Should We Free Tokitae?

The Dolphin Company, owner of the Miami Seaquarium, recently announce plans to release an orca from the Sequarium back into the wild. Many headlines suggest this is a positive story, and indeed, a whale returning to the wild and rejoining their family would be amazing to see. But, is it reality? Sara and Casey discuss the issues surrounding this particular whale, Tokitae, often called Toki, as well as some of the issues surrounding keeping orcas in human care. 

Resources for this episode:

Scientists: End of orca program a loss

The Debate - The Ethics Of Keeping Whales And Dolphins Captive | A Whale Of A Business | FRONTLINE | PBS

Orcas Don't Do Well in Captivity. Here's Why - National Geographic

Here's why SeaWorld probably won't release its whales into the wild - Los Angeles Times

Tooth damage in captive orcas (Orcinus orca) - ScienceDirect

Bias and Misrepresentation of Science Undermines Productive Discourse on Animal Welfare Policy: A Case Study

Public Display of Marine Mammals | NOAA Fisheries

Cetaceans in Captivity: A Discussion of Welfare - 1999 AVMA Animal Welfare Forum

Killer Whale | NOAA Fisheries

National Aquarium - Dolphin Sanctuary

At Baltimore's National Aquarium, Climate Change Presents Challenges Inside And Out : NPR

Health and Welfare Assessment of Tokitae (also known as Lolita), killer whale housed at Miami Seaquarium

Bottlenose dolphin habitat and management factors related to activity and distance traveled in zoos and aquariums | PLOS ONE

Release of whales from notorious Russia ‘whale jail’ complete - National Geographic

miami-seaquarium-inspection-report - DocumentCloud

Something Rotten at the Miami Seaquarium - International Marine Mammal Project

PolitiFact | SeaWorld says their whales live as long as wild whales do

Towards understanding the welfare of cetaceans in accredited zoos and aquariums - PMC

Take Action for Southern Resident Killer Whales | NOAA Fisheries