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AnoOrca β Forty-Three.
Published: 2013-08-08 20:29:48 +0000 UTC; Views: 1217; Favourites: 22; Downloads: 0
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Description
What have you done in the past forty-three years?While you reflect on the past years of your life, remember that Lolita, a member of the endangered southern resident orca population, has spent forty-three long years in the smallest orca tank in the world at the Miami Seaquarium in Florida. Her tank is illegally sized, with other violations such as no shade to protect her from the Florida sun, and hasn't been improved since she first arrived there in 1970. The tank isn't even as deep as she is long at the lowest point of the downward slope.
What have you done in the past thirty-three years? Can you imagine going over thirty years without seeing another person?
Lolita has not seen another orca since 1980, when her companion named Hugo repeatedly slammed his head into the side of their concrete tank until his brain hemorrhaged and he died. Although the Seaquarium argues that Pacific White Sided Dolphins are adequate companions for Lolita, true companionship for an orca can only be achieved by a member of the same species, preferably from the same ecotype and population, with the best option being from the same pod/family.
This is no life for any sentient and intelligent being, much less a member of an endangered population (of a 'data deficient' species whose global population is currently unknown). And yet, for forty-three years, the Miami Seaquarium has gotten away with it.
Lolita deserves better than this.
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Comments: 49
I heard that those pacific sided dolphins attack lolita 
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I have heard the same thing. Quite a sad shame.
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the mother of lolita is 80 years old by the wayΒ
for if some people thought I meant Lolita, because she is over 40 years old
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I hope for Lolita that one day those people will make a bigger tank for her or that they will sell her to a better dolphinarium or the best that will set her free, because here family is still out there in the open ocean and her mother is still alive!Β
She over 80 years. I think I'm going to make a comic of about her when I have my tablet, and I will tell about the begin from that she was captured.
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I agree.
Lolita is in her 40s, but her mother in the wild is over 80 years old
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thanks you agree and if you thought that I meant that Lolita is 80 years old, I actually also meant her mother
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I think everyone I've talked to, both pro and anticap, can agree that Lolita's conditions are just atrocious 
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I know several people who think Toki's situation is perfectly fine. That completely blows my mind.
I hope so, too. A fundraiser asked me to draw something to be printed, framed, and auctioned with the proceeds going to Lolita's cause. Hopefully it helps, at least a little... Here's the painting, if you hadn't seen it yet; its much better than this one 
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I did see that one actually! 
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Poor Lolita. Half of me wishes that Hugo hadn't committed suicide so that she wouldn't be alone. But the other half of me would hate to have two orcas in the whale puddle. Especially a big bull like Hugo. Whoever owns this only cares about money. Either put her in a seapen or build her a bigger tank or put up an umbrella or something. Is it that hard to at least provide some shade?
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Lolita is actually part of an endangered orca population and there's been hearings regarding her being included in the endangered species act, which would make her conditions even more illegal and the MSQ would be under more pressure to change her situation. Here's hoping.Β
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Wow. I mean, hasn't the guy been promising a new tank for twenty years?
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Something like that. They made a scaled model of what they said the remodeled tank was going to look like, but it never happened. Another company actually might be buying MSQ - the company that owns Marineland Antibes.Β
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Ah. Wow, what a loser who owns that dump.
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The best part is, while insisting he had no money to build Lolita a bigger tank, he built a swim-with-dolphins complex somewhat recently that is.... larger than Lolita's tank.Β
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save-lolita.tumblr.com/post/57β¦ Β Hey it looks like you got your pictured blogged on a Tumblr page. And Bah, you know where I stand on this issue, but seriously the Miami Seaquarium is a freaking disgrace to keep Lolita in that baking cup (It's too small to even be called a fish bowl).
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While I'm not sure how soon she could be taken to a Sea Pen to be retired (Since it took Keiko a total of 3-4 years from the time they started funding for his return on Feb 1995 to the time they flew him to Iceland on Sept 1998) and who would be her custodian to help maintain her sea pen and help feed her (as well as any medical check ups should she need them), she should at least have her own large swimming facility like the Oregon Coast Aquarium built for Keiko before they flew him to the Sea Pen. . . .
