Miami Seaquarium Miami Seaquarium

Westcoastperson said:
That’s why I think San Diego is the best place to put all the Orcas because it’s already the largest facility and has the opportunity to get larger. It also has the largest pod currently in a SeaWorld park. Not to mention the massive backstage facility could easily handle the new orcas + any animals not compatible with the main exhibit.
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Orlando actually has the largest overall facility for orcas (seven pools versus San Diegos's five). Although the Blue World Project would be much more suited to San Diego as San Diego has the space to expand their orca facilities (Orlando dosen't).

San Diego having the largest pod is just down to luck. They've always had the most cohesive pod, and thus have received a lot of orcas from the other parks over the years.
 
The Miami Seaquarium announced on March 30th on their Instagram that Lolita the orca, after 50 years of captivity, will be moved to an ocean pen in her home waters within the next 18 to 24 months.

I personally find this concerning, however, I am open to hear what others have to say.
 
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ZoologicallyDepraved said:
The Miami Seaquarium announced on March 30th on their Instagram that Lolita the orca, after 50 years of captivity, will be moved to an ocean pen in her home waters within the next 18 to 24 months.

I personally find this concerning, however, I am open to hear what others have to say.
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I am betting her health has taken a turn for the worst and she’ll pass before they even have to think about actually moving her. She hasn’t been visible to the public since November 2021.
 
It is a tough situation. The tank she is in is far under size and being alone is a terrible situation. However, she is aged and possibly not in the best of health from what has been said. Moving any large animal like this is not an easy feat, and moving one that is old and possibly with health complications makes it more difficult still. Further, taking her from being around people to being in a sea pen or open area with little human interaction makes it more difficult emotionally for the animal again.

Whatever happens, this is just not a good situation for anyone involved and it seems that a lot of it is emotionally driven rather than what really may be best for the animal at this point in its life. I am conflicted about keeping any orca in captivity at all, but I am not sure that a difficult move and sea pen is the best solution for this animal.
 
18-24 months does not seem like a realistic timeline when factoring in site selection, site acquisition, facility design, facility permitting, facility construction, training and preparation to move Lolita, permitting to move her from Miami, permitting to place her into the Puget Sound... and on and on. The amount of red tape they need to go through just to get government approval for this is astronomical.

Yesterday's press conference was chock full of word salad and zero concrete plans. A number thrown out that it could cost as much as $15 - $20 million is incredibly unrealistic. The sea pen alone could easily cost that much. Factor in transportation, staffing, potentially years of daily care... Sounded to me like they don't really understand what they are embarking on and have not fleshed out the logistics. It was a lot of premature, self-congratulatory back patting.
 
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aquaticpencil said:
Yesterday's press conference was chock full of word salad and zero concrete plans. A number thrown out that it could cost as much as $15 - $20 million, which is incredibly unrealistic. The sea pen alone could easily cost that much. Factor in transportation, staffing, potentially years of daily care... Sounded to me like they don't really understand what they are embarking on and have not fleshed out the logistics. It was a lot of premature, self-congratulatory back patting.
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Just imagine how far 15-20 million dollar would go in Madagascar towards real biodiversity conservation. If that were the costs (and they don't indeed end up higher) what a waste of money, resources and time that would be for an individual that is already very old. Talking about cost - benefit analysis here.....
 
aquaticpencil said:
18-24 months does not seem like a realistic timeline when factoring in site selection, site acquisition, facility design, facility permitting, facility construction, training and preparation to move Lolita, permitting to move her from Miami, permitting to place her into the Puget Sound... and on and on. The amount of red tape they need to go to just to get government approval to go through with this is astronomical.

Yesterday's press conference was chock full of word salad and zero concrete plans. A number thrown out that it could cost as much as $15 - $20 million, which is incredibly unrealistic. The sea pen alone could easily cost that much. Factor in transportation, staffing, potentially years of daily care... Sounded to me like they don't really understand what they are embarking on and have not fleshed out the logistics. It was a lot of premature, self-congratulatory back patting.
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Sounds to me like they don't really expect the animal to live until the move is a reality......it's easy to dream up a fantasy if you know that you are not really going to have to pay for it.
 
Three congressional representatives have penned a letter to the NOAA urging them to move Lolita/Tokitae before hurricane season, even if to temporary holding before finally shipping her to the Pacific Northwest. None of the three are from Florida or the Southeast and at least one of them has pushed for restrictions and anti-captivity regarding cetaceans in the past.
There is also some additional information re the 'sanctuary' move - none of which is very encouraging. Her veterinarians have supposedly given her a clean bill of health and said she is okay to be transported. Apparently the leader of the relocation project has already officially filed to move her and hopes are she'll be in Washington by the end of the year as long as she remains in good health (moving a whale that's lived in a shallow tank in Florida for 50 years to Washington's Pacific Ocean in winter sounds like a terrible idea but what do I know :rolleyes:).

