Lolita’s story brings out many different emotions from many different people across the globe. We all have our own stories or thoughts. How we learned her story, how we advocate for her retirement, how we feel about her time in captivity and so much more. The world needs to understand and see the amount of devotion we all have for her. We will not stop until she feels the ocean again.
My thoughts about Tokitae/Ska’li Chehl-tenaut are basically admiration for her patience, grace, courage, and gentleness. Her strength and her calm manner in such torturous conditions are amazing. She’s a marvel and an inspiration for us all.
Just to answer one popular belief, people who say she will just die if released are fantasizing based on no real-world knowledge of whale and dolphin releases. Of course, nobody is saying to just release her, so that’s completely inaccurate already. Of course, it needs to be done professionally and carefully and in phases of rehabilitation directed and monitored by medical staff. There’s no need to release her at all if that is seen to be unwise. She could retire, as we’ve been saying all along, in a sea pen or sea pens if she’s unable to go out on her own, and even then, a care station should always be available to her 24/7, with food if needed. She won’t just die and there’s really no need to think of reasons that it should be done even if she does.
– Howard Garrett, Orca Network
My name means “Beautiful day, full of bright colors”.
I was four years old when taken from my Mother.
Scared and crying, I was pulled away long ago;
The human beings, I did not know, smiled at me,
Then, I was put into a cage and sold…
All for the greed of money and a show.
I grew up doing flips and flops,
Living in a small pool of water;
Made by human hands for me,
To swim around all day, in circles.
This place where I live now,
Is not where I am supposed to be;
The ocean and fish, they call to me,
And sadness engulfs me, as I want to be free.
With no depth to my surroundings,
And only the food that I am given;
My mind forever lingers to times of old…
Swimming the open ocean, chasing schools of fish,
And my Mother, ever by my side.
Dreams of spreading my fins and waving my tail,
Of swimming faster than any other whale;
Of talking with family, or, seeing a birth,
All seem to be just a fairy tale.
I’ve been gone from my family for so long,
That my age is now dwindling in captivity;
It was the human who brought me here,
Now, it’s only the human who can save me.
I haven’t forgotten my Mother, now 93,
Who swims in the ocean, waiting for me?
My memory never waivers, and in my songs, I cry…
“Please take action to help save me.
Enable me to freely sing my songs.
Please get me back to my L-Pod family.
Please do it TODAY, before I am gone.
Till we meet again.”
Love,
TOKITAE
– Janette K. Conger
(c) 7-29-2017
“I grew up in Miami and saw Lolita perform several times. I’ve always loved her and have been proud of her. Now that I am an adult and know better, I still love her and feel proud of her but in a deeper way. I feel that I owe her the activism and as much action as I can take, I will take it. Did she not perform for me? Does she not live under the punishing Miami sun every day and perform for kids as I once was? Well, it is our turn to do something special for her.”
– Carmina Novoa
This incredible, kind, loving, intelligent being deserves so much more than what we’ve done to her. Stolen from her family as a baby, kept with other species she can’t talk to, in an enclosure that likens a bath tub. Forced to perform every day. She has been trapped in this hell for 49 years. This is something we could never comprehend. She has only given us love, kindness and patience when we torture her. She will be free one day to swim with her family in the open ocean once again. We’re sorry Tokitae and we’re doing everything we can.
– Lauren Booth
I first learned of Tokitae’s plight while on a whale watch in the San Juan Islands. It’s a magical place and her family still lives there. To think of her stuck in a small pool while being forced to perform day in and day out in the hot Florida sun is downright depressing. She needs the retirement she deserves; back with her family, in the cool beautiful waters of Washington where her only performance will be to jump for joy at finally being HOME.
