Please support proposal to list Lolita as ‘endangered’ by March 28th

Lolita, the lone female orca held in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium in Florida, may have a chance to step closer to freedom but needs your support this week – the deadline is Friday, March 28th.

Following a petition, which WDC supported, to include Lolita as a protected member of the endangered southern resident orca population, with the aim of extending to her the protected status afforded to members of Lolita’s family in the wild, the US government is now inviting comments on the proposal to end Lolita’s exclusion, as a captive member of her population, from the endangered listing. Lolita is the sole survivor of wild orca captures in Washington State waters in the 1960s and 70s. The wild population’s endangered status is actually a partial result of these captures.

Anyone can comment to support Lolita’s inclusion in her wild population’s endangered listing. It is hoped that a successful listing will encourage the Miami Seaquarium to allow Lolita to leave the tank where she is currently held and travel home to Washington State waters, where a carefully devised retirement plan offers her a better future. The alternative is for her to die in captivity.

HOW TO ADD YOUR COMMENT

To support Lolita you need to add your comment on the page at this web address:

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0056-1841

You can also help our efforts by adopting an orca. Thank you.