Veterinarians share health update on famed killer whale Lolita

Famed killer whale Lolita, also known as Tokitae or Toki, is being cared for by veterinarians as she recovers from a serious illness, according to a press release from the non-profit group Sacred Sea on Thursday.

Lolita was examined on May 13 and 14 at the Miami Seaquarium, where she had been performing twice-a-day shows for more than 50 years until earlier this year.

Veterinarians reviewed Lolita’s medical records and noted that she suffered an acute illness in the period between late December 2021 into March 2022, just prior to the change of management of the Miami Seaquarium from Palace Entertainment to MS Leisure and around the time that Lolita stopped performing.

“This was a very serious health event,” Dr. James McBan and Dr. Stephanie Norman said. “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.”

Based on the two-day examination period in May, the veterinarians say that Lolita is returning to normal hematology and chemistry values and that they hope to see her bloodwork stabilize “within the next few weeks.”

They noted that Lolita is receiving high-quality care from the team at the Miami Seaquarium. “She remains on appropriate medication with the plan to discontinue the current therapy once blood values show stability,” Dr. McBan and Dr. Norman said.

The veterinarians’ assessment of Lolita did find low-grade anemia, which they say appears separate from the recent acute episode, but a further assessment of that won’t happen until Lolita fully recovers from the acute blood issue.

The doctors plan to continue monitoring Lolita’s health in consultation with the team at the Miami Seaquarium and perform on-site health and behavior assessments on a regular basis, with public updates issued on a monthly basis.

“[Lolita] is a unique animal with a unique story who is loved and cared for by the team at Miami Seaquarium and loved by people the world over,” the doctors said. “She is now progressing nicely and we are committed to working collaboratively with her medical, husbandry, and oversite teams to endure her continued welfare.”

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