We are pleased to share the news that our relation Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (Tokitae / Lolita) has been assessed by two independent veterinarians, and that their report is now available (attached). We are so grateful to learn that she is recovering from her illness.
Hy’shqe (thank you) to The Dolphin Company, Miami-Dade Mayor Levine Cava, Commissioner Regalado and Miami-Dade County, Pritam Singh and the Friends of Lolita, the Whale Sanctuary Project, and veterinarians Dr. James McBain and Dr. Stephanie Norman for making this assessment happen in a good way. We raise our hands to Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s many supporters who amplified our long-standing call for such an evaluation and for transparency regarding her health. Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut is our relation, and it is our Xa xalh Xechnging (sacred obligation) to care for her as we would our mother, sister, or daughter.
We appreciate that her caretaking team understands that Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut has emotional and intellectual needs as well as physical needs, and that she enjoys a robust enrichment program of activities that entertain and engage her. We believe that the next step in her care is to bring elements of her Sk’aliCh’elh Schelangen (her Southern Resident orca culture and way of being) into that enrichment program.
“She is our Salish Sea daughter,” said Squil-le-he-le Raynell Morris, one of the Lhaq’temish matriarchs who has led Sacred Sea’s campaign to bring Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut home. “We want to reintroduce her to elements of her home and her culture. The sights, smells, and sounds of the Salish Sea will help connect her to who she truly is, and will help heal her.”
In addition to being part of an enrichment program, Sk’aliCh’elh Schelangen would also be a next step in conditioning her for a transition to the Salish Sea.
“We want her to be as physically healthy as she can be here at Miami Seaquarium, and hy’shqe to all of her care-takers,” Squil-le-he-le said. "But she can never fully be herself in a concrete tank. She needs to be home so that she can be whole.”
Media contact: Julie Trimingham at 360-305-5880
Attached: Health and Welfare Assessment of Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, as submitted by Dr. James McBain and Dr. Stephanie Norman.
