LUMMI NATION, Wash. — Members of the Lummi Tribe may sue to get a captive orca returned to local waters, as both sides argue over the whale’s health.
A Lummi elder tells KOMO that Tokitae “needs to be back home, with family,” and members of the tribe say they’ll sue to get the 50-year-old orca back if the Miami Seaquarium does not release her.
The Seaquarium says bringing her back to the Pacific Northwest after she was taken in 1970 would harm not only her, but also her pod.
Kenneth Balcomb with the Center for Whale Research disagrees, and questions whether the Miami Seaquarium’s refusal to release the whale has anything to do with her health.
Members of Lummi Tribe say at this point, they are only announcing their intent to sue, but they hope to have a sit down with the Seaquarium.
The tribe has staged a demonstration at the park in the past.