Lolita the Orca dies before she can be sent to a sea sanctuary

[Catherine]

After much lobbying by animal rights groups Miami Seaquarium agreed to return Lolita to the ocean. After 50 years of captivity, she would have lived out her life in a sea sanctuary in the Salish Sea. Months away from her move, Lolita has died.  

Her capture was brutal. Hunters cornered the pod and separated the young ones using prods.  Their screams could be heard for miles. One mother died trying to rescue her baby. Four young Orcas died trying to escape. Lolita lived, but she spent 50 years in captivity, performing for the entertainment of humans. She lived in a small tank for 50 years. With freedom within sight, she died.

The Orca pods on the west coast are very much endangered. Their numbers are low. Some 263 Orcas were captured in that area in the 60s and 70s.
The practice is outlawed now, but the whale numbers have yet to recover.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/de...62c7&ei=19

Lolita symbolizes everything that is wrong with animal shows. She suffered for 50 years. Many died just trying to capture her. Since Orcas have family structures, families were torn apart. Mothers were left grieving, never knowing what happened to their children. Returning Lolita to the ocean in a sea sanctuary, wouldn't have made it right, but she could at least have been comfortable for her last years.
Sadly it was not to be.

[Aussienan]

Too little too late this is heartbreaking news.

[Catherine]

She deserved even a few months of happiness. They should not have delayed things so long.