The last endangered whale in captivity

After half-a-century in a tank, a beloved orca named Tokitae was about to be freed. Then her life ended, and a moment of reckoning began.

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Most of the nearly 50 southern resident orcas taken from the Pacific Northwest during the 1960s and ’70s died within the first years after their capture. One endured. Tokitae spent more than 50 years performing in the Miami Seaquarium’s “whale bowl” – the smallest orca tank in North America.

In March, a plan was announced to move her to a 10-acre netted sanctuary in the San Juan Islands, where she could live out her life in her natal waters. But months before she was due to return home, Tokitae died. What followed was a moment of reckoning.

Today on “Post Reports,” feature writer Caitlin Gibson shares Tokitae’s story and what it reveals about us.