Free Lolita Update #50 – Milestone Update
March 31, 2002
Dear Friends of Lolita,
We've reached a milestone. This message is the 50th Free Lolita Update. Free Lolita Update #1 went out on March 1, 1999. At that time we announced the First Annual Mother's Day Free Lolita demonstration to be held on May 9, 1999, and it turned out to be a fantastic event. As Susan Berta wrote May 10: "The Mother's Day Demonstration at the Miami Seaquarium was a resounding success & a landmark event in the Free Lolita campaign. 150 - 200 people of all ages & backgrounds turned out to help let the world know that it's time for Lolita to retire & return to the wild."
Now we're announcing the Fourth Annual Free Lolita demonstration, to be held on May 12, 2002 again in partnership with the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, to spark more awareness and let the Seaquarium know that people know and care about Lolita. We're investigating the possibility of having a billboard or two around Miami to heighten awareness of her plight and the solution. We're looking for anyone who may be interested in helping financially to make that happen. We'll have much more to say about that in the weeks ahead. For news of the past two demonstrations go to www.nbc6.net/ecowatch/ and find "Seaquarium vs. Activists," about the January 22, 2002 demonstration, and "New Home for Lolita?" about the August 3, 2001 demo.
Other events
On April 17 Orca Network will host noted whale researcher and entertaining presenter Fred Sharpe to shed light on the historical presence of humpbacks in the Pacific Northwest, their demise, their potential recovery and new threats they now face. And Fred will enthrall us with tales of his research in SE Alaska concerning humpback tool use, long term bonding, task specialization and blasting lutfish with sound (acusto manipulation).
On April 27 a life-sized Lolita figure will appear in the Apple Blossom Parade in Wenatchee, Washington. This anatomically correct likeness of Lolita will bring awareness of Lolita's tragic plight and her family's need for abundant salmon runs, which in turn depend on productive watershed habitats throughout Washington and the Pacific Northwest.
Keiko
We also talked about Keiko in that first Update over four years ago. We reported that on 2/24/99 a pod of killer whales was reported approaching Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, where Keiko was, and still is, in a bay. We asked: "What will Keiko do when he hears wild whales for the first time since 1979?" Well, that time has come; he ran out to meet them, and swam with some for a time, but he eventually returned to the boat and his human companions.
You probably know by now that the Keiko project has not yet lived up to our hopes. Now the primary funder and guiding light for Keiko's reintroduction to his home and family is looking for someone else to take over. The Guardian of London; www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,675890,00.html reports that Craig McCaw is gradually phasing out his backing for the project and asking for other individuals and organizations to carry the responsibility. We are eternally grateful for Mr. McCaw's deep involvement, for there is no question that Keiko would have died in concrete in Mexico if McCaw had not brought him to his custom rehab tank in Oregon, then flown him to Iceland and given him a chance to rejoin wild whales. Keiko is now a healthy, curious and playful young adult orca, and there is still every possibility that he will one day find his family and swim free of human care.
From the start, however, McCaw needed aquarium industry trainers and veterinarians to take care of Keiko, and from the start marine park personnel have been almost exclusively involved in the project, which has effectively prevented Keiko from finding his family, so far. If veteran field researchers had been given responsibility and if their opinions had been understood, Keiko might be with his family today. As we have mentioned in these Updates more than a few times, marine park managers don't like to talk about the fact that captured orcas always have families back in their ocean homes. It's bad PR for the public to know that captives are still members of their wild families. The aquarium industry tends to deny the scientific fact that for orcas, family bonds are for life, as revealed by the whales' use of vocal traditions; certain calls that are shared with only their immediate family. Since 1996 Woods Hole scientists have confirmed that Keiko was using his family's calls.
To successfully reunite Keiko with his family, it was necessary to find his family first, and that research could be expected to take several years. If field work had begun in Iceland in the mid-90's, Keiko's family could probably have been identified by matching their vocalizations and genetic material with Keiko's, and that information could have been combined with photographic identification so that their whereabouts could have been determined when Keiko was taken out on ocean walks, so that he could have been led to them. There are estimated to be around 5,000 orcas in the waters surrounding Iceland, and Keiko met up with only a few hundred. Without the benefit of prior fieldwork, his chances of meeting up with is family were slim, and still are.