– Stephanie Albero
Such an epic story that is utterly heartbreaking. This majestic animal should be retired to a sanctuary and as humans we should make the grandest effort to reunite her with her mother while there if only to hear each other. She was ripped from freedom and her mother – alone without a companion for almost 40 years. She has lived a lifetime 50-year sentence – we owe her this effort and freedom and time is of the essence! She hasn’t even been able to dive deep or swim at full speed for any distance or scratch herself on a rock or even have a friend for a lifetime! Living in chlorine, swimming in circles, doing tricks to get food in the smallest pool in N America… An utterly pathetic existence we humans have put her through and made her endure! My heart breaks for her!
– Steph Hicom
Being an activist is very difficult and emotionally charged, a few years ago I was on the verge of giving up. Then Lolita started coming to me in my dreams. She shared a message with me.
I haven’t given up so I need you to keep going.
She is a magical Spirit, and she deserves to go home!!!!
Since then I have had the honor of connecting with incredible people worldwide, advocating for her. Lolita/Tokitae/Sk’ali Chehl-tenaut whenever I am feeling discouraged, I remember the promise I made to you!
I will never give up!
Please join us in raising awareness.
CAPTIVITY IS NOT CONSERVATION.”
– Debora Toro
Toki has endured decades of captivity. Since first learning her story in the late 1980s I have been both saddened and amazed at her tenacity – how she endures her captive situation. So many animals have passed through MS and yet, Toki remains. It is time to allow her to retire – if she were human, having served her ‘owners’ for so long she would be recognised and rewarded. But for Toki there is no reward – only being worked until she can no more. Over the years nothing has changed for her, life is one monotonous drudge at the hands of the public display industry – she deserves more, she deserves better, and she deserves to go home.
– Margaux Dodds, Marine Connection
I grew up in Miami and the Miami Seaquarium, as a child, was the most thrilling place to be for me. I was obsessed with the movie Free Willy and seeing an Orca up close was the most magnificent experience it my mind. It was a larger than life experience.
When I was 15 remember bringing my little sister to the Miami Seaquarium to see Lolita, hoping she would have the same experience I did as a child. To my disbelief, everything was so much smaller than I remembered. I couldn’t believe how small her tank was, how unprotected it is, how scary it must be for her during Hurricane season, and how lonely she must feel. It brought tears to my eyes and I knew in that moment, I would never return to the Seaquarium and this would be the last time I saw her in this tank. I felt the only thing I could do was pledge not to support her cruel captivity with my admission.
Since then I’ve moved to Seattle, Washington. I have seen her family swimming freely in the wild, I’ve researched their cruel history as well as their threatened future. I received a degree in Oceanography from the University of Washington and have committed to doing everything in my power to protect this community and every opportunity I get, I advocate for Lolita, the first Orca I’ve ever seen, one sentenced to a life of imprisonment in solitude.
– Deana Crouser
My tears for Tokitae. This wonderful whale has been in captivity for decades. Tokitae still remembers her family. She calls and cries and calls daily for her family. She lives lonely in a tiny little tank. It tears my heart in pieces when I think about her. It is so hard for me to endure this suffering. I cannot understand how people, who see her daily and “work” with her, can endure her suffering life. If you love her, let her go to her family in sheltered freedom. She will do it! Until Lolita is home, we will not give up. Free Tokitae!
– Kerstin Fischer
Words and human emotions cannot touch how amazing it is that Tokitae has persevered for so long in such a deplorable prison. Where so many others of her kin have perished, she somehow has survived. How can humans contemplate such a powerful spirit? She has been away from home far too long. She deserves a chance at freedom, a chance at being with her people again, a chance to experience the life she was meant to live. Again, there is no words for the love and admiration I have for her. Love always.
– Alexis Condit
I have only just found out about the plight of Lolita and it is breaking my heart. How can she be kept a prisoner in such a horrible condition? How do people pay for the pleasure of watching that suffering? I just cannot comprehend the mentality of those people who don’t look at her story and immediately want her to be set free. Her family is waiting for her. Imagine the sheer joy if she were to be reunited with them. How much money will it take for her captors to let her go?
