6 OctOber 12-18, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | FINAL HOURS Lolita the orca Died after a medical procedure at Miami Seaquarium. BY IZZY KAPNICK A s Miami Seaquarium workers raised the water level in Lolita’s whale tank after an ur- gently scheduled August 18 medi- cal procedure, panic set in among the marine park’s staff. The 7,000-pound orca was struggling to stabilize herself and swim on her own. As the water inched higher, she was floundering, and part of her jet-black tail appeared limp. Having survived multiple hurricanes, nine U.S. presidencies, and five decades of repeti- tive performances under the pounding Flor- ida sun, the Seaquarium’s retired star, already worn down from a chronic infection, was fad- ing before her caretakers’ eyes. “She was having trouble moving one fluke particularly. She was not as active as we would have liked. She was clearly uncomfortable, listing to one side,” a source, who was present for the procedure and has knowledge of Lolita’s condition and care, tells New Times. Compounding the crisis, a bulkhead used to raise and lower water levels during medi- cal procedures was leaking. “We began to lower the water again, and there was concern that with the leaking through the bulkhead, it would not lower as quickly as needed. But it did. We were able to get the water down,” recounts the source, who spoke on the condition that their name not be published out of fear of reprisal. A whale-size stretcher was brought in to stabilize Lolita while veterinarians scrambled to control her vital signs and irregular breath- ing. But the orca never recovered, and around four o’clock that afternoon, Lolita was de- clared dead. Miami Seaquarium released a statement saying that “despite receiving the best possi- ble medical care,” the orca, thought to be 57 years old, died from “what is believed to be a renal condition.” The marine park’s statement did not men- tion the medical procedure immediately pre- ceding her death. By all accounts, Lolita had been struggling for two days prior to her death. She had trou- ble eating and appeared languid — symptoms that prompted her veterinarians to schedule the August 18 procedure, which involved drawing blood and administering medication and fluids. The timing of her death has nonetheless raised questions about what prompted the fa- tal collapse. Magdalena Rodriguez, Lolita’s former vet- erinarian of more than 20 years, says medical examiners should be “highly suspicious” that the medical procedure and subsequent com- plications might have precipitated the whale’s death. Rodriguez explains that orcas are what is known as “conscious breathers,” meaning they need to make a voluntary move to the surface to breathe through their blowhole, which is akin to a nostril. If a killer whale falls unconscious or becomes incapacitated for an extended period while submerged, it will drown. “After a medical procedure, where you lower and then re- raise the water, you have to make sure that the whale is breathing well. If the animal was strug- gling, the water needed to go back down fast,” Rodri- guez says. Rodriguez was not present for the procedure. The Seaquarium’s previous owners fired her in 2021 after she al- leged that the park was endangering its ani- mals by reducing their diets, among other issues. Her complaints were documented in a 2021 inspection report filed by the U.S. De- partment of Agriculture (USDA), which over- sees captive animal exhibits. “We know she was sick,” Rodriguez says of Lolita’s final day. “But it was a cascade of things going against her. She likely was losing consciousness, having trouble breathing.” The source who witnessed Lolita’s death says the whale had undergone several similar medical procedures without incident. “We assumed she’d have the same posi- tive response she’d had previously when treated this way,” the source says. “The days leading up to this did not indicate this level of illness. There were blood tests. There were all the things that we review and in- form the treatment for the vets. There is nothing that was done that was ill-advised or in any way reckless and without thought and consideration.” Two sources with knowledge of Lolita’s treatment that day say blood was coming from the area around her mouth following the medical procedure, which Rodriguez says warrants investigation for possible hemor- rhage or adverse reaction to medication. A necropsy was reportedly scheduled to be performed in August at the University of Georgia, but the results have not yet been publicly released. “Very Stable” The announcement of Lolita’s death shocked many, as the whale (also known as Tokitae or Toki) appeared on track to be released into a marine enclosure north of Seattle in the Salish Sea, where she was captured as a calf. Jim Irsay, the billionaire owner of the In- dianapolis Colts, had pledged to fund the project, the nonprofit group Friends of Toki was negotiating plans to build out the Salish Sea sanctuary, and Lolita was starting a train- ing regimen to acclimate to a stretcher that would be used during the transport. On July 9, Tom Reidarson, a lead veteri- nary consultant who works for the Seaquar- ium, said in a public statement that Lolita was in “as good a clinical condition as I’ve ever seen her.” “We’ve had our ups and downs. She was quite sick in October of 2022 and recovered quickly. She had a slight setback about a month ago and again recovered quickly. All of her pa- rameters are near normal,” Reidarson said. Three days before Lolita’s death, on Au- gust 15, the Seaquarium assured the public that the whale’s health was improving and that the much-anticipated relocation project was moving along. The marine park de- scribed the orca as “very stable” and “as good as she can be” for her age. “Thanks for sharing the dream,” the park stated. Yet veterinary reports indicated a more nuanced assessment. Weeks earlier, Friends of Toki’s health report noted that Lolita was “still fighting infection.” “During July, Toki’s condition has remained relatively stable. She is currently experiencing another bout of abdominal/ stomach discomfort, which has improved in the last 24 hours. We hope to resolve within the next few days,” the July 31 report reads. While the project to free her was in the works, Lolita lived in her small tank alongside a Pacific white-sided dolphin named Li’i, out of public view. The whale stadium had been shut off from public access, and shows had been halted after Miami-Dade County issued an unsafe structure notice to the park’s prior owner, Palace Entertainment, in the summer of 2021. At that time, county inspectors noted the stadium’s deteriorating structural ele- ments, including corroded beams. According to the 2021 USDA report, paint and laminate were flaking off the whale’s tank, and the water filtration system was anti- quated. Lolita was confined to the tank from 1970 up until her death. Depending on how one measured the tank, whether the connected medical pool in the back was included in the dimensions, Lol- ita’s living space violated minimum size re- quirements for a killer whale habitat under federal law, according to the USDA. A project to release Lolita the orca was just getting underway when she died on August 18, 2023. Photo by Leonardo DaSilva/Flickr | METRO | “EITHER THEY MISLED THE WORLD TO THINK SHE WAS HEALTHY, OR THEY WERE REALLY CLUELESS ABOUT IT.”