But the marine park experts that were relied on didn't believe a trained orca could possibly remember its family, or that families were that important, until possibly just the past year or so, so they just never got around to doing the necessary field work. As McCaw's spokesperson said: "... we're business people, not animal experts." Without a doubt the Keiko project has been fantastically educational for all involved.
For Lolita, of course, there would be no such impediment. Her family is easy to find for six months of the year, and in fact has been seen and heard in just the past week or so inside the Salish Sea, near Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands; see www.orcanetwork.org/sightings/map.html#seasound. Besides, her reintroduction would be managed by field researchers from the start.
The wayward juvenile orcas
We've reported to you about the two incredible lone orca two-year-olds, one from the Southern resident orca community, L98 (Luna) holding his position far away in British Columbia and the other from the Northern resident community A73 (Springer), who is staying put in Puget Sound a few miles from Seattle. It's like a foreign exchange program, but neither youngster has made contact with any other orcas. Both calves appear to be doing fine, eating well and are very active, curious and playful. A73, the female from up north, often plays around with boats, sometimes sinking logs under boats and letting them go. It seems to be just a playful antic, but it may help solve the anticipated problem of too many lookiloos coming out to see her as the weather warms up. There are no plans to intervene with either calf as long as they look healthy, and both are being well tended to by observers. You can find some of the many news reports at www.orcanetwork.org/news/news.html#vashoncalf.
These two young orcas have astounded even researchers who would not have believed that they could catch fish, not only by themselves, but at their early age. Lolita would probably have even less problem feeding herself, especially considering that she was about six at the time of her capture.
We love to hear from you any time, so please keep in touch, and we'll be sure to let you know what's new around here.
Best regards,
Howard and Susan
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Free Lolita Update #49 – Lone orca calf in Puget Sound
March 3, 2002
Dear Friends of Lolita,
We have two items for you today
A lonely orca calf from far away has taken up residence in Puget Sound, and captivity is among the options being discussed for the calf's future.
and...
The latest Keiko update from Ocean Futures Society.
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As Lolita continues her twice-daily circus act at the Seaquarium, a drama is building in her home waters. On January 14 a small, apparently lonely calf was discovered in Puget Sound near Vashon Island, just a few miles from downtown Seattle. Since the calf was first seen orca researchers from both Canada and the US have provided some details about her life history.
Based on a variety of lines of evidence, including her vocalizations, the calf has been identified as a female given ID# A73, referring to her pod and birth order. She was named "Springer," and is from the Northern Resident orca community, usually found in only northern British Columbia. She was born in the summer of 2000, but within her first year her mother died, leaving the calf with only her grandmother left alive from her immediate maternal family. We don't know the circumstances of the calf's departure from her pod, but possibly without her mother she was too weak and/or too slow to keep up with the pod, and survival demands that the pod continue on the move in search of food. Salmon, their preferred diet, tend to depart any given area once the pod begins foraging. We don't know how or why the calf found her way down to Puget Sound, since her family seldom comes as far south as Georgia Strait, several hundred miles to the north.
Recent information, including televised footage on Seattle's KING5-TV of the calf playing cat and mouse with a large salmon for about ten minutes, indicates that she is probably not going hungry, is not metabolizing her blubber as reported by some, and her health is not in a downward spiral, as speculated by some members of a scientific panel convened by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on February 28. Reports by observers that the calf is quite healthy are consistent over the past several days. She is said to be playing with small logs, spyhopping and seems vigorous. It is perhaps not a coincidence that the pessimistic diagnosis was made in part by veterinarians and others with ties to the aquarium industry, for which the calf would provide an economic windfall if brought to any aquarium for rehabilitation. The Oregon Coast Aquarium, where Keiko was rehabilitated, has publicly agreed to accept the calf into a portion of Keiko's former quarters, if NMFS determines that capture and transport to a concrete tank are called for.