– Susan Vaughan
The simple fact of watching what happens at the Miami Seaquarium is really sad, because poor Lolita is living inside the whale bowl… when I learned that she were kidnapped when she was a little calf, really a baby with her mother, and to know that she is living to many years without company of her family, her pod, or another orca, all the Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s story is very sad. I believe that we must not stop until Lolita is Home.
– Jonathan Pastor
Tokitae was the second Orca I discovered in the barbaric world of performing Blackfish since the movie and Tilikum. She stole my heart. I suffer from depression and she gave me a purpose and turned me into an animal activist on FB and Twitter after watching her movie “Lolita: Slave to Entertainment” one time, (Find it on YouTube its a must-see) that was all I needed to join the charge for her release. All I can say to you fellow novice activists is listen to Howard Garrett he knows of what he speaks and start by signing petitions and follow the lawsuit brought forth by her Native American tribe and pray to whatever higher power you may have. Let’s Manifest a win! Sincerely from a woman who had the name Tokitae tattooed on her arm. I care for her that much and I believe in her release. Thank you and #dontbuyaticket to any Marine Park…please.
– Teresa Nichols
With tears in my eyes I read the words written for her. I know all the support Lolita has to be released I have attended rallies and educated people whenever I can but nothing changes for her. With all this public out cry why is her situation no better? It feels hopeless. I wait for people to do the right thing but greed seems to always win. Every day I pray will be the day the announcement will come Lolita will be released to her sea pen today. Please don’t let her die in that miserable place. We owe it to her to right this wrong!
– Sandie Tripp
I only recently learned about Tokitae’s story, but I’ve thought of her every single day since. She was born to swim with her family in the cool waters of the Pacific Northwest, not to be kept alone in a too-small chlorinated tank exposed to blistering sun and hurricanes. The fact that Tokitae is still alive is a testament to her strength, and perhaps a sign of her hope to see home once more. Tokitae still sings the songs of L pod. There is a comprehensive plan in place to transport Tokitae to a protected sea pen where she can be monitored while still being able to communicate with her family (including her mother, L25, who is still living).
– Grace McRae
Tokitae, I love you so much, even though I have never seen you in person. I can sense your beauty, courage and strength in your loneliness and confinement–so much more than most people would ever be able to endure. I pray for you every day and hope with all of my heart that you will be able to go home to your people (both your pod and the Lummi Nation). You deserve so much more than the life you have had alone in your concrete prison. Keep the faith, beautiful angel, that we will be able to help you go home.
– Barbara Harvey
I learned of Lolita from my friend Robbyne Kaamil at a NYC NARD ceremony that my kids and I were part of. This brought sadness to our hearts to learn that Lolita has lived in a prison for more than 45 years….This year to honor Robbyne Kaamil l I shared with my 1st to 5th grade students the sad life that Lolita has been forced to live in her prison and ALL of my students have pledged to stand up for LOLITA’S FREEDOM…let the girl go!
– Cindy Anthony
Tokitae such a powerful name and will always be that name. She was kidnapped from her family by people who wanted to use her for entertainment and it is like she was put on another planet and forced to dance for an audience that knows nothing of her soul purpose, HERE ON THE WEST COAST SALISH SEA. WE MISS HER. The Seaquarium has endangered the pod and reduced the gene pool of Orcas here on the coast it is a shame that now only 76 remains. Tokitae is not in danger of returning home, this would be done with great care and medical staff. What I admire most about her is definitely her strength and her resilience that has gotten her this far and she is undoubtedly listening to the prayers we send her so send her MORE PRAYERS to BRING HER HOME TO SALISH SEA. Please help to bring her home, give us this opportunity to rejoice and celebrate a new future with children learning that these cases of whale captivity will be no longer. let us please share these moments and tears with her for whatever it is worth people have spoken and we need changes made to the laws of whale captivity.
