Lolita, the oldest killer whale in any marine park, has been a captive since 1970.  She has served more time than most murderers do!  Lolita is confined at the Miami Seaquarium, where she lives in a concrete tank that is the smallest  whale enclosure in the entire United States.  Her home and her family are in Puget Sound in Washington State where she was captured.  More than twenty  years of research there has defined her family structure and that of the other resident orca  pods.  In that time we have learned that orca families remain together throughout their lives.  There is some evidence that Lolita's mother and sisters are still alive and living free.
     I have greatly mixed feelings about  the subject of whales and dolphins held as performers in the various marine parks throughout the world.  This ambivalence stems from the fact that I can see, at the same time, enormous  good  and enormous evil in the practice.  On  one hand, I see the public education and the enthusiasm that these facilities generate for cetaceans and all marine life.  I have observed the sheer joy  on children's faces and the inspiration and glow in the eyes of  those who watch the whales.
     But, personally I can not believe that we should enslave animals and teach them tricks.  The life span of whales and dolphins in captivity is less than half than that of free ranging

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