Tokitae, also known as Lolita or Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut, the last surviving southern resident killer whale in captivity, died in Florida on Friday afternoon, the Miami Seaquarium said.
Tokitae, believed to be around 57 years old, was taken from her family in Whidbey Island's Penn Cove in 1970. Ocean Sun, or L25, is one of the orca's closest relatives and believed to be Tokitae's mother. She is still alive.
Over the last two days, Tokitae "started exhibiting serious signs of discomfort," the Seaquarium wrote on social media. The aquarium said along with the Friends of Toki medical team, it began immediate, aggressive treatment. "Despite receiving the best possible medical care, she passed away Friday afternoon from what is believed to be a renal condition."
"I am just totally heartbroken for so many reasons. It was so close, everyone was rallying around her to get home," said orca researcher Deborah Giles. "I just wish she could have made it to her home waters. For even one day."
The Miami Seaquarium, which was recently purchased by The Dolphin Co., entered an agreement in March with Friends of Toki, a Florida nonprofit, to return Tokitae to an ocean sanctuary in the northwest.
Just a few days ago, Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, the son of Ken Balcomb, chronicler of the southern resident orcas, wrote in the Journal of the San Juans that after decades of effort, the last surviving captive southern resident orca may be coming home soon.
Preparations were underway for Tokitae's return, including getting her used to a sling to move her from her tank. Her health had improved, and she was energetic.
"The naysayers say, 'well, she's just going to die in her natural environment,'" said Jay Julius, former chair of the Lummi Nation and president of nonprofit Se'Si'Le. "Well, now look. I'm one who would much rather die next to family than in a prison cell and this is what happened. That's her reality."
A spokesperson for Friends of Toki said the organization had begun meeting with federal agencies, leaders of tribal nations and Washington state to begin coordinating her return to the Salish Sea.
The Lhaq'temish (Lummi) people's relationship with the southern residents is apparent in their language and culture. Over the years, Lummi Nation has led campaigns to free the orca, also known by her Lummi name, Sk'aliCh'elh-tenaut.
"She is one of us. She is a Lummi leader," said Lummi Nation Chair Tony Hillaire. "She got the whole world's attention, and brought us all together. Right now we are in a time of sadness but also this is a time of celebration of her life. We are thankful for the prayer warriors, the elders who are guiding us through this hard time. She gets to be with the ancestors now, so this is also a good day."
Raynell Morris Squil-le-he-le, of the Lummi Nation, said she was boarding a plane for Miami to be with the whale, and insist she come home at last. "She has had enough. She deserves to be laid to rest.
"I leave in the morning to be sure they understand that she needs to be brought home," Morris said. "I want to be with her. We don't leave our people when they pass, we don't leave them alone."
Once home, she will be treated as the relative she is, Morris said. "We want to put her to rest the way we do our people, so she is free."
Eduardo Albor, CEO of The Dolphin Co, said on social media he is committed to bringing her home.
Earlier this week the Seaquarium sent an update about Tokitae, saying her pool had received $500,000 worth of improvements and was cleaned three times a week. She received up to 120 pounds of salmon, herring, capelin and squid each day, and had interactive time with trainers "that keep her physically and mentally stimulated and motivated." The death was unexpected.
"I think even the people with her day to day will be shocked by this," Giles said.
She spoke through tears from a boat Friday in the San Juan Islands where she was doing research work near L25. The publicity around Toki's possible return had boosted attention for the endangered pods, which struggle for survival against multiple threats, including inadequate food, pollution, and boat disturbance and noise that make it harder for them to hunt.
By the mid-1970s, some 270 orcas were estimated to have been captured in the Salish Sea, the transboundary waters between the U.S. and Canada. At least 12 of those orcas died during capture, and more than 50 were kept for captive display.
Terry Newby, a marine mammal researcher, remembers riding on a flatbed truck with Tokitae when she was captured, and feeling a deep connection as he tried to soothe her on the ride.
If it had happened today, Newby said, he'd have been among those protesting her capture.
"She shouldn't have been in there," he said of her tank at the Seaquarium. "She never saw her family again. She never had a shot at anything. It's a sad day."
The southern resident orcas haven't recovered from the capture era, dwindling to just 73, one of the smallest populations since the census began. In 2005, the southern residents were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and a recovery plan was finished in 2008.
A report filed by a federal veterinary medical officer in 2021 detailed multiple violations of animal care standards. Tokitae was given meager rations, fed rotten fish and forced to do high-energy jumps and tricks despite a jaw injury from fast swims, the report stated.
"It's on us," said Julius, with the Lummi Nation. "It's on all of us for buying into the bureaucracy and managing them to extinction."
"It forces us as humans to look at ourselves and ask ourselves: What the hell have we become?" Julius continued. "We capture, we kidnap and drive to extinction to make profits."
Jim Irsay, owner of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, had agreed to fund Tokitae's journey home. On Friday, he said he was heartbroken.
"Her story captured my heart, just as it did millions of others," Irsay said in a statement.
Howard Garrett, of Orca Network, has worked 30 years to try and bring Toki home and was devastated by the news. "I'm in shock and don't know how to handle this," he said.
Every report for the last several months, he said, indicated that she was in better health and spirits. "All signs pointed that she is ready to come back."
The apparent cause was a gastric problem and sudden failure, Garrett said, though that is not yet confirmed by vets attending her.
Garrett said he hoped her body would be shipped home for ceremonial burial at sea. "I sincerely hope they bring her remains back."
The sudden shattering of the dream, held for so long, to bring Tokitae home was impossible to process. "She has been the essence of my life, to bring her home and make her happy. Now it will not happen."
A vigil in the orca's memory will be held at the Langley Whale Center on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
A celebration of her life will be held on Sunday, Aug. 27, from noon to 3 p.m. at Jackson Beach Park in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.
The public is welcome to both events.
It is no coincidence that a special unveiling of a story pole carved for her by the Lummi Nation had already been scheduled for that day — or that members of the J, K, and L pods were all present around San Juan Island the night before she passed.
"I'm angry she didn't get to touch fins with her family, to be prayed to the other side. That's what we do," Julius said. "But that," he said of the whales, "gives me hope."
