A captive orca identified as Lolita, also known as Tokitae, died as a result of renal disease on Friday, as confirmed by the Miami Seaquarium.
The well-known orca had been showing severe signs of pain for the previous two days, and despite the best efforts of her medical staff, the Miami Seaquarium revealed that her health could not be improved.
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Miami Seaquarium shared the tragic news of Lolita’s death in a tweet, “Over the last two days, Toki started exhibiting serious signs of discomfort, which her full Miami Seaquarium and Friends of Toki medical team began treating immediately and aggressively. Despite receiving the best possible medical care, she passed away Friday afternoon…”
A white sheet was placed over the dead orca inside the tank around 6:30 p.m. A crane appeared to be getting ready to remove her from the area.
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Who was Lolita aka Toki?
Lolita aka Toki was a killer whale, also known as Toki. The whale was apprehended in 1970. She entertained crowds in the same tank at Miami’s Virginia Key for many decades as a tourist attraction.
The 57-year-old orca’s retirement was announced by the Miami Seaquarium last year, but she continued to live within the tank, which was 80 feet long and 35 feet wide.
Just a few days after the Seaquarium declared that Lolita’s health was improving and stabilizing, she passed away. There were preparations being made to repatriate her to the Pacific, where she originally belonged.
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Lolita was reportedly showing encouraging indicators, including a voracious appetite for up to 115 pounds of different seafood every day, including salmon, herring, capelin, and squid. She was actively swimming, and playing with toys, and she was vying for her trainers’ attention.
Notably, approximately $500k had lately been spent on extensive renovations at the pool where Lolita lived. According to authorities, these improvements included the installation of new chillers, filter media, an ozone generator to replace chlorine, and additional regulators and pumps.