Rep. DelBene says Tokitae, captive Southern Resident orca, should move ahead of possible hurricanes
 
2 Pieces of 2023 News Not Mentioned:

On January 24th, it was reported that the aquarium released a (1.0) Florida manatee named Hammerhead into the wild.

Miami Seaquarium releases rescued manatee - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale

On June 28th, the aquarium announced that a (0.0.1) nurse shark was born and was later named Bruce.

Miami Seaquarium
Miami Seaquarium

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On July 13th, it was reported that a plan was created by the Friends of Toki which outlines how they will be able to move the orca back to the wild:
  1. Tokitae will be coaxed into a custom-made stretcher and lifted from the aquarium into an icy pool.
  2. Tokitae will be placed into a cargo plane and fly for 6 hours to Bellingham International Airport.
  3. Tokitae will be placed on a barge to the Salish Seas.
  4. Tokitae will be moved to an underwater pen in a private location to live out the rest of her days.
It was also reported that due in part to the support of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, the steps can be completed simultaneously and, if Tokitae is in good health and they acquire all the permits, Tokitae will be in Washington by the end of 2023.

Friends of Toki share progress on efforts to bring Tokitae home | king5.com
 
Smaggledagle said:
2 Pieces of 2023 News Not Mentioned:

On January 24th, it was reported that the aquarium released a (1.0) Florida manatee named Hammerhead into the wild.

Miami Seaquarium releases rescued manatee - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale

On June 28th, the aquarium announced that a (0.0.1) nurse shark was born and was later named Bruce.

Miami Seaquarium
Miami Seaquarium

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On July 13th, it was reported that a plan was created by the Friends of Toki which outlines how they will be able to move the orca back to the wild:
  1. Tokitae will be coaxed into a custom-made stretcher and lifted from the aquarium into an icy pool.
  2. Tokitae will be placed into a cargo plane and fly for 6 hours to Bellingham International Airport.
  3. Tokitae will be placed on a barge to the Salish Seas.
  4. Tokitae will be moved to an underwater pen in a private location to live out the rest of her days.
It was also reported that due in part to the support of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, the steps can be completed simultaneously and, if Tokitae is in good health and they acquire all the permits, Tokitae will be in Washington by the end of 2023.

Friends of Toki share progress on efforts to bring Tokitae home | king5.com
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This is just so disappointing and irresponsible. My heart breaks for her. Not only did she live her life in a smaller than adequate space, she is now being sent on a long and exhausting journey in her advanced age from the only home, tiny and inadequate as it was, that she's really ever known. Her immune system cannot possibly be expected to tolerate ocean water, especially considering she is already sickly. Why can't she just live out her days there in a non-show environment with educational talks about zoological care, its improvements over the past 50 years, and MSQ's dedication to proper animal husbandry moving forward. Instead, they have to jump through all these hoops to make themselves feel better when Toki is habituated to her current environment.
 
I feel so sorry for Lolita (even though she's gone), having lived in that terrible pool her whole life. As sad as it is, I like to think it's better she passed away now than while being transferred. It would be even worse is she had passed away due to complications stemming from environmental factors in the Salish Sea.

This was the first week the aquarium was posting daily updates on her health, but they must've stopped as soon as she suddenly began to fall very ill.
 
wild boar said:
As sad as it is, I like to think it's better she passed away now than while being transferred. It would be even worse is she had passed away due to complications stemming from environmental factors in the Salish Sea.
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Agreed. The chances of her surviving the move were slim at best, at least she passed in familiar surroundings.
The Seaquarium is now going to be in for a real ugly time in the PR realm, if the FB comments are anything to go by. That said, they brought it upon themselves both by the inadequate care they gave her over the years and by agreeing to the nonsensical plan to try and move her. Tokitae was well in her 50's and has had a history of poor health, there was always a fair chance she wasn't going to live to see the plan realized and that has happened.
 
Relief is the best word to describe my feelings on this matter. This animal lived a pitiful existence and if nothing else at least she is finally at peace. It’s also a silver lining that this happened now before several millions were to be wasted on a likely fruitless endeavor. This does leave the question of what to do with the lone white-sided dolphin that shared the tank with Toki, but for now I imagine the facility is preparing to deal with the onslaught of bad presss in the days ahead as @Great Argus said.
 
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