That began to change in 1965, when a man named Ted Griffin bought a killer whale that had been caught in a fisherman’s net in British Columbia and towed it to the Seattle waterfront. While they hope to bring Lolita - also known as Tokitae, or Toki - to a whale sanctuary among the Pacific Northwest’s many islands, they know she might never again swim freely with her endangered family, including the nearly century-old whale believed to be her mother. Some of Lolita’s former caregivers are warning she could face a similar fate - or that she might not survive a move across the country.īut advocates say there are big differences between the cases and that their experience with Keiko will inform how they plan for Lolita’s return. He is the only orca released after long-term captivity. Keiko’s return to his native Iceland improved upon his life in a Mexico City tank, but he failed to adapt to the wild and died five years later. SEATTLE (AP) - A plan announced last week to return Lolita, a killer whale held captive for more than a half-century, to her home waters in Washington’s Puget Sound thrilled those who have long advocated for her to be freed from her tank at the Miami Seaquarium.īut it also called to mind the release of Keiko - the star of the movie “Free Willy” - more than two decades ago.

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