– Lori Stephenson
My daughter found out about Lolita back when she was in high school about 12 years ago. She wanted to do something then about her. I told her to maybe contact Sea World, or the governing parties for her area to see if they could do anything, but she was shot down after emailing them. She was so in love with killer whales since she saw Free Willy when she was 2.
My daughter is now in her 3rd year of law school fighting for animal rights and fighting for Lolita with her fellow law students. I couldn’t be more proud of her still continuing to fight for her, and her pod up on the Pacific coast. Bring Lolita home to her family it is truly heart-wrenching to see her being used for entertainment.
– Michelle Steffey
I was raised going to Miami Seaquarium. Every Saturday I would wake everyone up in excitement to visit my beloved Lolita. I remember how my growing passion turned into despair when I turned ten. I decided to stay after the show and wait to see what would happen behind the scenes. I asked the trainer hundreds of questions just so I could spend a minute longer until I was escorted out. All I remember is hearing her cries, and all that I thought I knew about Lolita faded into sadness. At that point I wanted to learn all that I could to help her. My college entrance essay was based on Lolita and her influence in my life. Four years later I earned a degree in marine biology to better understand her physiology, told people the truth about her enclosure, but most importantly, I stopped visiting Miami Seaquarium. It was one of most painful experiences seeing that I just wish to see her one more time but knowing that she will be in that enclosure another day halts me from visiting. I still have hope that one day she will be free, where her cries are to communicate with a pod, not in distress. Until then I will use my voice and all that is in my power until she is free.
– Nicole Osorio
I went to a language school in Fort Lauderdale as a 19-year-old and they organized a trip to MSQ. I saw Lolita and she took my breath away. What a beautiful, majestic being – and, oh, the tricks she did, high jumps and splashing water at us on a hot day in July. I loved every second of it. Did I wonder about the size of her tank or the fact that she was the only orca in there? Not a second. I loved it, took tons of pictures. I dreamed of going to Sea World, but never got the chance
A few years ago I saw a report about the dolphin slaughter in Japan and I was horrified. I had no idea what was going on there. I heard about Richard O‘Barry and began to follow him on Facebook. I watched The Cove. And somehow one day I found a banner there that said Watch Blackfish. Oh, a great movie about orcas. It was only then I remembered Tokitae again. I ordered the DVD, not realizing that it was not some tale of happy orcas.
Of course, it made me very sad. So I googled that orca that once made me have the, at the time, the best day of my life, Lolita and found out about her sad story. I sent Howard Garrett a friend request and still cannot believe he accepted it. Because of him, I learned about the Southern Residents and their fight for survival. Wait a minute? That is Lolita‘s family and she still cries for them every single night?! How horribly sad is this?
What do I do to help her? Just a small thing. I am a teacher and we have to talk about the USA. In the beginning, I show them pictures and YouTube films of Sea World and Miami Seaquarium. I ask, Who would like to go there one day? and their hands shoot up faster than you can imagine. They are always fascinated by orcas. Then I watch Blackfish with them. I stop the DVD every 20 minutes so that we can talk about what we have just seen. I make them do research on Tokitae and the Lummi Nation. Not very often do I see my students be affected that deeply by a topic. In the end, I ask again: who would buy a ticket to see Tokitae? Not a single hand goes up, instead, they start writing letters to Miami Seaquarium and Sea World. They are 14/15 years old and believe their letters can make a difference. I don‘t really think so, yet I do not stop their enthusiasm. That place must have received a lot of mail from all over the world in the past 49 years and nothing has changed. But I hope my students will never buy a ticket to any place that keeps dolphins or whales, not for themselves, not for their kids. But coming back to Tokitae… please… do not let her die in that tank, she has to see her family again. Let‘s get her out of there!