In a truly amazing coincidence, another calf, this one from the Southern Resident orca community (Lolita's family) was located in November, 2001, holding its position in northern British Columbia. In June, 2001 this calf was reported missing and presumed dead. The calf is a male, with ID# L98, also known as "Luna," and is almost a year older than Springer. L98's mother, L67, is believed to be still alive, and in fact gave birth to another calf, L100, in the fall of 2001, just two years after L98 was born. The circumstances of L98's departure from his pod are completely unknown. He is reported to be eating fish and doing well so far, and there are no intervention plans at this time.
News reports on the Vashon calf are posted on the Orca Network website (http//www.orcanetwork.org/news/news.html#vashoncalf), along with a forum page, (http//www.orcanetwork.org/sightings/forum.html), including the NMFS summary report, for you to post your views on the best course of action, if any, to help this little calf.
***
KeikoWatch February 2002
IN THIS ISSUE
-- Plans for the 2002 Field Season
-- Action Alert -- Keiko Needs Your Help
-- New in the Gallery
-- Ocean News Top Headlines
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Reporting from the field
Charles Vinick, Executive Vice President
Ocean Futures
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PLANS FOR THE 2002 FIELD SEASON
Since the first of the year, I have made a number of trips to Iceland to
help solidify our plans for the 2002 field season.
Most importantly, what I have observed during my trips to Iceland is that
Keiko continues to show that he is thriving in the north Atlantic. He's
very active in Klettsvik Bay, responsive and in great health. With this
kind of response to his environment, our focus is naturally on the future.
So far, the winter has been relatively mild. Yes, we have had our share of
80-plus knot winds and the tidal surge continues to submerge the bay net
near the west cliff face, but these have become rather commonplace
occurrences and they no longer daunt us. Our structures in the bay have
withstood all the challenges thrown their way this winter. Although
Icelandic winter is far from over, we are grateful that we have been spared
the kinds of difficulties the equipment endured previously.
As we prepare for the field season, our staff team and advisors are
researching how best to build upon the progress Keiko made in 2001. As you
know, what we observed throughout the later stages of the summer was that
Keiko initiated separation from the walk boat and the trainers. Keiko also
initiated interaction with wild whales.
Based upon our experience and that of others researching Orca pods, we are
learning that pod "culture" is very complex. We know that Orca remain with
their family pod for life, but we also know that the pods socialize and
intermingle in much larger groups. We also hypothesize that there are
circumstances where young whales are adopted by a pod.
What does it take for a pod to accept a whale from another pod? Do the
whales have to be related, like human cousins? How do the pod vocalization
"dialects" impact this process of interaction? These are the kinds of
questions that we hope to address through our field studies.
Keiko has eaten live fish. He has also eaten freshly caught herring.
However, his preferred diet continues to be frozen herring. With other Orca
in the wild, Keiko will need to hunt and eat live herring. Our team cannot
teach these hunting skills. They will need to come from the wild whales,
but we believe there is more we can do to help Keiko understand that fresh
and live herring is a primary food source.
Thus, we are working on developing methodologies for increasing Keiko's
consumption of fresh herring and on continuing his training on live fish
feeding. We are also developing the technology to utilize acoustic arrays
to facilitate the likelihood that Keiko and wild whales will socialize
together.
As we embark on the 2002 field season, we know there are many challenges
ahead. But, these are wonderful challenges. We know that we must be
prepared for Keiko to take the incremental steps that allow him and the
whales to acclimate to one another at their own pace. We need to provide
him with more skills and help him attain a level of independence that can
facilitate his further interaction with the wild pods.
In the coming months, we will have more to report on how our research into
these opportunities is progressing and we will continue to show you how
Keiko is continuing to adapt to the wild.
