‘She was an amazing animal': Former trainer reacts to killer whale Lolita's death at Miami Seaquarium

Following the death of killer whale Lolita, also known as Toki or Tokitae, at the Miami Seaquarium on August 18, NBC6 spoke with one of the beloved orca's former trainers, Edward Akromas.

What was your initial reaction to Lolita's death?

"It was extremely shocking," Akromas said.

Akromas said he worked as a Senior Animal Training Specialist with Miami Seaquarium from 2007 to 2014. He points to a news release from the Miami Seaquarium on August 15, just three days before her death, saying Lolita was doing well. The release said, in part, “Our beloved Lolita is very stable and as good as she can be at 50 years of age.”

"I was shocked. I was stunned. I had so many questions,” he said.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the average lifespan for female killer whales is about 50 years but they can live up to at least 90 years in the wild.

Lolita had several health challenges in recent years, despite the most recent updates mentioning improvements in her health.

Friends of Toki, a non-profit organization that had been partnering with the Miami Seaquarium for her planned release and that helped supervise her care, shared monthly updates about Lolita’s health and welfare on its website. They show Lolita had been battling an infection for over a year.

In the last one, dated July 31, veterinarians noted her “bloodwork remain unremarkable.” It goes to say, “she is still fighting infection, but we are seeing continued incremental improvements to each of the parameters we’re monitoring.”

Friends of Toki did not respond to our specific questions about Lolita’s health.

The Miami Seaquarium, which was acquired by the Dolphin Company in March 2022, told NBC6 in a statement.  

“Under the care of an amazing team with unprecedented experience, Toki’s health has improved over prior year, in particular for her age and health history prior to 2022,” a Miami Seaquarium spokesperson told NBC6. “For any comment on what led to her rapid decline, as any animal care professional would responsibly do, we will await the official reports and not speculate.”

But the day of Lolita’s death, the Miami Seaquarium posted on X, what they believed could have led to her death “…she passed away Friday afternoon (August 18) from what is believed to be a renal condition.”

from what is believed to be a renal condition. Toki was an inspiration to all who had the fortune to hear her story and especially to the Lummi nation that considered her family. Those who have had the privilege to spend time with her will forever remember her beautiful spirit.

— Miami Seaquarium (@MiamiSeaquarium) August 18, 2023

The Miami Seaquarium believes Lolita may have died from a renal condition. What are your thoughts?

“I was very thrown back by how they automatically knew or assumed what she passed from,” Akromas responded. "You don’t say what the condition was that the animal passed from until that necropsy from an outside source comes back -- to determine exactly what happened, because you don’t want to make assumptions.”

Akromas and others who trained or oversaw Lolita’s care at some point have also publicly shared concerns about her diet. 

In the Aug. 15 release, Miami Seaquarium officials said Lolita was "eating well," which includes up to 115 pounds of salmon, herring, capelin and squid each day.

"They said she was consuming 115 pounds. I said wow," Akromas said. "To most people that sounds like a lot, but to her – that is a very low volume of food intake.”

Akromas, who last worked with Lolita almost a decade ago, explained that at some point she had a 150-200-pound diet to meet her renal needs.

“I have questions – is she eating 115 pounds because that’s all she was eating? Maybe she was ill and not feeling good, so that’s where she maxed out – or was that where they kept her diet?" Akromas said. 

Akromas points to previous U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection reports that noted cuts in the diets of some of the animals at the Seaquarium.

On June 08, 2021, the USDA cited the Seaquarium during an inspection that found, in part, Lolita “had been maintained on a fish diet of 160 pounds that was decreased to 130 pounds by the Training Curator, over the objection of the Attending Veterinarian.” It goes to say, “the veterinary concern was that Toki (Lolita) historically has seasonal abnormalities in blood work and behavior and her alkaline phosphatase was quite low (indicative of overall health and nutrition status).”

At the time of the inspection, the Seaquarium was owned by a different company. A USDA inspection conducted a month later found the Seaquarium had implemented changes and was  “providing adequate veterinary care.”

“At the time of her death, Lolita was not being exhibited by the Miami Seaquarium and was therefore not subject to regulation under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA),” a USDA spokesperson explained. Lolita was not part of USDA inspections since 2022.

NBC6 asked the Miami Seaquarium and Friends of Toki specifically about changes in Lolita’s diet.

The Miami Seaquarium’s spokesperson told NBC6 in a statement, “Regarding Toki eating well in the past weeks, her diet has been rich in nutrients and appropriate for her appetite and the amount of exercise she was engaged in since she retired from daily educational programs. This is reported by independent health and welfare assessments prepared by the world’s foremost experts in marine mammal care; highly esteemed veterinarians respected throughout the global animal welfare community. Under the care of an amazing team with unprecedented experience, Toki’s health has improved over prior year, in particular for her age and health history prior to 2022.”

In the most recent health update on the Friends of Toki’s site, veterinarians stated her appetite was “steady,” noting that she experienced “a bout of abdominal/stomach discomfort.” It goes to say there were in the process of slowly increasing the amount of squid in her daily diet.  

How do you look back on your time with Toki?

"She was an amazing animal. She was super unique. Her being under human care and captivity for so long, she inherited some human traits,” Akromas shared.

“She was a very unique individual. She was very gentle. We could dive into the water with her at any given time and never had to worry about her," he continued. "She would often pick us up on her back to kind of take us around for a ride around the pool."

"I worked with many animals over my career that could not care at all about human interaction and she was one that I think sought it out, in a way," he added.

Akromas also shared more about Toki's gentle nature -- and her unique relationship with the Pacific White-sided dolphins -- which would normally be a prey animal for her.

When trainers were giving out ice -- Toki would always let a baby dolphin eat ice before her, Akromas added.