A killer whale trapped in captivity for 50 miserable years could take two years to move in a highly risky operation, according to animal campaigners.
Lolita, a 57-year-old orca, has been held captive at Miami Seaquarium, Florida, US, since 1970 after she was dragged from the waters in Washington at just 4-years-old. She was forced to perform in front of millions of paying punters for decades but the whale's health has recently deteriorated.
Her story has captured the hearts of people across the the globe after an agreement was reached last week to release the animal back into waters.
It follows a lengthy campaign by animal rights campaigners to set the 7,000 pound whale free after she was given the green light to move after the Miami Seaquarium, along with Florida non-profit Friends of Lolita and owner of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts Jim Irsay, agreed to the move.
However, Lolita can only be moved until she's deemed healthy enough as she would need to be transferred onto a stretcher.
The whale will then be transported in a tank full of fresh water, but not sea water, as the salt water could ruin the plane if the liquid spilt.
Lolita will be lifted up by a crane and placed onto a truck and then driven to a cargo plane.
Once she's in Washington she will be loaded onto a barge and lowered by a crane into her new home.
The killer whale will receive round-the-clock care with the process set to be an extremely delicate one.
But animal experts believe this process could take two years as killer whales are endangered species, and permits will have to be obtained by Florida and Washington in order to move Lolita, which could take a lengthy period of time.
Washington's Department of Natural Resources will pick the site where she will be freed.
Charles Vinick, executive director of the Whale Sanctuary Project, told the Miami Herald: "The first objective is to provide her the highest quality of life we can."
Raynell Morris, board member of Florida non-profit corporation Friends of Toki, believes the whale must be returned to her family as soon as possible.
She said: "Until she’s returned to her family, our family is broken. When she comes home, the web of life will be repaired and restored, and our people will be repaired and restored.”
Animal rights organisation PETA have long demanded Lolita's return to the wild after "five miserable decades in a cramped tank."
PETA Vice President and General Counsel for Animal Law Jared Goodman said in a statement: "If Lolita is finally returned to her home waters, there will be cheers from around the world.
"Including from PETA, which has pursued several lawsuits on Lolita’s behalf and battered the Seaquarium with protests demanding her freedom for years.
“If the Seaquarium agrees to move her, it’ll offer her long-awaited relief after five miserable decades in a cramped tank and send a clear signal to other parks that the days of confining highly intelligent, far-ranging marine mammals to dismal prisons are done and dusted."
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava defended the county's treatment of Lolita during the controversy over the animal's fate.
She told local media that recent independent reports stated Lolita is being cared for by Miami-Dade's “finest marine veterinarian experts.”
She added: “As long as she has been in our care, she has been cared for."
