Colts owner Jim Irsay helps secure Lolita the whale’s exit from captivity after more than five decades

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Lolita, a 57-year-old whale, is set to be released from captivity at the Miami Seaquarium in the coming 18 to 24 months — and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay helped make it happen.

The Seaquarium announced on Thursday that it has decided to move Lolita, who was first captured when she was four and is believed to be the world’s oldest orca whale in captivity, out of its facility and into an ocean sanctuary in her native Pacific Northwest.

Mr Irsay, 57, teased the announcement on Twitter on Thursday morning — sharing a photograph of himself eating dinner in Miami Beach and another of the famous whale, who is also known as Tokitae or Toki.

“Dinner before today’s Lolita press conference in Miami Beach!” Mr Irsay tweeted. “Key players in the massive plan to finally FREE this 8000 lb killer whale, Lolita!!…Stay tuned as this dream unfolds in real time Filmmaker Ryan White to document every incredible step towards FREEDOM”

Mr Irsay has reportedly made a significant contribution to the fund to effort to relocate Lolita, and said in a statement reported by People that “the story of Lolita has been near and dear to my heart. I am proud — and enthusiastic — to play a role in finally returning Lolita to her native Pacific Northwest.”

The agreement to move Lolita back to the Pacific Ocean was struck between The Dolphin Company, the entity that manages the Miami Seaquarium, and Frinds of Lolita — the nonprofit organisation founded to help advocate for Lolita’s rights.

The whale, which was captured in the Pacific Ocean and transported to Florida more than a half-century ago, has struggled with various health challenges over the years but has at this point been deemed healthy enough to make the long journey north and west and transition out of captivity.

Eduardo Albor, the CEO of The Dolphin Company, said that Lolita’s wellbeing was one of the main reasons his company acquired the Miami Seaquarium in the first place.

“It has always been our commitment at The Dolphin Company that we place the highest priority on the well-being of animals, above all else,” Mr Albor said. “Finding a better future for Lolita is one the reasons that motivated us to acquire the Miami Seaquarium.”

Advocates have been campaigning for an improved quality of life for Tokitae for years. In 2021, the USDA released a report outlining how the Seaquarium had failed to properly care for the whale — leaving dirty water in her tank, failing to give her a place to shelter from the direct sun, and feeding her rotten fish that led to health problems. She has also reportedly been living in the smallest whale enclosure on the continent.

There is other evidence to hint at the brutality of life at the Seaquarium. Lolita used to share her tank with another whale, Hugo, but he died in 1980 of a brain aneurysm after repeatedly ramming himself against the walls of hte enclosure.

Little is known about the nature of the ocean sanctuary that awaits Lolita, but the Seaquarium said it hopes to release her within the next two years.