A Puget Sound Orca in Captivity: The Fight To Bring Lolita Home

by Sandra Pollard, David Neiwert author of "Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us (Foreword)

On August 8, 1970, the Southern Resident orcas of Puget Sound were herded into Penn Cove on Whidbey Island by explosives, spotter planes and speedboats in a coordinated effort to capture seven young whales. Between 1964 and 1976, dozens of these now-endangered orcas were torn from their home and sent to marine parks around the globe. Just over a decade later, all but one had died. This lone survivor is Tokitae, also known as Lolita, and she's spent most of her life performing at the Miami Seaquarium. For twenty years, the Orca Network has called for her release, and now the indigenous Lummi Nation, People of the Sea, have joined the fight. Author Sandra Pollard chronicles the extraordinary effort to bring Tokitae home.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Nature

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been on an orca kick (which is obvious if you have been following my recent reads), and this one caught my attention because it's part of an ongoing controversy. Lolita/Tokitae was taken from the Puget Sound when she was young, and has been performing in Florida ever since. This book follows her story, including attempts over the past few decades to have her released back to her native pod.

[Orky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly phenomenal. Required reading for anyone who cares about Tokitae and her history

[... · Rating 3 out of 5]

As of 2021, the campaign to free Lolita carries on.

While I appreciate the efforts to free Tokitae, the book itself is just too disjointed and chaotic, with quite a lot of unnecessary information randomly thrown in. I expected more about Tokitae, a more in-depth look (with interviews and such, like Colby's Orca) - but Pollard's book is mostly sourced from news that can be accessed online. Still, I think it's a decent enough read for those interested in cetacean captivity and activism.

Further reading:
Puget Sound Whales for Sale:
Beneath the Surface
Death at Seaworld
Freeing Keiko
Operation Orca
Of Orcas and Men

[Mattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pollard deserves nothing but praise for this incredibly detailed timeline of events. It's easy to follow but remains thorough. A must-read for those interested in the potential plan to release Lolita before her death in 2023.

[ian duggan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good read. Factual and informative. Again you can tell the author has a deep love for Lolita and it is carried across in her writing style. Have read both books back to back and will probably revisit them again

[Pamela Okano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of efforts up to 2019 to bring Tokitae aka Lolita back to the Salish Sea from a "seaquariam" in Miami.

[Lexi Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tokitae you deserved so much better , this book is a must read for all orca lovers especially if you love Southern Residents. So many wonderful people are mentioned in this book and fought so hard for Tokitae along with other cetaceans in captivity. It will bring out feelings of outrage, disgust, disappointment, heartbreak and sadness. The author did a phenomenal job of telling Tokitae’s life story, it was so easy and natural to feel connected to Tokitae even though she’s passed while reading it . A informative read that also captures your feelings and heart.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof, what a slog. The whole thing is written as a sort of odd mix of narrative and newspaper article intertwined. You're expected to remember people who are referenced by only their first or last name from several chapters ago and the author used terms that must be common to those with a particular interest in marine mammals, but weren't to me.