A Puget Sound Orca in Captivity: The Fight to Bring Lolita Home

On August 8, 1970, the Southern Resident orcas of Puget Sound were herded into Penn Cove on Whidbey Island by explosives, spotter planes and speedboats in a coordinated effort to capture seven young whales. Between 1964 and 1976, dozens of these now-endangered orcas were torn from their home and sent to marine parks around the globe. Just over a decade later, all but one had died. This lone survivor is Tokitae, also known as Lolita, and she’s spent most of her life performing at the Miami Seaquarium. For twenty years, the Orca Network has called for her release, and now the indigenous Lummi Nation, People of the Sea, have joined the fight. Author Sandra Pollard chronicles the extraordinary effort to bring Tokitae home.