At time of writing, it has now been a straight 3 weeks since the Miami Seaquarium released their announcement of the death of Tokitae; which was an announcement which was naturally high-strung with emotion from not only nor least the immediate neighbourhood of Miami; but the world over. The movement to 'free Lolita' was well in action for over 20 years before; and was a plight only recently conceded by the new owners of the marine park themselves; the Dolphin Company - who announced to the delight of many that Tokitae would not stay in her tank for much longer - an announcement made a year after shows; which had themselves gone for as long as Toki had been at Miami; were discontinued in light of a deteriorating tank; itself people were aware of for over 20 years. In many respects; the writing was on the wall that the public wanted for Tokitae to leave Miami; for in no small part her health. And the aquarium; in perpetual hopes of bringing about profit; had no solid ground on which to refuse. And so the announcement of Toki's death was a sudden curtail to the long-standing movement; but nevertheless; with curtail would come controversy. And so here I dispense my thoughts surrounding Tokitae.
A CLOSER LOOK AT SEA-PENS
The concept of the 'sea-pen' is perhaps the most common stance when animal rights activists speak about the conversation surrounding marine mammal captivity. A sea-pen, they will often say, is the ultimate alternative to conventional marine mammal captivity - in that in such areas orcas and other marine mammals will be able to have water and current quality which is more like that of their natural ecosystem. And to boot, more naturalistic landscapes as well. One of the most extensive plans for a sea-pen for orcas in particular has been proposed by Ingrid Visser - who has proposed plans for a 'cetacean sanctuary' to be constructed for, by her numbers, 'more than 300 whales and dolphins' - about the number that are kept in the United States today. Visser's ideal would certainly be a costly one - the Dolphin Research Centre in Florida spends an annual amount of $300,000 a year to take care of its 30 or so dolphins. And to feed three killer whales a year costs roughly the same.
And even on the side of the anti-aquarium movement; the idea proposed by Visser is a touchy one - Dr. Naomi Rose has too shown herself to be fervently against traditional cetacean captivity - and in a similar vain is against Visser's plans for a 'cetacean sanctuary'. It would, if she is to be believed, have similar effects to what some fish-farms have - and on a larger scale - cetaceans produce large amounts of waste; which propogates significant levels of algae; which is toxic to all other forms of diversity. To speak from my own opinion here - the most integrally-constructed animal enclosures in the modern day allow for natural biodiversity to flourish - which itself may well be an obstacle to traditional cetacean construction - but in the context of a sea-pen in open waters; is arguably similarly problematic.
But not all sea-pens need be so megalomaniacal - for a start, although any given number of such projects have made the news in recent times, there is almost always an elongated period of quietness afterwards. Some activists may even point to research which shows positive effects of 'sea-pens' on cetaceans - in some cases; they will point to cases of rescued, wild orcas which have been placed in a sea-pen shortly for rehabilitation - or they may be totally dishonest; and point to information where there is none. As of writing, only a handful of such 'sea-pens' have come to fruition - Ric O'Barry of the Dolphin Project owns several in Tropical Asia; which have seen mild success in rehabilitating shortly captive bottlenose dolphins to a more natural life-style; with them being observed hunting for fish.
But the largest of such projects is to be found in Iceland - owned by SeaLife of Merlin Entertainment, the Beluga Sanctuary two beluga whales. But even the owners of this project have observed that the belugas have failed to acclimate properly to the winter climate of Iceland - meaning that during winter they are held in indoor accommodation. And so in some sense, even when they are constructed in an effective manner; sea-pens are little different from conventional captivity - in that much like conventional captivity; animals still need to receive routine veterinary care, the facilities require human maintenance, and they are not always in total seclusion from visitors, either. Given the diversity of orca society, a point itself often used in attack to cetacean captivity, the idea of a single sea-pen for the entirety of all captive orcas is itself ludicrous - to rehabilitate all of these individuals; one would not only need to contemplate the costs and practicalities of running a single sea-pen which may eventually be used for release - but several dotted around North America. But one may notice that I have not talked about orcas yet - for as of yet, there has never been a functional, relatively-fruitful attempt to involve orcas in one of these projects. That is, save one very well-known exception...
