MIAMI — Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century, died from old age and multiple chronic illnesses, according to a report released Tuesday by the Miami Seaquarium.
Lolita — also known as Tokitae, or Toki — died Aug. 18 at the age of 57. Her carcass was transported to the University of Georgia, where a necropsy was completed the next day. The Seaquarium released an executive summary of her necropsy Tuesday to the Miami Herald.
The exam supported early reports from the Seaquarium, which cited kidney failure as the cause of death. The veterinarian who conducted the necropsy found that Lolita suffered from acute and chronic bronchointerstitial pneumonia and renal degeneration, as well a chronic condition of the heart implying the degeneration of the cardiac valves.
Animal rights activists had been fighting for years to have Lolita freed from her tank at the Seaquarium. The park’s relatively new owner, The Dolphin Company, and the nonprofit Friends of Toki announced a plan in March to possibly move her to a natural sea pen in the Pacific Northwest, with the financial backing of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.