Click here to visit Keiko's Corner online
http//207.188.212.108/L/www.oceanfutures/keiko/index.cfm?MX=19&H=0
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KEIKO NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Click here to find out more
http//207.188.212.108/L/www.oceanfutures/give.cfm?MX=19&H=0
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NEW IN THE GALLERY
Click here to see new photos of the Ocean Futures team
http//207.188.212.108/L/www.oceanfutures/photopages/photographs.cfm?MX=19&H
=0
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All the best, for you and for Lolita,
***
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Free Lolita Update #48 – WSPA joins in the campaign!
February 5, 2002
Dear Friends of Lolita,
Lolita campaign goes international!
We're thrilled to announce that the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), based in the UK and with rescue operations worldwide, has joined the Lolita campaign!
In their words:
"The Seaquarium's refusal to place Lolita's welfare above their own economic interests has compelled WSPA to join the Orca Network and the legions of Lolita supporters around the world in calling for the orca's immediate retirement."
"Violently ripped away from her family in 1970, Lolita has been held captive at the Miami Seaquarium for over 30 years. WSPA, along with an army of Lolita supporters, believes it is time to set her free!"
Read the full article.
This is a big boost for the campaign and signals much broader support and more active involvement in the campaign to return Lolita to her home waters and be given the chance to rejoin her family.
For more information about the Lolita campaign, and to see some photos of Lolita and the January 21 demonstration at the Seaquarium, go to the Orca Network Lolita/Captivity Page.
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Free Lolita Update #47 – Lolita campaign goes national!
January 28, 2002
MSNBC posted the January 21 "Ecowatch" news report from WTVJ, NBC6 in Miami on the MSNBC national website and cable TV network. A video clip is included, complete with the inside educational performance by friends of Lolita.
She still calls out to her family.
Protestors urge Seaquarium to free Lolita the Orca
MIAMI, Jan. 21 For the past 30 years, animal activists have been fighting for Lolita the Orca’s freedom, but the Miami Seaquarium says they won't let her go.
For the past 30 years, the Miami Seaquarium has been home to Lolita. She was captured off the Pacific Northwest when she was about 6 and since then she has lived here and been trained to perform in shows.
For years, animal rights groups have protested the holding tank for Lolita saying that it is too small and is unhealthy for the orca. They are worried about her health in captivity, demanding that the killer whale be returned to the wild.
Howard Garrett of the Orca Network says: “The problem is that it is inhumane to have them here; they live half their normal life span.
Though plans have been in the works for 15 years to get Lolita a bigger tank and the proper permits have been obtained, officials say that nothing has been done due to financial reasons. The slump
in tourism has affected business at the Seaquarium, which in turn is holding up their plans to build a tank for the killer whale.
Maritza Arceo of Miami Seaquarium says: “Lolita has been here for three decades, and we have secured permits and plans are underway.”
Inside the Miami Seaquarium, during one of Lolita's shows, protesters caused a commotion hoping to bring more attention to their cause. While they would ultimately like Lolita to be freed, in the meantime they want the Seaquarium to more forward with its plans to build a bigger tank for her.
Heather Lischin of the Animal Rights Foundation says: “Lolita is an extreme example of an animal being kept; she still calls out to her family.”
Officials hope to be able to move forward with plans on building a bigger tank but cannot provide an exact date. However they have no plans to release Lolita, since they have no proof that she
survive in the wild after living most of her life in captivity.
*
In other news:
$5 sticker could help pay for orca research
January 28, 2002 (Bellingham Daily Herald ) Legislators hope a $5 license plate sticker could fund research into the diminishing orca pods that spend the summer in the San Juan Islands.
Rep. Jeff Morris, D-Anacortes, has introduced a bill that would offer optional $5 orca stickers through the state Department of Licensing, and use the proceeds to fund competitive grants for scientists conducting orca research.
"The need for (orca) research funding is critical and the department is clearly interested in increasing funding and working with the federal government to increase research," Pozzanghera said.