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Hmmm it's a shame that Tilikum is an Icelandic orca, it would have been nice to retire the two to a 'retirement' aquarium and maybe the same sea Pen, but also on the same hand, I wonder how he would feel being with another femaleΒ orca (since he is the submissive bull that has been bullied by female orcas since he was placed in captivity) that he has never met before and let alone be separate from Trua. Still it wouldn't hurt to give it a try I imagine. All that's left is to start funding the two's retirement and try to convince that dick owner of the Miami Seaquarium to give Lolita up and SeaWorld to let Tilikum go finally. After all that Keiko Exhibit did cost $7 million (in 1990 currency).
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Cool
Something that came as a huge disappointment to me was that Keiko's tank at the Oregon Coast Aquarium was turned into a walk-through tunnel exhibit rather than being kept for cetacean rehabilitation. It was purposefully made for rehab and really was an amazing tank, its such a shame it wont ever be used for that purpose again
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I hope so too :/ if someone come from tumblr toΒ hate you for that they are freaking idiots.
Bah I heard about that, butΒ why would theyΒ turn it into a walk-way? Β D:> That just sucks because didn't it have like an artificial wave machine and real sea water? Ahhhhhh it's such a beautiful tank, now we're going to have to build another dumb tank that's going to cost more that $7 million in today's money
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Tumblr is full of hate and argumentative people. :/
It had artificial currents, filtered seawater, rock and algae formations, etc it was just about as close to the ocean as you can get with a tank. They really should have kept it for rehab, but I guess they didn't think that would bring in enough money. As I understand it, OCA got a bit money hungry after Keiko brought in so much revenue.Β
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Aye so true. And the fact I work in Law Enforcement and a Pro-Cap has me kinda keeping to myself too since I'm afraid of troll hate coming my way
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And Bah . . . it seriously isΒ a greatΒ enclosure to help rehabilitate an orca in . . . And hmm, yeah I wouldn't be surprised since people and children had flooded into OCA after Keiko was housed there, after all they have a star that every children wants to see up close and personal.
But anyways yeah just letting you know about the tumblr thing.
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MSQ hasn't erected any sort of tribute or memorial to him. They don't want people to remember him.
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Even though he was heavily promoted in their merchandise. Β "Come to Miami Seaquarium and meet Hugo." Β Anyway, I meant why do most activists who talk about Lolita, barely or never mention him?Β
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He's dead and gone, and there's no saving him
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You are one of the few. Β Thank you.Β
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Perhaps, but it makes a stronger case to mention his tragic story when you wish to talk about her.Β
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I did mention him in the description
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It's amazing how she's one of the oldest orcas in captivity.
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How she has managed to more than double the average age for captive orcas in the environment she's kept in is unbelievable.Β
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Toki 
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Are you going to post the link to CS when its finished?
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Am I allowed to? 
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Oh, right. Hmmm, I'm not sure, in that case :s
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such a great and touching piece of art.
I really feel for Lolita today, more so than any other. She deserves so much better.
A happy retirement in a sea pen and then off back into the wild with her mother- something I hope she gets one day.
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I agree with this! She needs to be with another orca or retire in a sea pen near her family and hopefully she could be released. I hope she survives long enough to see that day where she gets out of that awful place.
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it pisses me off when the owner of the Seaquarium is so greedy when keeping Lolita in this fishbowl of a tank is illegal. I hope Miami Seaquarium gets boycotted and shut down
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I agree. Some of the things he has said in interviews has made me, a non violent and non confrontational person, want to deck him.
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I wanted to punch him after I heard what he said in interviews.
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Tokitae, stay strong girl, hopefully you'll see your pod someday...
It's a shame. As you said, she deserve better. If the owner of the Miami Seaquarium was not so after money, they could buy her free D:
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Yep, I know. As long as she can perform (which she can all the time due medication) they won't let her go.
It's such a shame ._.
They should break in and steal her....
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I would happily help(:
I just wanna go all free-willy on her and put her back in the ocean, so she can be with her mum once more.
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