# Tokitae, aka 'Lolita', the last surviving orca captured in the Puget Sound and sold into captivity, dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 19, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tokitae-aka-lolita-the-last-surviving-orca-captured-in-the-puget-sound-and-sold-into-captivity-dies/988797 "2023-08-19T13:57:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tokitae-aka-lolita-the-last-surviving-orca-captured-in-the-puget-sound-and-sold-into-captivity-dies/988797/1 "2023-08-19T13:57:42Z")
> **[Tokitae, Southern Resident orca, dies in captivity after calls to bring her home](https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/orcas/orca-tokitae-dies-53-years-captivity/281-1278dd6f-7dc8-4209-8e5d-b59edeb0db64#_=_)** > > The Miami Seaquarium said in a Facebook post that Tokitae began "exhibiting serious signs of discomfort" over the past two days and died Friday afternoon. > The Miami Seaquarium said in a Facebook post that Tokitae began “exhibiting serious signs of discomfort” over the past two days. Tokitae received treatment from her medical team but died Friday afternoon due to what is believed to be a renal condition. > > Tokitae lived in a concrete tank at the Miami Seaquarium for the last 53 years. The Lummi Nation, activists and animal welfare advocates had been fighting for years to bring her back to the Salish Sea. Honestly, I did not expect a good outcome after more than half a century in captivity. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tokitae-aka-lolita-the-last-surviving-orca-captured-in-the-puget-sound-and-sold-into-captivity-dies/988797/2 "2023-08-19T18:48:52Z")
At the risk of being gruesome, what do they do with a dead orca? It’s not like they can just bury one in the backyard. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tokitae-aka-lolita-the-last-surviving-orca-captured-in-the-puget-sound-and-sold-into-captivity-dies/988797/3 "2023-08-19T18:50:26Z")
They can’t blow it up, either. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tokitae-aka-lolita-the-last-surviving-orca-captured-in-the-puget-sound-and-sold-into-captivity-dies/988797/4 "2023-08-19T18:51:46Z")
Well, not neatly. 🐋🎆 I don’t know how long orcas live on average in the wild, so can’t comment on the 53 year longevity. But I bet it would’ve been happier where it was to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tokitae-aka-lolita-the-last-surviving-orca-captured-in-the-puget-sound-and-sold-into-captivity-dies/988797/5 "2023-08-19T18:57:55Z")
Female Orcas live 50 – 90 years in the Wild. No Orcas should be in captivity. Though 53 is a good age for captivity. So I guess they at least did something right. * * * * * * Just a general reminder. Orcas despite their alt-name of Killer Whales are the largest of the Dolphins. They are also a very intelligent species. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tokitae-aka-lolita-the-last-surviving-orca-captured-in-the-puget-sound-and-sold-into-captivity-dies/988797/6 "2023-08-20T01:14:15Z")
> [@bump](#): > > At the risk of being gruesome, what do they do with a dead orca? Just transport it to a landfill and cover it with dirt, probably. Unless they want the skeleton for display and then probably the same as above except on a site where it won’t be disturbed during decomposition. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tokitae-aka-lolita-the-last-surviving-orca-captured-in-the-puget-sound-and-sold-into-captivity-dies/988797/7 "2023-08-20T13:19:13Z")
Maybe they’ll carve it up and feed it to the other capive animals, like that zoo in Europe did when they had too many giraffes. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > No Orcas should be in captivity. Emphasizing this.