquarium, just months after the possibility of returning her to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest was announced. The news has devastated the animal rights community, especially those who were closest to her plight and who had worked tirelessly for so many years to free her. Her death has also made a profound impact on people across the world who knew of her deeply sad story.

On Sunday, August 27, Lummi Nation, Se’Si’Le, House of Tears, and the Port of Friday Harbor will hold a memorial for Tokitae at Jackson Beach on San Juan Island off the coast of Washington. The killer whale story pole that journeyed twice from Lummi to Miami Seaquarium in support of her return home will be permanently installed in that location. The event is open to the public.

The injustice of Lolita’s depressing life is horrific and what Miami Seaquarium did to her is unforgivable. Stolen from the ocean and her family when she was 4 years old, she was kept in what was dubbed “the world’s smallest orca tank” for 53 years and forced to perform tricks for crowds of people. She was about 20 feet long and 7,000 pounds, yet was living in a tank that is only 80 feet long and 35 feet wide, a mere four times her size and illegally small under the Animal Welfare Act. There’s something particularly disturbing and gut-wrenching about a huge majestic animal who can swim 35 mph and up to 100 miles a day being confined to a tank that is basically the equivalent of a bathtub. Except for the presence of various dolphins, she’s been kept in isolation since her companion, Hugo, killed himself by repeatedly ramming his head against the tank walls in 1980.

As recently as a week before her death, all reports were on her good health and progress towards getting her ready for the journey home. However, two days before her death, it was reported that she became ill and did not respond to treatments administered by her medical team. As stated by Miami Seaquarium, she died of renal failure. On the evening of her death, her body was removed from the marine park and taken to the University of Georgia for a necropsy. The results have not yet been published. It was announced that her body would be brought to the Pacific Northwest for burial, though specific details haven’t been released yet. Through our activist support services, we introduced Dr. McAllister and Dr. Powers who became fast friends and trusted allies in the fight for Toki's freedom. We provided key contacts and joined in stakeholder meetings to advocate for Toki's release and family reunion.

Dr. Suzanne McAllister, a psychologist and the co-founder of Post-Animal-Use-World (The PAUW Project), who worked tirelessly to advocate for Lolita’s return to her home waters, said:

Toki was an example of tolerance and resilience. Against all odds, she survived 53 years in hideous conditions. Yet, she remained gentle and loving towards her caregivers. She could have become aggressive and hostile, but she didn't. She demonstrated grace in unimaginable circumstances. These were some of the characteristics that captured the hearts of people worldwide. When they learned of her story they were educated and decided never to frequent marine parks again.

She left us before she could taste freedom again, before she could feel cool currents, rocky shores, waves, live fish, tides. Before she could dive and leap on her own accord. Before she might hear natural sounds–perhaps those of her pod and mother, Ocean Sun. My heart, and the hearts of so many others, are broken for her. Yet, someone said -' a broken heart is an open heart'. Her energy, kindness and optimism will continue to inspire me.

Dr. Paula Powers is another highly dedicated Lolita advocate who runs a Facebook group called Toki's Way Home, which is a community of people that was dedicated to getting her safely home. Now the group’s purpose has changed–to honor her memory and use the relationships they’ve built to fight against all orca captivity. Dr. Powers said:

It’s awful for everyone, sometimes unbearably painful, but it’s also a tribute to how very deeply she was loved. She wasn’t just a symbol.  She was somebody who had the ability to reach into people’s hearts and be known individually as the great soul that she was. We lived and breathed her for years, working daily towards her freedom, with both hope and fear in our hearts. Our worst nightmare came true on Friday, the news we never wanted to hear. And we realized that we had loved her personally, even more deeply than we ever knew. She wasn’t a tool to be used for human feelings or agendas; she was Tokitae, a great soul who was a huge part of our lives for a very long time.

My heart is broken.  It will always be broken.  But if we can make something of this tragedy to honor her, then maybe at least the other orcas can go free. I know Toki would want that because she was all about love.

You can watch this tribute video we shared on our Facebook page and also follow Lolita’s Facebook page Toki’s Way Home for the latest updates on Lolita/Tokitae and to be part of the fight to save all captive orcas.

On March 30, after decades of campaigning for her freedom, it was announced that Lolita would be going home. An agreement was reached to bring the famous orca back to her native waters in the Salish Sea, off the coast of Washington state.

Eduardo Albor CEO of The Dolphin Company, which acquired Miami Seaquarium in 2022, businessman and environmentalist Pritam Singh, and philanthropist and billionaire owner of the Indianapolis Colts Jim Irsay held a joint press conference where they announced a “binding, legal agreement” to bring Tokitae home to the waters she was stolen from in 1970.

Toki’s health had been rapidly declining, but more recently her veterinary team deemed her healthy enough to make the journey home. The coalition had much hard work ahead including the need to find a suitable site and construct a sea pen for her, apply for government permits, and safeguard Toki’s health until completion of the process. They had said it could take as little as six to nine months, or as long as 24.

In Defense of Animals had been calling for Toki to be returned home for years. In 2016, we shamed Miami Seaquarium on our list of the 10 Worst Tanks for Dolphins and Whales.

It is extremely tragic that humans stole her from her natural home and family over five decades ago and forced her to live in a tiny tank performing tricks for human entertainment. We are devastated she didn’t live to see the day when she got out of her sea prison and into her native waters, and the opportunity to be reunited with her family. She didn’t deserve to be treated as a commodity. She deserved to live freely in the ocean waters where she was born.

We will never stop fighting for all orcas who are trapped in tanks. SeaWorld now “owns” all the remaining captive orcas in the United States. Orcas belong in the ocean. Please encourage everyone you know to pledge to never buy a ticket to a marine park. The tragedy of Lolita’s imprisoned life and her death can help raise awareness of the horrors of orca captivity and our obligation to fight it.