I'm here at the Miami's Aquarium,
where tokate has spent the last
53 years living in one of the
world's smallest orca tanks.
When you've lived in Miami your entire life,
you know there is an orca.
They are named Lolita.
For more than half a century,
families like the Grimaldi flock
to the Miami's aquarium. He's sort
of like part of the community
they bring you when here,
when you're a little kid, all
to get a glimpse of their star
attraction, Lolita the killer Whale.
Today we know her as Tokatay.
Then you bring your children
until one day you're enlighted
and you're like, wait a second,
it's it's all wrong.
Over the past decade, awareness
about Tokatay's deteriorating living
conditions bubbled to the surface in Miami,
revealing a sad truth behind the
star of many happy home movies.
But you don't know.
It's obviously the conditions
that this beautiful Lolita has
lived in for so many years.
There's no home.
There's no time out.
There's no let me get some rest,
let me relax.
That is her entire her entire life.
She can't even.
Stay away or hide from the scorching
sun in in South Florida. In
2015, Sylvia Grimaldi connected
with animal rights activist
Alejandro Ariel Dentino while
protesting outside this aquarium.
Yeah, I feel so sad because when
you see how she lives, you know
the tank is 3 times her body side.
You know she can swim deep,
she can do anything. Toki's medical
records painted dire picture of life
inside this aquarium with the 57
year old orca living in dirty water,
being fed rotten fish and forced to
perform for crowds despite injuries.
Her story broke my heart.
So from that moment I thought
I had to do something.
Well, the protests went
on for several years.
It wasn't until 2018.
That momentum behind the fight
to free Toki got a huge boost
thanks to the Lummi Nation. I
start supporting them and I can't
believe just four years later just
we are close to achieve this vote.
We are very, very close. This is
we change the history,
you know, it's unbelievable.
Thank you so much for joining us.
On March 30th, 2023,
Tokate's new corporate owners,
the Dolphin Company,
made history by signing a
pledge agreeing to the orcas
return to Washington Water.
More than just moving Lolita to a
place where she will be better,
she will become a symbol for
us on the future generations.
Now, are there no risks at all?
Of course there are some risks.
There are risks today for anyone of us,
wherever we are.
But is this an opportunity to bring her home?
Yes, it is. The plan to return
Toketa to Washington was developed
under the guidance of Charles Vinick
with the group Friends of Toke.
First, Toketa would be coaxed into a
custom made stretcher and lifted out
of her aquarium with the crane into a
small container filled with ice water.
From there onto a cargo plane for a six
hour flight to the Bellingham Airport.
Next, Toki will be loaded onto a
barge to transport her to ancestral
waters in the Salish Sea.
There, she'll be put into an underwater
sea pen at a private location.
She'll receive round the clock,
medical care and feedings.
She's expected to live in that
sea pen for the rest of her life.
She is active, she is responsive,
She's just full of life.
And she has demonstrated a will
to live that, frankly, almost no
other whale has ever demonstrated.
5657 years old, ups and downs.
Vinick's team is already working to
secure approval for Toki's release from
the several required federal agencies.
If approved, those helping fund the
move say she could be home by the end
of 2023, but only if she
remains in good health.
All of this kind of life
force all gathered together
to bring her home. And it's a tremendous
opportunity that we have to work
as expeditiously as possible
to bring it to fruition.
So we'll just go,
like, right around here.
Back in Miami, Toki is no longer
on display to the public.
Scully, Chak Tanade. But a wall
and some fencing won't keep out.
We're here to tell you how much you
mean to us and how much you mean
to the world. Messages of love.
You're so beautiful, girl, and your
day is coming for the journey ahead.
The entire world is praying for you.
Toki Tai. She's a native sister.
She's a salish sea daughter.
She represents everything
native and everything pure.
There's no what if or what if
something happens along the way.
She is going home and period.
Well, the cost of Toki's transport
as well as the construction of
her C pen will be covered by
Indiana Colts owner Jim Ursay and
some estimate that cost could be
upwards of $20 million in Miami.
PJ Randawa, KING5 News.