– Silvia Priemer
Tokitae, you have changed my life! I’ve always cared about animals, always hoped for a better world where animal abuse didn’t exist or the perpetrators were justly punished. But when I heard your story, I was so moved by your tenacity and your strength. I realized that I wasn’t doing enough, that I could do far more. I’ve supported your cause at demos and the rights of cetaceans, I’ve become a moderator for a large Facebook page highlighting everything ocean-related and I’ve switched to a plant-based diet. I want to do more and knowing the battle you face every day, I know I will, because nothing could be harder than living your life. Stay strong, Tokitae. I am with you.
– Mercedes MacFarlane
Lonely and in despair
Orphaned
Lovely and LOVED, she is so very loved!
Innocent, this poor, unfortunate sentient being has done nothing wrong; she doesn’t deserve this “life”
Trapped in a Tiny Tank
ALONE, all by herself IN A TINY TANK
I think about Tokitae often but sometimes must stop because I become grief stricken. I feel helpless, I’m at a loss what to do when, in the eyes of the law, she is considered property. As far as the law is concerned, she is no different than a pair of shoes, you own them and can do with them whatever you want. Many nights, just before I fall asleep, I find my thoughts are back with her in that pathetic tiny tank she’s being held captive. I want to go there, swoop her up into the air and TAKE HER HOME! What are we to do?
– Ves Ranis
I visited the Miami Seaquarium frequently as a small child in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I remember seeing two big killer whales performing in a tiny tank. Then one day there was just Lolita. No one mentioned what happened to the other orca or even acknowledged he was ever there. I remember the trainer insinuating that Lolita was rescued from the polluted and dangerous wild where surely, she would have died. I was in complete awe of her beauty, her intelligence, and mostly her playful personality. I remember thinking she must only be in this tank to perform the shows, this tank is just way to small. There must be a bigger back pool or underground tunnels leading out to Flipper’s Lake or Biscayne Bay (I was like 6). No way they keep her in this tank all alone all the time. That would be cruel. How can an organization that rescues and releases sea turtles be cruel?
I now have 2 small children of my own that are obsessed with marine life. Last year my 4-year-old daughter begged me to take her to see killer whales. We live in Miami. I should have known better. I hung my head in shame as I drove past the protesters. I walked thru their newly constructed fancy facade entrance. When I saw the brand-new Disney style gift shop compared to the dirty, outdated and dilapidated condition of the animal enclosures I started to get angry. The MSQ blatantly prioritizes money over animal welfare. But nothing could prepare me for how I felt when I saw Lolita, 40 years later, in that same barren lifeless tank. Nothing has improved for her. Nothing had even changed! Not a rock to rub on. Heartbreak is an understatement. The realization of how much she has suffered for so long knocked the wind out of me. She looked catatonic, insanely depressed. I felt sick to my stomach. The existence she is forced to endure is one of excruciating loneliness and boredom. I was so upset I couldn’t breathe, my vision got blurry and i ran out of there without even letting my kids see her. This was before I even knew about how she was captured. I don’t understand how everyone who sees her doesn’t completely freak out like I did.
Since that day I have been voraciously researching Lolita’s story, her release plan, and cetacean captivity. I learned the details of her violent capture and educated myself about her awesome family, the Southern Residents. Her mother is still alive! I was furious. Furious at the insufferable injustice that has been done to Lolita, and to the Southern Residents. It’s a violation of nature! Furious at the Miami Seaquarium’s despicable audacity to keep such a magnificent, sentient being in such a pathetic prison cell for so long. A punishment fit for murderers and child molesters. Lolita’s only crime is that she is awesome and people will pay money to see her. Since that day I have not been able to feel at ease, knowing that this cruelty beyond comprehension has been allowed to continue. I think about her at night, after the park workers have gone home to their families, floating motionlessly in silence all alone, night after night, year after year, and I can’t stop crying. I don’t know how she has survived. Her strength is incredible. I believe that she is holding on to hope that one day, after dutifully performing for 49 years, the MSQ will give her the ultimate reward and let her go home. We need to make this happen. We can’t let her die in that awful tank. She deserves to see her Mom again. We need to right this terrible wrong and get her home where she belongs. She has suffered enough.
