Free Lolita - Orca to return to the sea after 52 years

After half a century in captivity, the orca Lolita is set to return to freedom. The Miami Seaquarium, an animal protection group and philanthropist Jim Irsay announced Thursday that they would implement the plan.

The now 57-year-old orca was caught in the summer of 1970 in Puget Sound, Washington state. Lolita has been involved in shows for decades, but she has not been used since last year due to health problems. The orca weighs around 2300 kilograms orca currently lives in a 24 by eleven meter tank.

Lolita is said to be released into waters where her mother, who is in her 90s, is said to still be swimming with her family. The mother's advanced age gives supporters of Lolita's release hope that she may have a long life of freedom ahead of her.

Irsay, the owner of the Seaquarium Eduardo Albor and the animal protection group Friends of Toki - Lolita is also called Tokitae - want to raise the cost of up to 20 million dollars (19 million euros) release. It could take 18 to 24 months before the orca is flown by plane to an ocean sanctuary on the US-Canadian Pacific coast, the press conference said.

Lolita is initially told to swim in a net while caregivers try to teach her to catch fish. In addition, she has to build up her physical condition, since killer whales swim around 60 kilometers a day in the wild.

Raynell Morris, a member of the animal rights group, is optimistic: “She was four years old when she was caught, so she learned to hunt. She knows her family's song. She will remember, but it will take time.”