A CLOSER LOOK AT KEIKO
When well-publicised animals are involved; often the response from the public is very high-strung. And with the exception of Tokitae herself perhaps, no orca has brought about such a poignant response as has Keiko. Keiko's time was before that of the mainstream internet - a time where much say was in second place to much do. And there was good will behind the plight to 'Free Willy' - for Keiko's living quarters; not unlike that of Toki's, were totally inadequate, and after filming of the movie Keiko was in poor health - and was likely to die had it not been for his reacclimation. Although the specific pod to which Keiko belongs remains of question, Keiko, who was captured in Iceland, was accustomed to the chillish waters of there - a far cry from the sweltering tap-water based solution Keiko was suspended in. It is little surprise that Keiko brought about the historical response that he did then - for him to at least experience better husbandry; and maybe have some form of contact with his natal pod once more. And it was in agreement - nobody wanted to see Keiko die in Mexico.
An obvious choice would've been to have move Keiko to a marine-park - but his skin-disease which had developed during his time in Canada made other aquariums unwilling to introduce him to their orca pods in worry that the disease would be contagious. And as such; he was held temporarily in a purpose-built tank in Oregon before moving to Iceland two years later; following an extensive rehabilitation process which saw him in far better health than before. After his 1998 arrival to Iceland, the final steps to Keiko's acclimitization process were underway - but given Keiko was long used to human contact, he would often socialise with people; with other orcas occasionally as well, but never for substantial periods of time. He often played with objects on the seafloor, likely swallowing them - and often fell ill to pathogens. In a last-ditch effort to bring Keiko to independence in 2002, he was denied contact from his caretakers - which led him to seek human contact 800 miles away in Norway.
During his acclimitization process he would sometimes hunt for fish on his own accord; though he still received daily feeding from handlers - but when he arrived to Norway, he appeared to stop feeding, seemingly confident that people would feed him fish as had been done for years. And after his death in 2003, a year after he was released into the wider ocean, samples taken from his stomach failed to find any food remains - indicating that he had not been feeding on his own accord. If he had any food at all; it was provided by the good will of the Norwegians who had grown fond to him - perhaps in a sense just as Keiko had strayed from typical orca behaviour; the children of Norway did not appetize whale meat as their parents did.
If one is to look at the case of Keiko on its surface merit alone, it can be considered a success. 'Willy' had been freed; allowed to foray the ocean on his own accord. But on a wider level of returning to the life of a wild orca, then it's hard to say that Keiko was a great success - his interactions with orcas were minimal, he rarely foraged, and he never lost an affection for people. In fact; when Keiko would interact with other orca pods he would often make a swift return to the sanctuary of the watchboat - maybe it was that the orcas, unfamiliar to him, were bullies.
The case of Keiko has various interesting implications for Lolita - some believe that had Keiko's natal pod been found, there would be a better chance of integration. But maybe Keiko's natal pod were not regulars of those waters where he was captured in 1979 - some believe that they may have been passing through the area at the time. With Lolita, however, her natal pod was well-known for years; though it goes without saying that 52 is a significantly greater number than 19. But if the words of Miami Seaquarium are to be believed - that Lolita enjoyed good health for much of her last days - then it could've been that she would not have to be rehabilitated as heavily as did Keiko.
A LOOK AT TOKITAE
So clearly it would be that should Tokitae have seen translocation to a sea-pen, there would've certainly been novel results - given that Keiko is the only orca to have experienced such a translocation to date, and the many differences between the two orcas, Keiko cannot serve as a 'by-the-textbook' guide for what could've been of Tokitae. But he can serve to make some interesting points. Keiko was two years of age at time of capture - and Tokitae was four. And by all accounts, Tokitae was about as docile to her human caretakers as are any orca in captivity - save a few exceptions. Tokitae may have grown resistant to various pathogens during her time in Miami; but in all likelihood these could've been fatal to her immediate family. It has been observed in captivity that animals tend to live higher quality lives when maintained by an individual caretaker - as opposed to caretakers rotating over the years. Keiko may well have experienced this with Karla and Renata - who took care of Keiko for the entirety of his time in Mexico. It's fair to say then that Toki probably didn't experience this luxury, though it's similarly fair to say that getting accustomed to new caretakers, or other orcas, would've been difficult given her advanced age.