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Free Lolita Update #46 – NEWS FLASH FROM MIAMI
Janaury 21, 2002
Dear Friends of Lolita,
Susan and I just returned from the streetside demonstration for Lolita
(Southern resident community orca captured in 1970) held from Noon to 1
January 21 in front of the Miami Seaquarium. We saw the show on Sunday, and
Lolita (Tokitae) seems to be in good health and is performing her routine
as usual.
Orca Network and ARFF (Animal Rights Foundation of Florida) combined to
organize the event. Spirits were high and all went very well. The lead
story on the Miami NBC station made the crucial points that recent science has
revealed that family bonds are for life in Lolita's family and she is to
this day a member of the Southern community, that she still uses unique
calls that only her family uses, and that we now know that orcas in
captivity live less than half normal life spans.
The ABC channel made the additional point that unlike the Keiko project,
researchers know Lolita's family's whereabouts almost year around. Two
Hispanic stations also covered the demo on the evening news. Four "friends
of Lolita" went inside the park during the demo, and at the appropriate
moment during the sea lion show (since the whale show had been
rescheduled), they stood up, revealed their Free Lolita T-shirts and began
educating the audience about why Lolita should be allowed to go home. The
scene was caught on video and broadcast on Miami's NBC Channel 6.
The most important news reported by NBC6 was that the Seaquarium has put plans to
build a new tank for Lolita on hold indefinitely, because they "don't have
the cash," due to recent drops in tourism. For more than 15 years the
Seaquarium has been promising to build a new whale tank, and this is the
first time they've admitted that the $17.5 million construction cost is not
economically possible.
Thanks to all who have supported Lolita's homecoming
for helping make the event possible, and to all of you out there who have worked with us to get the
word out about Lolita's situation, and special thanks to Judy Lochrie of Seattle for flying out to join in this demonstration with us, and to Chris and Leslie Breen and friends for all their help and courage!
Howard and Susan
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Free Lolita Update #45 – Lolita – Orca of Hope
Janaury 9, 2002
Dear Friends of Lolita,
- Demonstration January 21
- New Orca Network website
- E magazine article
- Lolita: orca of hope
Join us for a demonstration January 21 at the Miami Seaquarium. Orca Network and the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida are holding a rally and demonstration at the Seaquarium at Noon on Monday, January 21. Fittingly, January 21 is Martin Luther King Day, honoring a great spokesman for freedom and fairness.
The new Orca Network website (www.orcanetwork.org) is on the air. You'll find beautiful photos, news items, events and scientific information about Lolita and the Southern Resident Orca community (her family), plus updated sightings of orcas in Washington waters. More is being added every day. Stop by anytime and become a member of Orca Network.
Nationally distributed "E magazine" ran an article called "Lolita, Come Home" (www.emagazine.com/january-february_2002/0102ib_lolita.html) containing a good summary of the Lolita campaign to date. Some insight is provided into the lack of knowledge about Lolita that is typical at the Seaquarium. General Manager Robert Martinez said "She shares her habitat with Pacific white-sided dolphins-animals that could be part of her diet if she were in the wild." Actually, Lolita's family are strictly fish-eaters, and do not have any interest in dolphins in any setting. Of course the rusting Seaquarium tank hardly qualifies to be called a "habitat," and by the way there's no indication of any construction on the highly publicized "new Seaquarium tank."
Efforts to return Lolita to her home and family started in Seattle in 1970 before she was shipped to Miami. Demonstrators lined the docks where she was held for two weeks prior to delivery, holding signs demanding she be released. Since then 102 orcas have died in captivity, all of them at an early age, the majority within six years. Forty-four of those who died were from Lolita's extended family. They were sent to parks in Europe, the UK, Australia and Japan. All but Lolita had died by 1987. The survival record in marine parks hasn't improved in recent years. Fifteen captive orcas have died just since 1993 when Free Willy became a box office hit.
And yet Lolita has somehow survived over 31 years in captivity. Only Corky, another extraordinary orca at Sea World San Diego, has been in captivity longer. By all reports Lolita is physically healthy.
