They will release Lolita, an orca that spent more than 50 years in captivity

And florida aquarium reached an agreement with animal welfare advocates to free lolitaa orca of 2,268 kilograms kept in captivity for more than half a century.

He Miami Seaquarium noted that it had reached a “binding agreement” with the non-profit organization Amigos de Lolita to return the whale, which recently retired from actingto an oceanic habitat in the northwest of the Peaceful within two years.

Lolita, a 57-year-old orca captured in 1970 in a Seattle cove, it is also known as Surediminutive of the name of the whale, Tokitaewhich comes from Native Americans, reported the Miami Herald. The plan to return Lolita to the wild requires federal approval, according to the newspaper.

They ask for better living conditions for Kshamenk, the last captive orca in Latin America

The fight for the liberation of the orca Lolita

The process for return Lolita to her “home waters”“was in the making for years, starting with the transfer of ownership of the aquarium to The Dolphin Co, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press conference.

The company later partnered with a non-profit organization to provide medical care for the whale.

The Seaquarium’s previous owner, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc, phased out orca shows in 2016.

Lolita, once one of the main attractions of the Seaquarium, was withdrawal from shows in March 2022 following management changed hands.

“Finding a better future for Lolita is one of the reasons that motivated us to acquire the Miami Seaquarium,” Eduardo Albor, CEO of The Dolphin Co., said in a statement.

They manage to film a strange white orca off the coast of Alaska

The push to free Lolita gathered steam following the 2013 documentary “Blackfish” would highlight the captivity of orcas.

Animal rights advocates fought unsuccessfully for years in court to win Lolita’s release following the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration listed orcas as endangered species in 2015.

Orcas are highly social mammals that have no natural predators and they can live up to 80 years.

ED

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