The push to 'Free Toki' was pushed by many of the same factors that pushed the plight of 'Freeing Willy' - in either case; much publicity was drawn in hopes of a fairytale-esque ending; with regard for animal welfare at second fiddle. Toki was already enduring fluctuations of health in Miami - in a pool that was long found to be architectually dangerous and unfit - but the question of how well Toki would've acclimitised to a more 'natural' life seems less-than optimistic when all, aside from emotional sentiment, is considered. But so too many questions remain unanswered - was Tokitae affectionate, like Keiko, or merely submissive? In her last days, she seemed intrigued by new toys. Would she have been successful in hunting for fish?
But for what value these questions may have had - they are all largely meaningless in wake of Tokitae's death.
THE AFTERMATH
When Keiko died in 2003, the uproar from the general public was not greatly severe - for many of them, the fairytale ending had come true - for Keiko had returned to native waters. But in the case of Lolita, who had died after 52 years within the 'whale bowl', the outroar experienced by the Miami Seaquarium was almost deafening; the movement for Tokitae's release has come to an abrupt end - but after this much anger has been, and is still to be expressed. For Keiko saw, in the eyes of much of the public anyways, a convenient storybook ending - and Toki didn't.
But looking back on Toki's death, I can't help but feel personally that in the time where much was said calmly and shouted with tenure, that something could've been happened for Tokitae's wellbeing. Maybe it could've been SeaWorld. Maybe. Maybe it could've been a different aquarium. But there is one thing that underlines all others - Tokitae's release to the wild would've been illegal by US law. And this was something that the most well-knowing of all animal rights activists knew. And with this in mind, I can't help but think - the goal never was to have another 'Free Willy' moment - it was, as seen today all too often, just another pine for moral superiority. Tokitae's happiness and comfort was not the end goal - the end goal, for such people, was for Tokitae to be a badge of honour. And maybe this wasn't the case with everyone, but whilst some people bemoan the aquarium for doing nothing for Tokitae - I can't help but feel that the Animal Rights activists are similarly guilty - for they were those who did little until they were well aware that Lolita was gravely ill.
And Lolita was not the first. I recall there was a petition in regards to a polar bear that was being kept in inadequate conditions in a zoo in Mexico; which too gained much media attention for its translocation. It wasn't long before that bear was dead, too. Speaking as someone quite in favour of animal captivity - it is a pity that Toki died where she did, as she did. But she won't be the last orca to die in solitude - as the remaining orcas in America continue to dwindle; as to my knowledge they all live under SeaWorld's care; there will come a day where there is to be just one. Social interaction, thus, is to be an impossibility - at compromise to their wellbeing. Animal rights groups will be quick to jump onto this, whenever it is to happen - but then this will be a mishappening that, I feel, the most ardent critiques of marine mammal captivity and the most ardent supporters will have to both answer to. Perhaps only then will there be solidarity...?
A CLOSER LOOK AT SEA-PENS
The concept of the 'sea-pen' is perhaps the most common stance when animal rights activists speak about the conversation surrounding marine mammal captivity. A sea-pen, they will often say, is the ultimate alternative to conventional marine mammal captivity - in that in such areas orcas and other marine mammals will be able to have water and current quality which is more like that of their natural ecosystem. And to boot, more naturalistic landscapes as well. One of the most extensive plans for a sea-pen for orcas in particular has been proposed by Ingrid Visser - who has proposed plans for a 'cetacean sanctuary' to be constructed for, by her numbers, 'more than 300 whales and dolphins' - about the number that are kept in the United States today. Visser's ideal would certainly be a costly one - the Dolphin Research Centre in Florida spends an annual amount of $300,000 a year to take care of its 30 or so dolphins. And to feed three killer whales a year costs roughly the same.
And even on the side of the anti-aquarium movement; the idea proposed by Visser is a touchy one - Dr. Naomi Rose has too shown herself to be fervently against traditional cetacean captivity - and in a similar vain is against Visser's plans for a 'cetacean sanctuary'. It would, if she is to be believed, have similar effects to what some fish-farms have - and on a larger scale - cetaceans produce large amounts of waste; which propogates significant levels of algae; which is toxic to all other forms of diversity. To speak from my own opinion here - the most integrally-constructed animal enclosures in the modern day allow for natural biodiversity to flourish - which itself may well be an obstacle to traditional cetacean construction - but in the context of a sea-pen in open waters; is arguably similarly problematic.