– Elizabeth Bustamante Valerius
I can see her slowly lowered into the sea after the long trip home. Surprised, & shocked, but looking up and seeing a trusted face or two, she knows she is no longer in the tiny pool, and she’s curious, and maybe a little anxious also.
She asks for a little food to comfort her so feels safe, also she likes it when she requests something, she gets it, just because. She can hear other wildlife, humpbacks, seals, and sea lions, much life below her as well.
She can feel the rhythm of the sea on her face, she swims a bit, much farther than she could in the tank, she notices right away. She takes a swim but only a short distance at first. She swims to the kelp beds, and has memories of them, she lets the kelp rub her skin, and loves how they feel. She calls out, maybe a bit out of practice so she tries a few more times.
She breaches, and spy hops to check out her new surroundings. Her family heard her calls, and after a little while, she hears them calling back. She’s a bit excited, and, scared, and curiously most of all, but they come close and she knows she has no fear now.
It’s her family.
Each day she remembers who she is more and more. They speak back and forth. After all these years they speak, and she sees her mother. She wonders where this place has been? Soon she no longer thinks of the place with the small tank. No more performances, ever. Those days are over now and she knows every minute of every day is hers to decide. Even if she isn’t comfortable to swim free, all 3 pods meet at her net to see her, and chat, and she chats back. Recalling the language she hasn’t used in so long but remembers like it was yesterday.
She is content, to feel the sea, hear her family, and all the natural sounds. To be fed if she asks, or to go foraging with her family if she would like that too. She is completely content to no longer swim in circles, or do tricks, and remembers even more than before she was never meant to do that.
She is good now.
Content to hear her family. Content to decide to play, explore, socialize, or not, feel the kelp beds again…she gets to decide. Its a little unusual at first, but she likes it.
“Finally, I thought they had forgotten me, and who I really am”, but none of us had, neither had she, and certainly her family didn’t forget. They thought by keeping her in such pitiful surroundings controlled with food, and those pesky dolphins she shared her small space with that she may actually forget that she is a killer whale. A SOUTHERN RESIDENT KILLER WHALE at that.
How dare they. I won’t have any feelings toward them any longer if I can just see her taste freedom again. Thanks to whoever had this idea. If we believe it, visualize it, and speak out loud it will happen.
– Teresa Young
My story begins as a very young child. The first memory of me falling in love with Orcas was when my parents took me to see the movie “Orca”. From that moment on I was completely infatuated with killer whales.
One year as a surprise my parents took me to the MSQ I had no idea I was about to see not one but TWO killer whales up close. I will never forget the feelings I felt and how exciting it was to see two magnificent creatures in that close proximity to me. Looking thru the observation window seeing how massive and curious Hugo was. Little did I know as a young 7-year old that these whales were suffering the most unimaginable torture that no human could comprehend.
The following year we went to visit them again. The day we visited I noticed that something seemed very off with Hugo. He was not doing any tricks and he was staying in the back of the tank behind the island. I was so heartbroken that something was wrong. A few weeks after that day Hugo was dead. I remember my dad bringing me the Miami Herald so I could see the picture on the front page” Hugo the killer whale is dead” I am now in my late 40s and I still have the original paper clipping from that day. We went and saw Lolita a few more times over the years and I always had the dream to become a whale trainer. As I became older I realized how painful and how terrible a life that beautiful animal must go through every day.
Never a day off, never a taste of freedom when the ocean is less than a mile from her tank, never seeing her family again.
It’s so important that we all do our part to insure this generation understands that captivity is cruel. It’s NOT ok and we have come along way from where we were in the 70s when we had no idea the effects that captivity would have on these amazing, gentle animals. It’s time we erase the pain of the past and move forward into a hopeful and captivity free future. I will do everything I can in my power to ensure this. I am a walking Billboard for Orcas. I have multiple tattoos, wear “Free Lolita ” bracelets and have my entire SUV covered in Orca stickers as well as Orcaballs. We have to inspire and educate. Having those stickers on my car opens up doors for so many conversations. inform and Educate. It’s our responsibility as humans to do what we can to end captivity forever.
