This is Lolita. She is 20 feet long and weighs 7,000 pounds.
For only $6,000, Lolita was sold to the Miami Seaquarium to be confined for human “entertainment.”
The tank has no shelter for Lolita to escape from the blistering Miami sun. Orcas who are confined to tanks that have crystal-clear water and little shade often experience painful sunburns and blistering.
Orcas in captivity are sometimes covered with black zinc oxide to prevent sunburn, but the substance has reportedly also been used to cover up painful blisters on the skin of orcas who have already been sunburned.
With no mental, physical, or emotional stimulation, Lolita spends her days floating sluggishly. She currently shares her tiny tank with a few dolphins but has no orca companions. Her former orca tankmate, Hugo, killed himself after repeatedly smashing his head into the walls of the tank.
Repetitive harmful behavior is common in captivity, such as this orca banging his head on a landing platform at SeaWorld.
Held in a small barren tank with virtually no opportunity to engage in any natural behavior, Lolita exhibits abnormal repetitive behavior, such as swimming repeatedly in patterns and bobbing her head :
Or floating listlessly:
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Humans have been profiting off Lolita’s misery for 46 years.
Isn’t that enough?
During her time in captivity, people stood on her …
But there is hope that Lolita’s time spent enslaved at the Miami Seaquarium could come to an end.
Her family, the Southern Resident orca population, is classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the National Marine Fisheries Service has finally agreed that Lolita should also be included in the (ESA) listing. PETA believes that confining Lolita to a small, shallow, and barren concrete tank—where she has been alone, unable to dive, forage, or carry out any natural behavior–violates the ESA, and is pushing for Lolita to be released from the Miami Seaquarium and returned to her home waters in a coastal sanctuary!
You can help Lolita!
Tell Palace Entertainment (Miami Seaquarium’s owner) to give Lolita her freedom and immediately release her to a coastal sanctuary that can provide her with a more natural environment.