Some captive orcas seem to simply give up and die. Most of the deaths among captives are attributed to massive infections, indicating the animals' immune systems have simply shut down. All cetaceans are voluntary breathers, meaning they must consciously decide to take each breath. That in itself is difficult to imagine, and we don't know to what degree an orca's overall health is under conscious control. We know how our emotions can affect our health, but how much do an orca's emotions affect its health? The statistical finding is that captive orcas live less than half normal orca lifespans. We know that Hugo (captured from Lolita's family and delivered to the Seaquarium 18 months before Lolita arrived) died in 1980 of trauma to the head after banging his head against the wall. In the early 1970's he broke through a viewing window and nearly sliced the tip of his rostrum off.
What makes Lolita keep on living? What gives her the strength? It's impossible to know for sure, but because Lolita was taken at about age six, three or four years older than most of the captives, she may have a more vivid memory of her place of birth and her role in her family and community. Recent scientific findings presented at a workshop on "culture in marine mammals" at the November marine mammalogy conference in Vancouver show that orcas live as members of their societies of birth, and remain members their entire lives. Lolita still calls out in the unique whistles that only her family uses. It's been over thirty-one years since she was removed from her family, but to her, life in that tiny concrete tub may be some kind of unnatural aberration, and she may believe that one day she will return home. She must still have hope.
Howard Garrett and Susan Berta
Orca Network
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Free Lolita Update #44 – THE BIRTH OF TWO ORCA CALVES AND OUR NEW "ORCANIZATION," ORCA NETWORK!
November 25, 2001
Dear Friends of Lolita,
- Two new calves are born in Lolita's extended family
- A new organization is formed to raise "orcawareness" and carry on the campaign to bring Lolita home.
- Future demonstrations planned for Miami
- News from Iceland
Two new calves:
All around Puget Sound whale watchers are celebrating the birth of two new orca calves in K and L pods. On October 29, researcher Mark Sears spent the day with J's, K's & some of L's from daybreak to dusk in south Puget Sound, & observed & photographed a new calf, with fetal folds clearly visible. The calf was guarded closely by about six females.
Then on November 4, Mark reported lots of whales again in south Puget Sound, (could've been all 3 pods again). He was able to ID another new calf!!! The calf was with its mother, L67, who had a calf in '99 that disappeared this past year. As of November 24 both calves were reported doing just fine.
This brings the Southern Resident orca community up to 81 members (counting Lolita of course). We're also happy to report that no Southern Residents have disappeared in the past six months. Salmon runs this year have been the most plentiful in twenty years due in part to improved ocean conditions, which has brought the Residents into the lower Puget Sound on numerous occasions. You can follow the whales' movements at www.orcanetwork.org/sightings/november.htm, and see a map showing the whales' recent locations at www.orcanetwork.org/sightings/map.htm.
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The birth of Orca Network:
We have some other exciting news to share with you - the announcement of the birth of "Orca Network"! Howard Garrett and Susan Berta, formerly of Orca Conservancy, are pleased to introduce a new "orcanization" which will focus on our Whale Sighting Network and education programs, and continuing efforts to return Lolita to her home and family. We are also in the process of building a brand new website, at www.orcanetwork.org, still very much under construction...stay tuned!
Our new Greenbank, Whidbey Island based non-profit (contact info. listed at the end of this message) will enable us to further expand our growing whale sighting network, which currently has over 300 people on it, extending from Olympia up into the Canadian Gulf Islands. Participants in the network include top orca and gray whale researchers, government agencies, environmental organizations, whale watch operators, and waterfront residents and whale-lovers who want to help keep track of our whales.
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Future demonstrations for Lolita:
DEMONSTRATION JANUARY 21, 2002 AT THE SEAQUARIUM!
The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, (ARFF), and Orca Network are expanding the Lolita campaign. With our two organizations and several others working together, and with the participation of Florida State Representative Gus Barreiro, plans are now underway for another major demonstration at the Miami Seaquarium on January 21, 2002. Two more demos are planned for March and May.
