THE Miami Seaquarium has been ordered to shut down following the death of the “world’s loneliest orca” Lolita.
The old-Florida style tourist attraction is one of the state’s largest aquatic theme parks but has received an eviction notice following its latest high-profile animal death.
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The company has been told to vacate the waterfront property it leases from Miami-Dade County by April 21.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava cited a “long and troubling history of violations” in a lease termination notice sent to the chief executive officer of The Dolphin Company, which owns the Seaquarium.
In a news conference on Thursday, Levine Cava said: “They have been the subject of continuous violations, including decaying animal habitats, lack of veterinary staff and a lack of other experienced staff.
“Our number one priority continues to be the safety and wellbeing of the animals.”
In January, the county had advised the park they were looking to terminate their lease following a review from the US Department of Agriculture, who regulate the treatment and care of captive animals.
Seaquarium officials had then sent a letter to Levine Cava inviting her to visit the park so she could witness the animals’ wellbeing for herself.
But CEO of The Dolphin Company Eduardo Albor, who showed up at the news conference, told reporters the mayor “has never come to the Miami Seaquarium in two years.”
He said he doesn’t understand why the mayor has refused invitations to the Seaquarium.
However, Levine Cava said representatives of the county’s parks department had made regular visits to the park over the past year and a half.
“The current state of the Miami Seaquarium is unsustainable and unsafe,” she said.
The Seaquarium could still fight the eviction but a judge would need to declare it in compliance with their lease, report the Associated Press.
Albor said he plans to let his lawyers respond to the eviction notice.
“I will just let my lawyers defend our rights,” he said. “I will just let our lawyers defend our rights because it is offensive to speak about my people.”
Seaworld’s eviction notice came after a series of federal inspections found multiple problems at the tourist attraction, including unsafe and structurally deficient buildings.
Levine Cava said they had created “dangerous conditions” for the animals, which in many cases had “resulted in injury”.
That includes the cramped tank that held Lolita the orca in captivity for the majority of her life, which measured 80ft by 35ft and was 20ft deep.
With orcas capable of swimming up to 100 miles a day and diving to depths of 850ft in the wild, the restrictions forcefully imposed upon Lolita were drastic.
Heartbreaking video had previously shown Lolita swimming in the same depressing pattern all day long in her tiny tank.
Sped-up footage shows Lolita, captured in 1970, lightly wiggling her body in a corner of the concrete tank.
On the other side, Li’i, the pacific white-sided dolphin captured in 1988 who she shared her tank with, is seen swimming laps endlessly.
Animal rights activists had sought Lolita’s freedom for years from the Florida aquarium, which has been referred to as an “abusement park”.
The Dolphin Company, based in Mexico, had agreed to help move Lolita to a natural sea pen in the Pacific Northwest when it took over ownership of the Seaquarium in 2022.
Lolita, also known as Tokitae, or Toki, stopped performing shows at the Seaquarium that same year.
She died just months later in August 2023 at the age of 57 after surviving decades of captivity in the smallest tank of its kind.
A necropsy cited kidney failure as the cause of Lolita’s death.
The necropsy also found Lolita suffered from acute and chronic bronchointerstitial pneumonia and renal degeneration.
She also developed a chronic condition of the heart, implying the degeneration of the cardiac valves.
Dr Naomi Rose, senior scientist in marine mammal biology for the Animal Welfare Institute’s Marine Life Program, praised authorities for finally “taking action” against Miami Seaquarium.
“This run-down facility has been a blight on Miami for too long,” she said.
“We hope the zoo and aquarium community steps up to the plate to ensure all of the animals — the mammals, birds, fish — find acceptable homes in US facilities.”
Elsewhere, stunning footage has captured the moment a 60-year-old grandmother orca hunts and kills a great white shark.
The beast, named Sophia, was captured in an incredibly rare video unleashing a fatal attack on its unsuspecting victim off the coast of South Africa.
Tragic Lolita’s timeline
Lolita enjoyed four years of natural freedom before she was captured and spent the rest of her life trapped in captivity.
1970 – At the age of four, Lolita was abducted from her family and ocean home alongside six other orcas during the largest capture of wild orcas in history.
She was sold to The Miami Seaquarium that same year for just $6,000 (£4,600).
1980 – Lolita’s tankmate, Hugo, dies after repeatedly ramming his head into the tank wall, leaving her without company for the rest of her years.
2021 – The Dolphin Company, based in Mexico, takes over Seaquarium and initially agrees to help move Lolita to a natural sea pen in the Pacific Northwest.
2022 – The Miami Seaquarium agrees to no longer include her in shows due to an agreement with the US government.
March 2023 – Lolita’s longstanding campaigners secure her return to the Pacific Ocean and to her ageing mother.
The complex operation would involve flying her 3,000 miles to Washington state, where she will be taught how to live in the wild again in an ocean sanctuary.
August 2023 – Lolita dies just months later at the age of 57 after surviving decades of captivity in the smallest tank of its kind.
She never made it out to freedom.
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