FaolanG t1_jed9l0h wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:14 AM

Reply to comment by firl in A pledge to move Lolita the killer whale from Miami Seaquarium, with Jim Irsay’s help by DobieWonKenobi

Did you read the plan outline that accompanied this announcement? They have learned from their mistakes.

The funding for this project well exceeds what we’ve seen in the past and it’s taken a lot of our past failures into account. This is a totally different effort:

-she’ll be relocated to a sea pen where she will have monitoring, veterinary care, and training in how to survive in the wild.

-two of her current co-captives are coming with her to keep her company. Dolphins, but it’ll help with the social aspect which we know is so critical.

-they’ve stated outright that while rerelease is the goal they’ll take her health and longevity into consideration above all else.

It’s easy to be critical of this but at the end of the day this is a huge step in the right direction and an important moment for the Lummi tribe who fought for decades for her release and conservation as a whole. It is undeniably a much better environment for her than her current one, and with no scheduled date of rerelease things can be done with her well-being in mind. I’m from the PNW and she has a lot of support here and should it end up that it isn’t possible to reintegrate her into a pod it’s possible she may be able to live out her days in a sea pen, which again is way better than a 20ft deep pool in Florida.

So yes, this is incredibly uplifting news.

DobieWonKenobi OP t1_jedahh6 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:23 AM

My main quip is they’re doing this after 50 years in captivity and only after retiring her from shows a year ago. They made as much from her as they can. But again, bigger picture is important

FaolanG t1_jedb399 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:29 AM

Yup and that is abhorrent, but that’s a completely different group of people than the ones who have been fighting to see her free for decades. Just because evil people kept her confined in a brutal space for so long doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be committed to her freedom.

I applaud the folks who have fought for this for decades with an iron will and finally saw it happen. It’s a great step for the fight against keeping these creatures in these conditions. If she could be successfully reintegrated it would change how we view the future of a lot of these captive animals.

DobieWonKenobi OP t1_jedbf60 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:33 AM

Agreed whole heartedly. I would drive by pretty regularly when I worked in Miami and there have been protestors outside of that facility pretty much every day for years. The implications of this are huge and I’m thankful that she’ll get at least a morsel of freedom before her time on earth is over.

FaolanG t1_jedcb0z wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:42 AM

I saw the documentary about her in high school back in 2004 and it was part of what really kicked me on a path to having a passion against these animals being in captivity.

I hope one day we can be rid of those kinds of places all together. They’re intelligent cohabitants of the planet with us, not toys for entertainment.

DobieWonKenobi OP t1_jee8i69 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 11:38 AM

You seem like an interesting, informed, and gentle person. I Love you for that!

FaolanG t1_jefzwdj wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:05 PM

Thanks, I try! I appreciate you as well!

firl t1_jedb717 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:30 AM

I have. I am glad it's in a sea pen.

I don't wish that she was captured.

After 50 years of learned helplessness, polluted oceans, different immune system responses because of it etc.

I am glad you consider it uplifting.

Since she was captured and not "rescued" different rules apply for consideration of reintegration.

She is older too, so part of me is like, this could be considered similar to being put in a home.

I considered it meh news personally, not great not horrid because they are trying to improve by comparison to the last time.

I appreciate your perspective though.

FaolanG t1_jedbyg1 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:38 AM

I do agree the practice of taking these animals out of their habitat is abhorrent. I also don’t for one moment think the aquarium did this out of the goodness of their hearts. She wasn’t generating revenue anymore and this is great marketing for them.

To your point, her pod is also much smaller than it was, which in and of itself is terribly sad and a direct result of human presence in the Salish Sea.

For me I hate what she went through, but I’m glad the people who have been trying so hard to get her freed were finally successful and she won’t have to live in those barbaric conditions anymore. She’ll get to be in the PNW and the pacific again.

In my tiny heart of hearts I hope for success from this, that it may open a door to continue release efforts on a larger scale. It’s too soon to know, but that would be quite the victory indeed and I’m glad we are striving for it.