The Lolita campaign is featured in the Winter 2001 issue of "Fighting Chance" magazine, published by Last Chance for Animals. The title of the article is "Keiko's Freedom...Lolita's Prison. Lolita will also be the subject of a feature article in the January issue of E Magazine.
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News from Iceland:
On Nov. 6 the NY Times ran an article called "Keiko Makes It Clear: His 'Free Willy' Was Just a Role" The article, which was distributed worldwide, generally makes the argument that Keiko is not interested in joining with wild orcas. "He has played with pods of orcas in the open ocean, but he doesn't stay with them. He makes sounds, but it's not clear they speak the same language."
Keiko apparently simply hasn't located his immediate family members. Buried in the article is the quote that probably should have been the main theme:
"Kenneth Balcomb, director of the Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wash., who has tracked Puget Sound orca pods since 1976, said he would have started long ago trying to find Keiko's family pod. There are about 600 orcas near Iceland, he said, meaning "probably 30 to 40 matrilineal lines of DNA."
"Orcas, like elephants, usually stay with matriarch-led pods for life. "If you could take Keiko out to that group," Mr. Balcomb said, "I think they'd recognize something about him," even though he was probably about 2 when he was captured. "Right now, he's just hanging around - like taking you to Japan and saying `O.K., man, make friends and feast out.'"
The article about Keiko and Lolita in Fighting Chance magazine makes the same case: "Cousteau believes that Keiko may be apprehensive because he has not yet found his pod; each pod has its own dialect, which members use to communicate with one another and which they remember even after years in captivity. Whales spend all of their lives in the same pod."
The best available scientific knowledge indicates that orcas do indeed spend all their lives in the same pod. This astounding affinity for family life cannot be reconciled with the capture and incarceration of orcas for our greed and consumption. To hold an orca in solitary confinement, as Lolita is held in the Miami Seaquarium, is an extreme transgression against nature. The USDA is required to uphold the Animal Welfare Act, under which the dimensions of the Seaquarium tank are in clear violation. Please write to the USDA to politely call for Lolita's return to her native waters.
Secretary Ann Veneman
Room 200-A, Whitten Bldg
U.S. Department of Agriculture
14th and Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250
(202) 720-3631/Fax: (202) 720-2166
Email: agsec@usda.gov
cc: Ron DeHaven
Acting Deputy Administrator
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
4700 River Road, Unit 97
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234
(301)734-4980/Fax: (301) 734-8724
Email: Ron.DeHaven@usda.gov
We'll be in Vancouver, BC for the next week to attend the Conference of the Society for Marine Mammalogy.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Howard Garrett and Susan Berta
Orca Network
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Free Lolita Update #43 – Another captive orca has died an early death.
October 10, 2001
Dear Friends of Lolita,
Another captive orca has died an early death.
BJOSSA DIES AT 25 YEARS OF AGE
We are saddened to report the passing of another captive orca. Twenty-five year old female orca Bjossa died at San Diego Sea World due to a chronic respiratory infection. Bjossa was captured from Iceland in 1980 along with Finna, a young male who became her tankmate, and two other podmates named Vigga and Ulises, and possibly Keiko. Bjossa had been captive for almost 21 years. She gave birth to 3 calves in captivity, none of which survived longer than 96 days. The Coalition for No Whales In Captivity of Vancouver campaigned tirelessly to have Bjossa join with Keiko to be released off Iceland.
The Vancouver Aquarium, where Bjossa lived for more than twenty years of her captive existence, held orcas from a variety of orca populations around the world, each of which communicated in a different language, leading Bjossa to become tri-lingual by the time of her death. When Bjossa and Finna were delivered to Vancouver, the park had a male about 15 years old named Hyak. Hyak was a Northern Resident orca, captured in April, 1968. Until a month before Bjossa and Finna arrived, the aquarium had a female, Skana, who had been captured from the Southern Resident community.
