The World's Loneliest Orca, A Drone's Eye View of Lolita

When you sit back and think about all the problems we have in this world, why would one want to focus on a lonely orca performing at the Miami SeaQuarium in Miami, Florida? Hopefully by now you've watched documentaries like The Cove, Black Fish, and Lolita Slave to Entertainment. If you haven't and you're an animal lover, make sure to put them on your watch list. These documentaries are educational, inspiring, and tragic. Before watching these I never had any real understanding of marine mammals and the importance they play in the marine ecosystem and ours. Learning about their social behaviors and how similar they are to our own was fascinating. How they swim in the oceans with echolocation and how they speak in complex languages we cannot fully understand or interpret. How families never leave each other throughout their lives, always staying together, protecting one another. So learning about Lolita and her capture on August 8, 1970 and the events that transpired thereafter were heart wrenching.

Seeing orcas, pilot whales, dolphins and sea lions being exploited by places like the Miami SeaQuarium, SeaWorld, and countless others, it unacceptable to me. When your freedom is stripped from you, and your new home becomes a tiny concrete box they call a pool, it's time to do something about it. Not only was Lolita stripped of her family, some of whom are still alive and free, she was deprived of having any companionship with another orca. There was roughly a 10-year period where she had a tank mate called Hugo, he died on March 4, 1980 after repeatedly banging his head into the side of the tank. She now has only a handful of commerce dolphins to keep her company.

Lolita is highly intelligent and I believe she knows there are thousands of people working on her behalf to return her home to where she was taken. People on all levels and from all walks of life. Now that Lolita is protected under the Endangered Species Act there will be new legal battles fought to get her home. If you ever get a chance to speak to Lolita you will hear she comprehends what you're saying and speaks back to you in her voice as shown in this video.

We currently have regular protests outside of the Miami SeaQuarium every Sunday from 12-2pm, if you're in Miami I'd encourage you to come out and join us. Here is a recent article from a woman who joined us from Michigan, it was her first protest for any cause. Lolita needs as much attention and awareness as possible, people visiting the Miami SeaQuairum or any aquarium need to know that captivity is not education or entertainment.

When you see the conditions and tank Lolita is kept in, it's sickening. Here are a couple of drone videos of Lolita in her tiny tank.

It's time we all wake up and realize animals should not be exploited for corporate greed. Please do not pay to see animals in captivity and if you're compelled, become active in letting your voice be theirs.

For more information on Lolita's retirement plan please visit the Orca Conservancy

For more information on protests at the Miami SeaQuarium please visit Animal Activists Network