Tokitae, the star of Miami Seaquarium, dies after half a century in captivity

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In August 1970, Tokitae’s ordeal began in the calm waters of Penn Cove, Whidbey Island – a quiet island off the coast of Washington state. Men with long sticks and guns corralled a group of resident killer whales, separating mothers from their calves. At least a dozen of those whales died during the capture, and more than 50 were kept for captive display. Toki was probably only a few years old at the time of her capture. A few years later, killer whales were placed under the Endangered Species Act.

an excellent long read from 2015, from the alt-weekly here in Seattle:

The fight to free Lolita: the story of a Puget Sound killer whale that's been held captive in Florida for 45 years

"They had aircraft, they had spotters, they had speedboats, they had bombs they were throwing in the water, they were lighting their own bombs with acetylene torches in their boats and throwing them as fast as they could to herd the whales into coves," says activist Howard Garrett in the documentary Blackfish, which briefly depicts the August 1970 capture but doesn't discuss any of the killer whales involved.

Evidently aware of what was happening, the orcas changed direction when they saw Griffin and Goldsberry coming for them. "They knew what was going on, they knew their young ones would be taken from them," says Garrett, who is also a cofounder of the nonprofit Orca Network.

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Some 80 killer whales were entrapped in Penn Cove that day, more than at any orca capture before or since. There are only three pods of southern residents—named J, K, and L by scientists, each an extended family led by matriarchs—and all three pods were present in Penn Cove, according to Canadian biologist Dr. Michael Bigg's later assessment of photographs. That means the oldest living killer whale known to science, J2, aka Granny, who is believed to have turned 104 years old this year, was there.

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Crowe admitted later that he and two other men were ordered to cut the three dead calves open, "fill them with rocks, put anchors on their tail, and sink them." They carried out this task under cover of night. For months, the deaths of these calves went unknown. Then their bodies started washing ashore. Their carcasses were still stuffed with rocks and chains. At least one was still attached to a 75-pound anchor, according to the Everett Herald.

orcas mourn their dead. from 2018: Killer whale lets her dead newborn go after carrying body for 17 days

and these sick fucks killed several calves, mutilated them, and threw their bodies back into the water.

Dr. Jesse White, a veterinarian who'd flown to Seattle to make a selection on Miami Seaquarium's behalf, described the 4-year-old calf as "so courageous and yet so gentle." He named her Tokitae, a Coast Salish greeting meaning "nice day, pretty colors."

"I think he named her Tokitae to honor her Northwest roots," Howard Garrett of the Orca Network told me, "and that was specifically what they"—meaning Miami Seaquarium—"didn't want people to know about. Within two weeks, they renamed her."

They renamed her, disgustingly, Lolita.

One of the orcas captured with Lolita in Penn Cove died seven months later in Texas. Another went to France and died in 1973. The two who went to Japan died in 1974. The one who went to England had the dubious honor of swimming with Prince Charles before being transferred to San Diego and dying in 1986. By 1987, every single southern resident Griffin and Goldsberry had captured in Puget Sound was dead—except Lolita.