But not all sea-pens need be so megalomaniacal - for a start, although any given number of such projects have made the news in recent times, there is almost always an elongated period of quietness afterwards. Some activists may even point to research which shows positive effects of 'sea-pens' on cetaceans - in some cases; they will point to cases of rescued, wild orcas which have been placed in a sea-pen shortly for rehabilitation - or they may be totally dishonest; and point to information where there is none. As of writing, only a handful of such 'sea-pens' have come to fruition - Ric O'Barry of the Dolphin Project owns several in Tropical Asia; which have seen mild success in rehabilitating shortly captive bottlenose dolphins to a more natural life-style; with them being observed hunting for fish.
But the largest of such projects is to be found in Iceland - owned by SeaLife of Merlin Entertainment, the Beluga Sanctuary two beluga whales. But even the owners of this project have observed that the belugas have failed to acclimate properly to the winter climate of Iceland - meaning that during winter they are held in indoor accommodation. And so in some sense, even when they are constructed in an effective manner; sea-pens are little different from conventional captivity - in that much like conventional captivity; animals still need to receive routine veterinary care, the facilities require human maintenance, and they are not always in total seclusion from visitors, either. Given the diversity of orca society, a point itself often used in attack to cetacean captivity, the idea of a single sea-pen for the entirety of all captive orcas is itself ludicrous - to rehabilitate all of these individuals; one would not only need to contemplate the costs and practicalities of running a single sea-pen which may eventually be used for release - but several dotted around North America. But one may notice that I have not talked about orcas yet - for as of yet, there has never been a functional, relatively-fruitful attempt to involve orcas in one of these projects. That is, save one very well-known exception...
A CLOSER LOOK AT KEIKO
When well-publicised animals are involved; often the response from the public is very high-strung. And with the exception of Tokitae herself perhaps, no orca has brought about such a poignant response as has Keiko. Keiko's time was before that of the mainstream internet - a time where much say was in second place to much do. And there was good will behind the plight to 'Free Willy' - for Keiko's living quarters; not unlike that of Toki's, were totally inadequate, and after filming of the movie Keiko was in poor health - and was likely to die had it not been for his reacclimation. Although the specific pod to which Keiko belongs remains of question, Keiko, who was captured in Iceland, was accustomed to the chillish waters of there - a far cry from the sweltering tap-water based solution Keiko was suspended in. It is little surprise that Keiko brought about the historical response that he did then - for him to at least experience better husbandry; and maybe have some form of contact with his natal pod once more. And it was in agreement - nobody wanted to see Keiko die in Mexico.
An obvious choice would've been to have move Keiko to a marine-park - but his skin-disease which had developed during his time in Canada made other aquariums unwilling to introduce him to their orca pods in worry that the disease would be contagious. And as such; he was held temporarily in a purpose-built tank in Oregon before moving to Iceland two years later; following an extensive rehabilitation process which saw him in far better health than before. After his 1998 arrival to Iceland, the final steps to Keiko's acclimitization process were underway - but given Keiko was long used to human contact, he would often socialise with people; with other orcas occasionally as well, but never for substantial periods of time. He often played with objects on the seafloor, likely swallowing them - and often fell ill to pathogens. In a last-ditch effort to bring Keiko to independence in 2002, he was denied contact from his caretakers - which led him to seek human contact 800 miles away in Norway.
During his acclimitization process he would sometimes hunt for fish on his own accord; though he still received daily feeding from handlers - but when he arrived to Norway, he appeared to stop feeding, seemingly confident that people would feed him fish as had been done for years. And after his death in 2003, a year after he was released into the wider ocean, samples taken from his stomach failed to find any food remains - indicating that he had not been feeding on his own accord. If he had any food at all; it was provided by the good will of the Norwegians who had grown fond to him - perhaps in a sense just as Keiko had strayed from typical orca behaviour; the children of Norway did not appetize whale meat as their parents did.
If one is to look at the case of Keiko on its surface merit alone, it can be considered a success. 'Willy' had been freed; allowed to foray the ocean on his own accord. But on a wider level of returning to the life of a wild orca, then it's hard to say that Keiko was a great success - his interactions with orcas were minimal, he rarely foraged, and he never lost an affection for people. In fact; when Keiko would interact with other orca pods he would often make a swift return to the sanctuary of the watchboat - maybe it was that the orcas, unfamiliar to him, were bullies.
