Tokitae the orca died from diseases linked to aging, necropsy says

SEATTLE — Tokitae the orca died from chronic diseases associated with aging, according to a necropsy released on Tuesday by the Miami Seaquarium.

Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, as she was named by the Lummi Nation, also known as Lolita, died on Aug. 18 in Miami, shocking the Lummi and other Washingtonians who had been working to return her to her home waters after 53 years in captivity.

Tokitae had heart valve, lung and kidney diseases, the necropsy stated. The progression of the chronic conditions ultimately led to her death, according to the report.

The necropsy began just hours after Tokitae’s death when her body was trucked from Miami to the University of Georgia, where it was cut into pieces and placed in 20 50-gallon barrels. Tony Hillaire, chairman of the Lummi Nation, said “it was a shock” that the Lummi were not consulted about the necropsy.

In late September, her ashes were returned to the Lummi Nation and scattered during a private, sacred water ceremony.

The orca’s official cause of death was listed as “due to progression of multiple chronic conditions including renal disease and pneumonia.”

She was 57.

Ted Griffin sold Tokitae to the Miami Seaquarium after taking the orca from her family in Whidbey Island’s Penn Cove in 1970.

There are 75 orcas today, about as few as when the capture era ended in 1976 by the intervention of Washington state officials who took SeaWorld to court to stop the hunts. Orca L25, the world’s oldest known orca who is still alive and possibly approaching 100 years old, is believed to be her mother.

Tokitae was the last of the southern residents still in captivity.