Lolita
Her Story
On August 8th, 1970 a young female orca by the name of Tokitae was taken from her family during a brutal round up and capture for aquariums. Five of her pod drowned during the capture and six calves were taken with her. She was sent to the Miami Seaquarium where she still resides today, 40 years later. The tank is tiny and illegal from not meeting the needs - such as space and shade- of the large cetacean. Her tank is only 35 feet wide, 20ft deep at the deepest point, and 12-18 feet around the edges.
Lolita had only one orca companion since her capture and his name was Hugo. Hugo lived in captivity for 12 years before ramming his head into the side of his and Lolita's tank, killing him. It has been a very lonely 30 years for Lolita since that happened. It was also revealed that Lolita still speaks the dialect of her pod and when a recording was played of her familie's calls she reacted very much in a way that would indicate she remembered and longed for them.
Freeing Lolita
There have been attempts and preparations for years to acquire Lolita's freedom. The Orca Network located on Whidbey Island in Washington and Ocean Futures, the same group that was involved with Keiko's release, have been preparing non stop at trying to get Lolita her freedom. They have found a bay and have already placed the hooks in the ground for the sea pen she would be staying in. This bay is on the direct route of her family's travels and the perfect place to reunite her with them. Her mother, L-25 Ocean Sun, is over 80 years old.
Because Lolita still speaks in her family's dialect and still remembers them as well as her being in the poorest conditions in North America, she is the perfect candidate for release. She has made the Miami Seaquarium over 200 million dollars since her capture and we believe that she has earned her retirement to her ocean home and to be given the chance to to reunite with her family.
Here is the website devoted to setting her free, go here to get more information and see what you can do to help: http://savelolita.org/
Follow her at these popular social networking sites:
On August 8th, 1970 a young female orca by the name of Tokitae was taken from her family during a brutal round up and capture for aquariums. Five of her pod drowned during the capture and six calves were taken with her. She was sent to the Miami Seaquarium where she still resides today, 40 years later. The tank is tiny and illegal from not meeting the needs - such as space and shade- of the large cetacean. Her tank is only 35 feet wide, 20ft deep at the deepest point, and 12-18 feet around the edges.
Lolita had only one orca companion since her capture and his name was Hugo. Hugo lived in captivity for 12 years before ramming his head into the side of his and Lolita's tank, killing him. It has been a very lonely 30 years for Lolita since that happened. It was also revealed that Lolita still speaks the dialect of her pod and when a recording was played of her familie's calls she reacted very much in a way that would indicate she remembered and longed for them.
Freeing Lolita
There have been attempts and preparations for years to acquire Lolita's freedom. The Orca Network located on Whidbey Island in Washington and Ocean Futures, the same group that was involved with Keiko's release, have been preparing non stop at trying to get Lolita her freedom. They have found a bay and have already placed the hooks in the ground for the sea pen she would be staying in. This bay is on the direct route of her family's travels and the perfect place to reunite her with them. Her mother, L-25 Ocean Sun, is over 80 years old.
Because Lolita still speaks in her family's dialect and still remembers them as well as her being in the poorest conditions in North America, she is the perfect candidate for release. She has made the Miami Seaquarium over 200 million dollars since her capture and we believe that she has earned her retirement to her ocean home and to be given the chance to to reunite with her family.
Here is the website devoted to setting her free, go here to get more information and see what you can do to help: http://savelolita.org/
Follow her at these popular social networking sites:
Morgan
Her Story
At a young age Morgan was found severely underweight,but no actual illnesses, without her family. She was taken in by an amusement park with a permit to rescue her under the condition that she would be released back into the wild once she was healthy again. Instead of releasing Morgan, the park began using her for shows just weeks after taking her in. She was the first wild killer whale to come into captivity in 25 years and they knew she would be valuable for breeding purposes.
Morgan was then moved to a Sea World owned park called Loro Parque, where it has been documented by Dr. Ingrid Visser that she is bullied, attacked, and harassed at least 2 times every single hour every day. Since her introduction to Loro Parque she has become covered in rake marks from the attacks. She is literally living in hell.
