2023-08-19 01:48:01
Orca ‘Lolita’which had been in captivity for more than 50 years in the Miami Seaquarium, whose captivity has been a subject of controversy among animal protection groups, died this Friday supposedly of “a kidney condition”reported the oceanarium itself in a statement.
“In the last two days, ‘Toki’ (as the orca was also known) began to show severe signs of discomfort, which his entire medical team began to treat immediately and aggressively,” but, “despite receiving the best possible medical care passed away Friday followingnoon…believed to be of a kidney condition,” announced the Miami Seaquarium on their social media.
According to data provided by animal rights activists, Lolita, who It was sold in 1970 to the Miami Seaquarium for regarding $20,000. was confined in a pool regarding 60 feet (18 meters) in length and a maximum depth of 20 feet (6.1 meters), and at the moment they were preparing her for release in US Pacific waterswhere he was originally from.
Eduardo Albor, President of The Dolphin Company, the company currently in charge of the Miami Seaquarium, lamented the death of the orca also on social networks.
“It is with a broken heart that we announce Lolita’s departure this followingnoon (…). Lolita was a warrior and the team of Friends of Toki and @MiamiSeaquarium ‘true heroes’, wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
This same week, however, reports published by local media reported that the famous orca was feeding very well and even “the center had made an investment of thousands of dollars to improve the conditions of the pond where it was found.
“Along with the many Miamians who grew up visiting her (Lolita), the generations of activists from around the world who were inspired by her story, and the caretakers who remained dedicated to her to the very end, today we say our last goodbye to our beloved ‘Toki ‘”, Miami-Dade County Mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, it’s a statement.
Last March, Levine Cava announced that Lolita was finally going to be transferred to the North Pacific waters where she was born to be released, a goal that has not been met with her death.
The councilor then called a conference to publicize a “historic initiative” referring to the world’s most publicized orca, in which personalities and celebrities have been interested.
At that time, representatives of the Seaquarium concession company, which is a subsidiary of the Mexican group The Dolphin Company, and the “Friends of Lolita” association, which oversaw the well-being and health of the orca, attended.
‘Lolita’ was captured in that area in 1970 and brought in September of that year to the Miami Seaquarium, which was opened in 1955 on an island in the Bay of Biscayne and was the setting for the famous television series “Flipper”.
The dimensions were not adequate for an animal of its size, which also suffers from loneliness, since there are no more orcas in that aquarium, according to the activists.
EFE
1692422121
#Lolita #orca #captive #Miami #Aquarium #dies
