"Blackfish" is a powerful documentary that exposed SeaWorld’s cruel Orca shows. After many viewers saw this documentary on Netflix, they felt like they had to do something to end the suffering of these animals -- and that’s exactly what happened. People at PETA and other organizations worked hard to stop SeaWorld from continuing these performances, and after much hard work, it finally paid off. The Orca shows at SeaWorld have finally been discontinued, and it felt like for a second I could breathe a sigh of relief. That was until I found out about Lolita.
Lolita is a whale trapped in the Miami Seaquarium. She was brutally taken from her mother in August of 1970 and named Tokitae before they changed her name to Lolita. What makes her case different from the Orcas at SeaWorld?
* She’s Alone
Killer whales swim in pods, and never like to be alone. Since her kidnapping in 1970, she hasn’t even seen any other whales. This doesn’t mean she’s forgotten though. Through tracking of Lolita’s mother, Killer whale experts have learned that her mother still calls to her from as far away as Seattle Washington.
* Her tank is the size of a hotel swimming pool
Lolita lives in a pool that is only 80 feet wide and 35 feet in length. It’s important to note that Lolita is 21 feet long which makes this an incredibly small tank for this big whale. Other whales can travel miles throughout the day while Lolita can only move a small number of feet in her tank. She deserves to have a life like other killer whales where she can swim for miles alongside in a pod.
It’s not right to have a beautiful whale who should be in the wild have to perform tricks for us day after day. These intelligent creatures should be with their families swimming, communicating and doing what they do best, which is to be free.
The plan that activists have created for Lolita would be to bring her to San Juan Islands in Washington. Here they have a whale research center where she can swim in the ocean in a large netted area. Here she could have her freedom and swim for miles and be able to communicate with her mother.
So what can you do to help?
There are many ways you can be involved to help Lolita retire. Savelolita.org organizes protests that are in many different places around the country. I’ve been to one of these protests in New Hampshire near the Water Country water park (the company that owns Water Country, Palace Entertainment, also owns Seaquarium in Miami). Attending a protest is an unbelievable experience where you can meet friendly people who care about animals and protest their thoughts peacefully. You can find groups for these protests on sites such as Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ShutDownPalace/).
You can also help by visiting http://www.savelolita.org/ and doing your research on Lolita’s story. The best power you can have to help her be free is to keep spreading the message. To spread this message effectively, you want to know as many facts as you can about the situation. This website also keeps up to date on important updates on Lolita’s journey to retirement.
Another website you can visit is https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?id=4951 where you can fill out a form to have sent to Miami Seaquarium to show you support to Lolita.