Freeing Morgan
Since Morgan's capture a foundation has formed called The Free Morgan Foundation with the mission of getting her returned to her family in Norway. So far there have been two court cases against keeping her in captivity. The second case has finished up, but a verdict has been postponed till further notice.
Here is the website devoted to setting her free, go here to get more information and see what you can do to help: http://www.freemorgan.org/
Follow her at these popular social networking sites:
At a young age Morgan was found severely underweight,but no actual illnesses, without her family. She was taken in by an amusement park with a permit to rescue her under the condition that she would be released back into the wild once she was healthy again. Instead of releasing Morgan, the park began using her for shows just weeks after taking her in. She was the first wild killer whale to come into captivity in 25 years and they knew she would be valuable for breeding purposes.
Morgan was then moved to a Sea World owned park called Loro Parque, where it has been documented by Dr. Ingrid Visser that she is bullied, attacked, and harassed at least 2 times every single hour every day. Since her introduction to Loro Parque she has become covered in rake marks from the attacks. She is literally living in hell.
Freeing Morgan
Since Morgan's capture a foundation has formed called The Free Morgan Foundation with the mission of getting her returned to her family in Norway. So far there have been two court cases against keeping her in captivity. The second case has finished up, but a verdict has been postponed till further notice.
Here is the website devoted to setting her free, go here to get more information and see what you can do to help: http://www.freemorgan.org/
Follow her at these popular social networking sites:
Kshamenk
His Story
At the age of 5 years old, Kshamenk and his pod were forced to strand by captures from Mundo Marino. Kshamenk was the only whale in the pod to survive the stranding. He was taken to Mundo Marino in Argentina where he has stayed for about 21 years. Contrasting public belief, Kshamenk is kept in a small show pool with a dolphin companion where he also has access to two tiny side pools.
It is said that Kshamenk is very hostile toward people and has not bonded with any of his trainers in the 20 years he's been in captivity. He is also believed to be a transient orca so reintegration into the wild might be easier because it will be easier for him to adapt to other pods.
Freeing Kshamenk
Several petitions and a release plan have been brought forth to free Kshamenk. The release plan by Roberto Bubas was denied due to the plan lacking in an in-depth explanation and because he is not qualified for such a feat and has never worked with orca before. If a research group were to make their own plan to release Kshamenk the outcome would probably be very different. Unfortunately many orca research groups have their hands and funding tied with the battle to release Lolita and Morgan.
A website couldn't be found for Kshamenks cause, but here is the link to Sea Shepherd's blog post: http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2013/03/27/sea-shepherd-joins-the-movement-to-help-free-kshamenk-1494
Follow the release effort at these popular social networking sites:
At the age of 5 years old, Kshamenk and his pod were forced to strand by captures from Mundo Marino. Kshamenk was the only whale in the pod to survive the stranding. He was taken to Mundo Marino in Argentina where he has stayed for about 21 years. Contrasting public belief, Kshamenk is kept in a small show pool with a dolphin companion where he also has access to two tiny side pools.
It is said that Kshamenk is very hostile toward people and has not bonded with any of his trainers in the 20 years he's been in captivity. He is also believed to be a transient orca so reintegration into the wild might be easier because it will be easier for him to adapt to other pods.
Freeing Kshamenk
Several petitions and a release plan have been brought forth to free Kshamenk. The release plan by Roberto Bubas was denied due to the plan lacking in an in-depth explanation and because he is not qualified for such a feat and has never worked with orca before. If a research group were to make their own plan to release Kshamenk the outcome would probably be very different. Unfortunately many orca research groups have their hands and funding tied with the battle to release Lolita and Morgan.
A website couldn't be found for Kshamenks cause, but here is the link to Sea Shepherd's blog post: http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2013/03/27/sea-shepherd-joins-the-movement-to-help-free-kshamenk-1494
Follow the release effort at these popular social networking sites: