Lolita - orca: Difference between revisions

On August 8, 1970, around 80 whales from the Southern Resident population were captured as part of the infamous [[Penn Cove orca captures|Penn Cove captures]]. Out of the captured whales 7 are taken and sold to marine parks.[[File:Miami Oceanarium.jpg|thumb|alt=Miami Seaquarium|Miami Seaquarium]]Former diver John Crowe, who appears in the documentary [[Blackfish - film|Blackfish]], was part of the capture team at the time. He told of how, when the captures were over, there were several dead whales in the nets. He and two other crew members were then ordered to cut the whales open, fill their bellies with rocks, tie anchors to their tails and sink them.

When the bodies of some of the whales washed ashore some months later, there was a huge public outcry of people concerned with the welfare of the animals as well as the impact of captures on wild whales. This prompted the government to pass the [[Marine Mammal Protection Act 1972|Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972]] which protected wild orca from being harassed or killed, and requiring whalers to apply for special permits in order to capture whales.

The seven whales taken captive during these captures were sold quickly. One young female, originally known as Tokitae, was sold to the Miami Seaquarium, where she joined another Southern Resident named [[Hugo - orca|Hugo]], who had been captured in 1968. When Tokitae arrived at the Seaquarium, her name was changed to Lolita.

At first, the two whales were kept separate, but would often call to each other. Soon, the decision was made to move both whales into the same 60 x 80 x 20 ft. tank (18.28 x 24.38 x 6.09 metres). However, they apparently did not get along at first, which caused many behavioral issues that involved some aggression towards trainers.

In the early 1970’s, the two were involved in several incidents with their trainers. Trainer Manny Valasco recalls both young whales becoming aggressive and lunging at trainers on the platform. During another incident, trainer Chip Kirk was pushed around by Hugo and left with a permanent scar on his arm while another trainer, Bob Pulaski, was grabbed by [[Hugo - orca|Hugo]] and had his wetsuit torn from him by both whales.