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$20M plan to fly 4-ton whale to freedom after 53 years at Miami Seaquarium on track: report - New York Post

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Where there’s a whale, there’s a way.

A billionaire’s plan to fly a massive killer whale across the US from a small Miami enclosure — where she had spent the last 53 years — to her original home in the Pacific Ocean could come to fruition within the next 18 months, according to reports.

The $20 million dollar journey, backed by Indianapolis Colts owner and philanthropist Jim Irsay, would send the 8,000-pound orca, named Lolita, back to a 15-acre netted area in the Puget Sound off Washington state, where her pod still lives.

Lolita, who also goes by Tokitae, would have to be loaded into a glass tank at the Miami Seaquarium by a harness and taken to the airport by truck, The Times of London reported.

The 21-foot whale would then be loaded into a large cargo plane and flown 2,700 miles to the Seattle airport. From there, she would then be put on another truck and released in the Salish Sea near the San Juan islands, according to the paper.

Trainer Marcia Hinton pets Lolita, a captive orca whale, during a performance at the Miami Seaquarium in Miami
Lolita performed at the Miami Seaquarium for more than 50 years.
AP
Lolita in 1973
Lolita performing at the whale tank in 1973.
Getty Images

Friends of Toki, the activist group leading the massive undertaking, told Euronews that the animal could be moved within 18 to 24 months.

“She’s healthy, I’ve got the money, let’s move her,” Indianapolis Colts CEO Jim Irsay said on “The Pat McAfee Show” last month.

Over $500,000 has already been spent on Lolita’s life support systems for the trip, according to the Times of London.

Lolita is no longer strong enough to swim long distances or hunt on her own after performing for tourists at the Seaquarium for more than five decades, according to the report.

The audience at the Miami Seaquarium watching Lolita the killer whale
The $20 million plan to move the whale to the Pacific northwest could come together within two years.
Universal Images Group via Getty Images
2015 May 9 Protestors line up outside the Seaquarium in the hot afternoon sun supporting Lolita the Whale
Animal activists have petitioned for Lolita’s release for years.
Corbis via Getty Images

The hope is that she reunites with her mother.

A Pacific white-sided dolphin named Lii, who shared enclosure space with Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium, may also be relocated to keep the whale company.

Lolita was taken along the Washington state coast in 1970 when she was about 4 years old.

Soon after her capture, the killer whale was bought by the Miami Seaquarium and moved to South Florida, where she was put on display until she officially retired last March after dealing with health problems.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is financing the venture.
AP

The Miami Seaquarium was purchased by the Dolphin Company in 2021 after years of scandal and accusations of animal neglect.

Orcas are the largest species in the dolphin family. They are known as powerful predators and very social animals.

Southern resident orcas, a population that includes Lolita, normally spend several months of the summer and fall annually in Washington State’s Puget Sound and were added to the endangered species list in 2005, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

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$20M plan to fly 4-ton whale to freedom after 53 years at Miami Seaquarium on track: report - New York Post
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