– Amie Carr
I have lived in Spain for many years,I have always loved whales and dolphins with a passion. The past year I have been seeing many photos on social media about orca John Coe, and I fell in love. I started reading and watching whatever I could on captive sea mammals and that is where I read Lolita’s story.
I have always taught my children to respect animals and that no animal should be kept in captivity. Need I say that both children support my feelings. We are truly mesmerized by these beautiful mammals and have fallen in love totally. I am proactive in social media all the time and support all the relevant projects.
This poor girl’s story along with Tilikum’s, Morgan’s, Hugo’s and many many more are heartbreaking and the tanks need to be emptied, these mammals deserve so much more. Lolita is a beautiful girl and needs to be retired, she has a family and it breaks my heart to think about how she is living. This must end.
I will never ever buy a ticket, I will always be proactive and I will always speak out for Lolita and others who can’t. My children already know the truth, which I’m thankful for. If we don’t teach the next generation about this cruelty we stand no chance.
I believe schools should have people going in teaching children in small groups about animals in captivity, fox hunting, bullfighting ect..this is the way forward.
– Angelena Wildsmith
Thinking about Tokitae is difficult. The profound sadness that I feel about her life situation is overwhelming. She also helps me put my life into perspective. The grace with which she has adapted to the boundaries imposed upon her is inspiring and when I feel that my psychological challenges are insurmountable – I compare my experience to her daily life. Her agency has been removed – mine has not.
I will keep fighting for her, even though it feels as if nothing is going to change. I pray that we can reach critical mass or that somehow her plight will reach the right ears and a change in fortune can occur. Toki’s isolation and neglect cannot be tolerated and I hold onto the belief that we can free her from her servitude and imprisonment.
I will continue to work for the day when we transform our relationship with the Earth and the magical creatures that we share this planet with. Tokitae is a spiritual being and her quality of life is more important than any profit, job or experience that any human could have to exploit her.
– Traci Knight
Dear Tokitae,
I’ve asked myself a hundred thousand times what you might say if I spoke Orca or you spoke Human. And the answer is always the same. I imagine that first you’d ask why. How could I answer that when there is no good reason why? Education was the reason they gave and we learned absolutely nothing about the natural, wild you. We did learn that captivity makes you depressed, anxious, lonely, suicidal, psychotic and very unhealthy. We learned that with enough food deprivation we can get you to do things wholly unnatural to your species. We learned nothing and educated no one, but filled the bank accounts of a select few to overflowing.
The second thing I think you’d ask is how long? How long are we going to hold you against your will and away from your family? If it were up to me, dear Tokitae, I would release you today, no matter the cost, no matter the consequences to the humans that hold you captive.
The third thing I think you’d ask is what I would do if it were me being held in a concrete pool too small for my length, too shallow to allow me to dive and do what I was born to do. What would I do if my family was taken away and even though I still call to them they never answer? I think I would do exactly as you, float listlessly, drive myself crazy with worry, and yearn for a peace that never comes.
What would I say to you? I would ask you if you want to go home. I’d ask you if you think it’s worth it to take a chance on letting you live free if only for a moment. I think you’d say yes, a moment of wonderful is better than a lifetime of what you’ve suffered.
I’d say I’m sorry and I’m ashamed to be part of the human race. I’d say that what we have done and allowed to be done to you and your kind is unforgivable and we deserve no mercy. I’d say that we have no concept of family or of living in harmony with nature. I’d say that we deserve everything awful that comes our way for what we have done to you.
I’d say that we are flawed in mind and soul. I’d say there are still many who believe in doing what’s right for you and your kind. I’d say that I will not give up the fight until every last one of you is free at sea – where you belong.
– Teresa Gravlin
