I walk by this big orca every day, and I just stopped to read the signs attached to it the other day:
Despite efforts and plans to return Tokitae to her family in home waters, she died of renal failure in Miami on August 18th. This is probably old news to most, but in case it isn’t for you, here is King 5’s news report in Seattle about her:
A comment after this video on YouTube (by @Kwood10) says:
I was there the day she got captured in Penn Cove when I was only 7 years old my grandma was furious! I was at Penn Cove tonight when I heard she died & I looked out into the water tonight where she was caught & imagined her being free. We loved you Toki, you are now free. May all whale captivity be illegal & all captive whales be set free.
Wow. That’s daunting.
Lauren Girgis, a Seattle Times staff reporter, wrote this:
Tokitae the orca died from chronic diseases associated with aging, according to a necropsy released on Tuesday by the Miami Seaquarium.
Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, as she was named by the Lummi Nation, also known as Lolita, died on Aug. 18 in Miami, shocking the Lummi and other Washingtonians who had been working to return her to her home waters after 53 years in captivity.
Tokitae had heart valve, lung and kidney diseases, the necropsy stated. The progression of the chronic conditions ultimately led to her death, according to the report.
The necropsy began just hours after Tokitae’s death when her body was trucked from Miami to the University of Georgia, where it was cut into pieces and placed in 20 50-gallon barrels. Tony Hillaire, chairman of the Lummi Nation, said “it was a shock” that the Lummi were not consulted about the necropsy.
In late September, her ashes were returned to the Lummi Nation and scattered during a private, sacred water ceremony.
The orca’s official cause of death was listed as “due to progression of multiple chronic conditions including renal disease and pneumonia.”
She was 57.
Ted Griffin sold Tokitae to the Miami Seaquarium after taking the orca from her family in Whidbey Island’s Penn Cove in 1970.
There are 75 orcas today, about as few as when the capture era ended in 1976 by the intervention of Washington state officials who took SeaWorld to court to stop the hunts. Orca L25, the world’s oldest known orca who is still alive and possibly approaching 100 years old, is believed to be her mother.
Tokitae was the last of the southern residents still in captivity.
According to KOMO news on September 20th:
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The Lummi Nation will spread the ashes of southern resident orca Tokitae, also known as Toki or her performance name Lolita, into the Puget Sound during a private ceremony this weekend. Tokitae died at the Miami Seaquarium on Aug. 18 as caregivers prepared to move her from the theme park back to Puget Sound in the near future.
Members of the Lummi Nation traveled to Athens, Ga., earlier this week “to culturally and traditionally prepare Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s ashes for her journey home,” according to the Native American Bellingham area-based tribe.
According to the tribe, Tokitae’s ashes arrived at the Bellingham International Airport Wednesday, and police will escort the ashes Saturday to Fisherman’s Cove in Bellingham. The tribe said both Wednesday and Saturday’s events are not open to the public.
“The Lummi Nation will welcome home Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut – their orca relative also known as Tokitae – in traditional ceremonies to honor her life and leadership,” the Lummi Nation said in a press release.
According to the tribe, Tokitae’s ashes will be taken by boat “to a sacred spot to be spread in a traditional water ceremony.” The U.S. Coast Guard will be present during the ceremony “to ensure there is no interference.”
Lummi Nation said it will hold a public celebration to honor Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut at a time to be announced later. Several memorials were held throughout Washington state the weekend following Tokitae’s death.
