Independent Veterinarians Complete Their First Assessment of Tokitae (Lolita) at Miami Seaquarium

On May 13th and 14th at the Miami Seaquarium, veterinarians Dr. Stephanie Norman and Dr. Jim McBain initiated an independent assessment of physical and mental health of the orca Tokitae (generally known by her stage name “Lolita”).

The team was invited by Friends of Lolita, a new non-profit organization formed by philanthropist and environmentalist Pritam Singh, who has committed $1 million to support Tokitae. The Dolphin Company, which is the new owner of the Miami Seaquarium, and its parent company, MS Leisure, authorized and cooperated in welcoming the veterinarians to the Seaquarium.

Whale Sanctuary Executive Director Charles Vinick is serving as a volunteer board member. (In the 1990s, Charles managed the Keiko Project, which returned the orca who starred in the “Free Willy” movies back to his home waters off the coast of Iceland.)

The Whale Sanctuary Project continues to provide operational and logistics advice and expertise for purposes of addressing Lolita’s health and welfare needs.

Veterinarians Stephanie Norman and James McBain with Tokitae at the Miami Seaquarium.

The independent veterinarians conducting Tokitae’s health and welfare assessment are:

James McBain, DVM. Dr. McBain, Retired Vice President of Corporate Veterinary Services for SeaWorld and Busch Garden Parks, is considered a pioneering expert in marine mammal veterinary medicine and the world’s preeminent orca veterinarian.

Stephanie Norman, DVM, PhD. Dr Norman is a veterinary epidemiologist and wildlife veterinarian who has been involved in the field of animal health, disease, and conservation for more than 20 years and has served as a wildlife epidemiologist for NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service.

The team’s report

Dr McBain and Dr. Norman, who are not associated with the Dolphin Company or the Miami Seaquarium, issued a report on their work, in which they wrote:

In the course of our assessment, we reviewed the medical records of Toki’s health and behavior including the various medications she has received during the period from 2016 to the present, in addition to speaking with her medical and husbandry care staff to answer any questions we had. During the two days we were there we also observed her condition including her behavior during enrichment sessions and also while she was not engaged in enrichment behaviors, noting her responses to interactions with her environment, the training and medical staff, and her pool mate, a male Pacific white-sided dolphin.

Most importantly, we noted that, in the period beginning in late December 2021 and continuing into March 2022, just prior to the change of management of the Miami Seaquarium (MSQ) from Palace Entertainment to MS Leisure (The Dolphin Company), Toki suffered from an acute illness evidenced through her blood examinations and behavior monitoring. This was a very serious health event. Bloodwork results and responses to treatment confirmed this illness and the ongoing subsequent recovery, but they did not specifically reveal the cause of this illness.

At this time, based on our examination over the two days we were present and our review of her medical records, Toki is demonstrating return toward normal hematology and chemistry values. We hope to see indications that her blood work has stabilized within the next few weeks.

From our observation she is receiving constant and high-quality care from her MSQ veterinarian team. She remains on appropriate medication with the plan to discontinue the current therapy once blood values show stability. There is a low-grade chronic anemia that appears separate from the recent acute episode. Therapy and further diagnostic assessment will be considered once Toki shows evidence of full recovery from her recent severe illness.

Our short-term plan going forward is that we will continue to monitor her health in consultation with her MSQ veterinarian and the consulting veterinarian. We will perform on-site health and behavior assessments on a regular basis and issue public updates on a monthly basis. We anticipate that we will maintain this schedule of assessment for the next few months.

During this period, we will consult with Friends of Lolita and MSQ to assist them in evaluating all approaches for Toki’s continued welfare and quality of life. She is a unique animal with a unique story who is loved and cared for by the team at MSQ and loved by people the world over. She is now progressing nicely and we are committed to working collaboratively with her medical, husbandry, and oversite teams to ensure her continued welfare.

This health and welfare assessment is the first step in determining Tokitae’s future. The excellent news is that she is recovering well from the illness she suffered earlier this year. We are encouraged to see that The Dolphin Company has welcomed independent veterinarians to join with their medical and husbandry staff to assess and recommend approaches for her health and welfare, as well as to invite the collaboration of Friends of Lolita in considering determinations about her future.

Tokitae is the second oldest captive orca in North America and the second oldest of the Southern Resident population. Her mother, known as Ocean Sun and designated L-25, still leads the SRKW’s “L” pod.

In cooperation with the Sacred Sea Conservancy, experts from the Whale Sanctuary Project have created a responsible operational plan to bring Tokitae from the Miami Seaquarium to her home waters in the Salish Sea, should it be decided that this is the best future for her.

Here is the Media Release that was issued on June 2nd, 2022, by the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Fla.; Friends of Lolita; and The Dolphin Company:

And here is the complete report by independent veterinarians James McBain, DVM and Stephanie Norman, DVM, PhD.