Lolita Update #119
August 8 events all over
August 1, 2010

August 8, 2010 - 40th anniversary
commemoration of Lolita's capture

August 8, 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of Lolita's capture from her family, the Southern Resident orcas, in Penn Cove off Whidbey Island, WA.

40th ANNIVERSARY OF PENN COVE ORCA CAPTURE - August 8th

Note: the venue for the evening program beginning at 6:30 PM has been changed to Coupeville Middle School Performing Arts Center, 501 S. Main St.
See more events in other locations listed below.
August 8, Penn Cove - Coupeville, Whidbey Island, WA:
We are excited to have Ric O'Barry, marine mammal specialist for Earth Island Institute and star of "The Cove" join us in Coupeville for this important event. Ric was a former dolphin trainer for the "Flipper" show at the Miami Seaquarium, but when a dolphin died in his arms he was transformed into a full time activist who has fought against dolphin captivity for decades, and in the revealing exposé "The Cove" which brought awareness of captivity issues to a whole new level. He also trained Hugo, the adolescent male captured 18 months before Lolita who died there in 1980.
Sunday afternoon August 8th at 3 pm, join us on Penn Cove in your kayak, row boat, or any kind of vessel, for a ceremonial paddle/sail/motor around the perimeter of the capture site on Penn Cove. We'll have a wreath ceremony on the water, and will be joined by John Stone's Cutty Sark and the SEA Program's vessel, the Indigo (tickets for the Cutty Sark are sold out, but we have a few spaces left on the Indigo - contact Orca Network for more info). Kayaks and small boats can be launched from Capt. Coupe Park in Coupeville, Monroe's Landing, or the DNR access on Madrona Way (note: parking permits are required for the use of DNR parking/beach access areas).
Following the on-the-water events, join us at the Coupeville Wharf from 5 - 6:30 pm for a Reception with Ric O'Barry, and other guest speakers, Vern Olsen's "Come Home Lolita" song, and time spent sharing memories of the Penn Cove captures and viewing displays of the captures at the Wharf.
Concluding the commemoration of this day will be an evening of presentations at the Coupeville Middle School Performing Arts Center, 501 S. Main St., beginning at 6:30 pm with a silent auction, coffee and desserts, followed by guest speakers including Ric O'Barry, Ken Balcomb (invited), and Howard Garrett, as well as witnesses of the captures sharing their memories.
All events except the Cutty Sark and Indigo cruises are free and open to the public, though donations are welcome.
Contact Orca Network or check out our website for more information.

Events on August 8 in many places to
mark the 40th anniversary of Lolita's capture

If you can't be on Whidbey Island for the August 8th capture commemoration events, here are some other choices of events on both sides of the country we are pleased to announce. If there isn't one in a city near you, hold an event of your own! One idea we like is having a "Flash Pod" (instead of a Flash Mob, where people meet & stage an "impromptu" choreographed dance). See if you can find a group of friends to stage this with orca calls, whale songs, or poetry about Lolita's long life in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium. Find a public place with lots of people, start up the music or orca calls, and form a Flash Pod!

AUGUST 8th "Walk for Lolita" Events:
Click here for more info. and a list of events,
or to add your event to the August 8th happenings.

MIAMI: Noon - 2 pm, 1st beach after the bridge on Key Biscayne, FL (Miami) Rickenbaucher Causeway, Key Biscayne, FL. Thanks to Shelby Proie for organizing this and many other events! See the poster below for this event.
SEATTLE: Noon - 2 pm, Westlake Park in Downtown Seattle, Corner of 4th and Pine St. (by the fountain). Thanks to Diana Comstock for organizing this event!
VICTORIA, B.C.: Noon - 2 pm, Lolita Awareness Demonstration - Government Street and View Street intersection downtown. Thanks to Diane McNally for organizing this 2nd event in Victoria!
FRIDAY HARBOR, WA: August 8th: Lolita event/San Juan Island. "I would like to gather as many people for an evening of candlelight at Lime Kiln state park for Lolita. This event is at its very beginning stage, so all additionals will be posted as they come. Welcoming all ideas to make this a very memorable event!" Thanks to Christine Swedell for getting this event going!
VALLEJO, CA: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm, at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo CA, 2001 Marine world pkwy - thanks to Wendy Brunot for organizing this event!

The Second annual "Walk for Lolita" in Miami

The Case of the Missing Plumes

Plumes of oil mixed with dispersants are moving through the Gulf of Mexico, but nobody seems to know where they are.
The Loop Current flows from the Yucatan Peninsula into the Gulf of Mexico, often far to the north, even as far as the site of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead, then south and east between the Florida Keys and Cuba, then northward along the coast alongside and into Biscayne Bay, where the Seaquarium pumps water for all its tanks. In early July the Loop was pinched off by a circular eddy in the middle of the Gulf, while the remaining current leveled off several hundred miles south of the well.
NOAA sent some ships out to find the plumes in early June, but... according to NOAA: "The offshore forecast was temporarily stopped on June 20, 2010 due to the small amount of oil offshore, the absence of recent observations confirming significant amounts of oil in offshore areas, and the large distance between the loop current complex and the Deepwater Horizon oil slick. Offshore forecasts will resume if the threat returns."
It seems that only The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Oceana and Mote Marine Labs have launched an undersea robot to find the toxic plumes, but so far no findings have been published.
More info, news reports and maps are available at Oil Hits Lolita
On May 28, The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that there was a "61%-80% chance" that the BP oil spill will reach the Florida Keys, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami by mid-August. All 8 large tanks at the Seaquarium recieve seawater pumped directly from Biscayne Bay, adjacent to the currents that are expected to carry the oil..
The millions of gallons of dispersants sprayed to hide the oil increase the toxic effects, according to toxicologists. The Seaquarium is required to have an evacuation plan on file with the USDA, but no plan has been located and so far the Seaquarium hasn't explained how the animals will be protected.

Orca captured in Russian waters

July 30, 2010:
A killer whale was captured around July 20 in the Russian waters of Chkalova Island (Okhotsk Sea). It was captured by the team that annually catches beluga whales in this area to sell them to commercial oceanariums. The killer whale capture was not planned in advance: the captors were preparing for beluga whale capturing while they saw a pod of killer whales and decided to try the luck. To the knowledge of the Russian Research team, they had no official permit to capture a killer whale, neither the facilities to keep it. One killer whale was captured; it is unknown what has happened with the rest of the pod, how many of them were injured or died. Currently the whale is kept in a temporary net enclosure which is too small for such a big animal, and the catchers are trying to get a permit that would be dated back to July to make this capture look legal. (Source: Russian Orcas Project)

Please help protest this move and demand from the Russian government to let this orca go back to her wild family!
Here are some addresses:
* Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Office of The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, The Russian Government House 2, Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, Moscow 103274, Russia. Tel.: +7 (495) 925 3581. Fax: +7 (495) 205 8153.
* Minister Yury Trutnev, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Russian Federation, 4/6 Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Ulitsa, Moscow 123995, Russia. Tel.: +7 (495) 254 4800. Fax: +7 (495) 254 6610, 254-4310.
It might also be helpful to write to the Russian Federation's Embassy in your respective country.
Thanks to Stefan Jacobs for posting this news on his OrcaHome website.

Much is going on to help bring Lolita home and to inform and advocate for her and her family Please consider a tax-deductible contribution to help Orca Network continue this work. Thank you!