MIAMI — Candles and flowers lay along the sidewalks outside the Miami Seaquarium Saturday as people touched by the loss of beloved orca Tokitae remembered her life and prayed to send her spirit home.
From members of Friends of Toki to Miami-based animal advocates to people who were touched by her story and had been working to free her from captivity for decades, the crowd was full of people who have formed relationships through a fight to give the whale a better life.
While there were disagreements over the years about the best choices for Toki, Saturday night was solely about coming together peacefully and paying tribute to her legacy as a courageous whale, full of personality and a point of inspiration for many.
Many are now advocating to have her body sent back to the Northwest to be laid to rest with ceremonial measures in accordance with the Lummi Nation's traditions.
The Seaquarium was closed Saturday to give time to caretakers to grieve her loss, and a message was on the announcement board at the park in her honor.
Before her death, plans were coming together to allow the orca to live out the rest of her years in a sea pen in the Salish Sea, where she was captured at just four years old.
Advocates hoped to bring her home by the end of the year. Her trainers were in the process of getting her acclimated to a sling that would be used to lift her out of her tank and into a container full of ice water, which would then be flown to Bellingham.
Watch KING 5's previous coverage on Tokitae's Journey: