MIAMI, Florida — Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado grew up in Miami and has an intrinsic understanding of the connection many residents have with orca Tokitae, who many locally knew by her stage name, "Lolita."
Tokitae, known to the Lummi nation as Sk’aliCh’elh’tenaut, died Friday around 1 p.m. Pacific time, according to the Miami Seaquarium.
"For those of us who grew up here, we grew up with her, so it was very difficult because you have all these wonderful childhood memories but as you grow older you realize that she didn't have a wonderful life and she deserved better," Regalado said. "It's kind of a difficult thing for Miamians especially those of us who grew up with her."
Regalado was part of a news conference in March in which the new owner of the Miami Seaquarium, Eduardo Albor, alongside the Miami-Dade Mayor and a conservationist from Friends of Toki, announced intentions to monitor her health, forming a partnership that would lead to the decision to return Tokitae home.
"We were very excited at the prospect of her being free but we knew she had been sick," Regalado said. "She had a lot of health issues, she had overcome them, but there was never a point where we were like, she's 100%. We tried to manage expectations."
Regalado said Miami-Dade County plans to do a celebration of life and use this as an opportunity to educate the next generation about the fact that wildlife is not entertainment and that people can do better as a society. She pointed to the past death of whale Hugo and drew a contrast to how she said Tokitae's death should be handled.
"It was a different owner and a different time," Regalado said. "This time the county is very involved, we have a owner that's very proactive- so we're hoping things are done better. We have to have a conversation as to what happens with the remains and what we can do to honor her memory and what happens to the Seaquarium after Toki."
Regalado said this is a new chapter for the organization, which may change dramatically under new ownership.
Charles Vinick of Friends with Toki said discussions about Tokitae have formed a new relationship between conservationists and the marine park - an encouraging development.
"She really symbolizes in the case of the past year and a half, how people who don't necessarily communicate usually- those of us in Friends of Toki, those of us who have really advocated for whales, talking with and being hand in hand working with a marine park owner, that's never happened before," Vinick said. "Did everything happen perfectly? Obviously not. This is horrible. It's just awful, but as part of that legacy... how do we work with people we disagree with? How do we work with people that we have to find common ground for? She allowed us to do that."