After half a century in captivity, Tokitae the performing orca could finally go home

[turbinetree]

Katharine Gammon in San Juan Island
Sat 13 Aug 2022 06.00 EDT

Six young orca calves were separated from their mothers in 1970 and sold to marine parks. Only one is still alive at the Miami Seaquarium

Five decades ago, a group of men rounded up more than 80 orcas in a cove on Whidbey Island off Washington state. Using boats, explosives, nets and sticks, they separated young orca calves from their mothers. Locals were haunted by the whales’ human-like cries, according to an account of the day.

Six baby whales were taken away that day in Penn Cove and sold to marine parks. Most didn’t last a year in captivity. Only one who was captured and sold is still alive.

That female whale has spent the past 52 years of her life in a pool in the Miami Seaquarium – the smallest orca enclosure in North America – performing for crowds until her retirement earlier this year.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/13/toki-the-orca-captivity-miami-seaquarium