The case of Keiko has various interesting implications for Lolita - some believe that had Keiko's natal pod been found, there would be a better chance of integration. But maybe Keiko's natal pod were not regulars of those waters where he was captured in 1979 - some believe that they may have been passing through the area at the time. With Lolita, however, her natal pod was well-known for years; though it goes without saying that 52 is a significantly greater number than 19. But if the words of Miami Seaquarium are to be believed - that Lolita enjoyed good health for much of her last days - then it could've been that she would not have to be rehabilitated as heavily as did Keiko.
A LOOK AT TOKITAE
So clearly it would be that should Tokitae have seen translocation to a sea-pen, there would've certainly been novel results - given that Keiko is the only orca to have experienced such a translocation to date, and the many differences between the two orcas, Keiko cannot serve as a 'by-the-textbook' guide for what could've been of Tokitae. But he can serve to make some interesting points. Keiko was two years of age at time of capture - and Tokitae was four. And by all accounts, Tokitae was about as docile to her human caretakers as are any orca in captivity - save a few exceptions. Tokitae may have grown resistant to various pathogens during her time in Miami; but in all likelihood these could've been fatal to her immediate family. It has been observed in captivity that animals tend to live higher quality lives when maintained by an individual caretaker - as opposed to caretakers rotating over the years. Keiko may well have experienced this with Karla and Renata - who took care of Keiko for the entirety of his time in Mexico. It's fair to say then that Toki probably didn't experience this luxury, though it's similarly fair to say that getting accustomed to new caretakers, or other orcas, would've been difficult given her advanced age.
The push to 'Free Toki' was pushed by many of the same factors that pushed the plight of 'Freeing Willy' - in either case; much publicity was drawn in hopes of a fairytale-esque ending; with regard for animal welfare at second fiddle. Toki was already enduring fluctuations of health in Miami - in a pool that was long found to be architectually dangerous and unfit - but the question of how well Toki would've acclimitised to a more 'natural' life seems less-than optimistic when all, aside from emotional sentiment, is considered. But so too many questions remain unanswered - was Tokitae affectionate, like Keiko, or merely submissive? In her last days, she seemed intrigued by new toys. Would she have been successful in hunting for fish?
But for what value these questions may have had - they are all largely meaningless in wake of Tokitae's death.
THE AFTERMATH
When Keiko died in 2003, the uproar from the general public was not greatly severe - for many of them, the fairytale ending had come true - for Keiko had returned to native waters. But in the case of Lolita, who had died after 52 years within the 'whale bowl', the outroar experienced by the Miami Seaquarium was almost deafening; the movement for Tokitae's release has come to an abrupt end - but after this much anger has been, and is still to be expressed. For Keiko saw, in the eyes of much of the public anyways, a convenient storybook ending - and Toki didn't.
But looking back on Toki's death, I can't help but feel personally that in the time where much was said calmly and shouted with tenure, that something could've been happened for Tokitae's wellbeing. Maybe it could've been SeaWorld. Maybe. Maybe it could've been a different aquarium. But there is one thing that underlines all others - Tokitae's release to the wild would've been illegal by US law. And this was something that the most well-knowing of all animal rights activists knew. And with this in mind, I can't help but think - the goal never was to have another 'Free Willy' moment - it was, as seen today all too often, just another pine for moral superiority. Tokitae's happiness and comfort was not the end goal - the end goal, for such people, was for Tokitae to be a badge of honour. And maybe this wasn't the case with everyone, but whilst some people bemoan the aquarium for doing nothing for Tokitae - I can't help but feel that the Animal Rights activists are similarly guilty - for they were those who did little until they were well aware that Lolita was gravely ill.
And Lolita was not the first. I recall there was a petition in regards to a polar bear that was being kept in inadequate conditions in a zoo in Mexico; which too gained much media attention for its translocation. It wasn't long before that bear was dead, too. Speaking as someone quite in favour of animal captivity - it is a pity that Toki died where she did, as she did. But she won't be the last orca to die in solitude - as the remaining orcas in America continue to dwindle; as to my knowledge they all live under SeaWorld's care; there will come a day where there is to be just one. Social interaction, thus, is to be an impossibility - at compromise to their wellbeing. Animal rights groups will be quick to jump onto this, whenever it is to happen - but then this will be a mishappening that, I feel, the most ardent critiques of marine mammal captivity and the most ardent supporters will have to both answer to. Perhaps only then will there be solidarity...?