‘Lolita will receive the highest quality care as the team works to make relocation possible in the next 18 to 24 months,’ Miami Seaquarium said in a statement. The move will require a permit from the US Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In March 2023, after reaching a ‘binding agreement’ with the nonprofit Friends of Lolita, Miami Seaquarium will return Lolita to an ocean habitat in the Pacific Northwest.

Most did not survive a year in captivity, and of these six, Lolita is the only one still alive.įor decades, many have advocated for Lolita’s release. Six orca calves were separated from their parents and sold to marine parks. Lolita – also known as Tokitae – has been held captive since 1970, when she was part of a group of 80 orcas rounded up at Penn Cove in Puget Sound, Washington, off the Pacific northwest coast of America. Revillagigedo Archipelago & Guadalupe IslandĪ 57-year-old orca named Lolita, who has been held captive for more than 50 years, is to be released by the new owners of Miami Seaquarium.

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