For years Hyak and Skana had been exchanging calls and learning one another's vocabulary. Skana died in 1980, but Hyak continued to use the calls he had learned from Skana. Hyak soon learned Icelandic calls from Bjossa and Finna, and in turn he shared his calls, including those he had learned from Skana, with Bjossa and Finna. So in addition to her native Icelandic calls, Bjossa learned to communicate in both Northern and Southern community dialects, though she had never seen a Southern community orca. Science is only beginning to appreciate the intellectual abilities and community bonds that orcas are capable of.
Hyak died in 1991 after 23 years in captivity, and Finna died in 1997, less than 17 years after his capture.
Bjossa was moved to Sea World San Diego on April 22, 2001. The aquarium explained that orcas are highly social whales and should never be kept separate from other orcas. For three years after Finna died in 1997 the aquarium tried unsuccessfully to purchase a tankmate for Bjossa. Aquarium staff traveled to almost every whale park in the world to personally negotiate for another whale, but none were available. Instead, offers were made to purchase Bjossa.
Her death brings the total number of captive orcas to 49. Most captive orcas die at less than half their normal lifespan, so the number of captive orcas has not changed significantly for over ten years despite more than twenty captive births since 1985.
A post-mortem discovered that both of Bjossa's lungs were severely infected. More test results from the autopsy are expected to be made public soon. Uncontrolled infections typically cause death in captive orcas.
The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida and Orca Conservancy are planning more demonstrations in the next few months in front of the Miami Seaquarium to bring Lolita home to her habitat and family.
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Free Lolita Update #42 – Another totally bogus story about Keiko
September 7, 2001
Dear Friends of Lolita,
Part of the excitement of watching Keiko's progress is watching various news media fall all over themselves to announce that Keiko will never be free.
It happened again yesterday. Another completely false AP story was picked up by the major networks and now 100 million people have heard "they have given up on getting Keiko to join other whales and are now looking for a permanent home for him."
Absolutely false, says Charles Vinick, Ocean Futures vice president. KING 5 TV in Seattle says reports that Ocean Futures has given up on returning Keiko to the wild "are not true." There was a misunderstanding, says Vinick. "Keiko is making a lot of progress and the project to return him to the wild is far from over," he said.
Thanks go to Michael Harris of Orca Conservancy, who caught the bogus story and straightened it out, at least for the Seattle audience.
Please help distribute the corrected report. Thanks.
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Free Lolita Update #41 – Keiko waits another winter
August 31, 2001
Dear Friends of Lolita,
After making tremendous strides (or strokes) toward complete independence from humans in the past three months, Keiko has to return to Klettsvik Bay for the winter. Although the whales remain off the southern coast of Iceland through November and some stay year around, the weather often prevents boat trips into the open ocean, so Keiko will remain in the fenced bay till spring.
Keiko has traveled and cavorted with dozens of orcas this summer, and seems to have communicated and shared certain calls with some of them, but he has only had contact with a few hundred of the several thousand orcas that inhabit the waters around Iceland. Studies of other orca communities show that lifetime family ties are the essence of orca lifestyles, so it is very possible that Keiko simply has not yet encountered his close kinfolk, so he hasn't felt the bonds that would hold him in the company of the wild orcas.
By contrast, Lolita's immediate family is well known and is routinely monitored each year. She was captured at around six years old, compared to Keiko's capture at 1 or 2 years old, so Lolita may be more prepared to resume the behaviors needed to rejoin her family.
It is not known what will happen next spring. Options include another summer of boat-follow trips out into the open sea, or possibly establishing a feeding station somewhere along the coast of Iceland, allowing Keiko to come and go as he pleases year around. The town of Eskifjord is closest to the location where Keiko was captured and would provide a protected inlet for such a feeding station.
Here's a media report on Keiko:
KOIN-TV says 'Free Keiko' Won't Be This Winter's Blockbuster
August 30, 2001 (KOIN-TV) It looks like the "Free Willy" star won't be going free any time soon.
Keiko will be spending this winter in his pen near Reykjavik instead of returning to the wild as his handlers had hoped.
But despite the decision to keep Keiko penned for the winter, scientists are focusing on the mammal's significant progress.
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