SEATTLE — A nonprofit working to bring the last surviving Southern Resident orca in captivity back to Washington waters shared progress on the efforts to move her on Thursday.
Tokitae is the last of the surviving Southern Resident orcas that were captured from Puget Sound and sold into captivity. For most of her life, Tokitae has lived in a concrete tank at the Miami Seaquarium.
The Lummi Nation, activists and animal welfare advocates have been fighting for years to bring her back to the Salish Sea.
Friends of Toki, a nonprofit organization, gave an update Thursday on the efforts to bring Tokitae home. The plan to return Tokitae to Washington was developed under the guidance of Charles Vinick and the Whale Sanctuary Project. Here’s how it could work:
First, Tokitae would be coaxed into a custom-made stretcher and lifted out of her aquarium with a crane, into a small container filled with ice water.
From there Tokitae would be placed in a cargo plane for a six-hour flight to Bellingham International Airport.
Next, Tokitae would be loaded onto a barge to transport her to ancestral waters in the Salish Sea.
There she’d be put into an underwater sea pen at a private location.
She’ll receive round-the-clock medical care, security and feedings. She’s expected to live in that sea pen for the rest of her life.
Friends of Toki said the work is concentrated in four areas:
- Care for Toki in her Miami Seaquarium pool and conditioning her for transport to Washington state and life in an ocean enclosure
- Tribal consultation and support and Washington state permitting for the site development of her ocean habitat
- Federal regulatory engagement in Washington D.C.
- Design, fabrication and installation of the ocean habitat enclosure and barrier net
The organization said Thursday that, thanks to the support of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, the above steps can be done simultaneously rather than sequentially.
The lead veterinarian reported that she is now in the best condition he has seen since he has been assessing her health, according to Friends of Toki.
The organization said Toki has been introduced to the stretcher she will be transported with. It said Toki will slowly progress to touching the stretcher and practice swimming in it.
The organization also said both the federal regulatory and Washington state permitting process is underway. If approved, those helping fund the move say she could be home by the end of 2023, but only if she remains in good health.
The Lhaq'temish people, also known as the Lummi Nation, have a history with Orca’s dating back thousands of years. Since 2018, the Lummi Nation has been fighting to get Tokitae released from the Miami Seaquarium and returned to Washington waters. According to Lummi Elder Raynell Morris, orcas are considered family members who live beneath the waves.