When “the world’s loneliest Orca”, Kiska, died alone in captivity in March 2023, a wave of fury and a cry for change rocked the world. The Canadian government, inspired by Kiska’s sad story, passed a law banning the captivity of whales. However, the situation remains the same in other parts of the world, and many have raised their voices to demand reform, including the surfing legend, Kelly Slater.

Just like the lonely Kiska, another Orca spends her time alone and captive, away from her habitat, in the Miami Seaquarium. When a video of the caged Orca was shared by a group fighting for the whale’s rights, Kelly Slater was outraged at the cruelty and decided to give his two cents on the same.

Kelly Slater wants some answers, and he wants them now

The saddening video, shared by Karmagawa, a charity community, appealed to all the viewers to use their social media platforms to help Lolita, the confined Orca. Kelly Slater answered this call to arms and re-shared the video on his Instagram, where he has more than 3 million followers. Along with sharing the video in his stories, he asked the question, “@miamiseaquarium_ what’s up with you guys? Are these really the conditions you keep Lolita in?”

In the video, the poor Orca whale could be seen listlessly swimming in the dirty tank alone, with no other human or creature in sight. Orca whales are extremely intelligent and social animals that live in close-knit family pods and hunt together. To keep an Orca away from its mates is akin to torture. According to the post by Karmagawa, “These heartbreaking videos of the Miami Seaquarium were filmed on June 2nd and 4th as this cruel marine park has imprisoned poor Lolita, their last surviving orca, for the last 50+ years!”

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The organization also revealed that Miami Seaquarium had earlier announced that they would release the Orca into its natural habitat. However, the entire process is bound to take time, and till then, poor Lolita must stay alone in an environment that is quickly deteriorating and becoming toxic for the whale. This brutality and injustice is what caused Kelly Slater to speak out in favor of the Orca, something that the World Champion has been known to do before.

A bid to save the Orcas

In the year 2015, Kelly Slater joined forces with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in an attempt to fight for Orca rights and speak out against SeaWorld. According to Surfer magazine, PETA had some stock in the company, and Slater went as PETA’s proxy to the shareholder’s meeting, seeking to submit a question. The same, however, was not allowed by SeaWorld. This attempt came after Slater watched the famous Blackfish documentary, and even aired his support for freeing the Orcas, instead of keeping them captive.

In 2021, during an Instagram Live, while talking about cryptocurrency, Kelly Slater again brought up his wish to protect the whales. Slater was in conversation with Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of Strike, and wished for Mallers to help fund a whale-rescue mission he was on. The pro surfer was looking for ways to fund The Whale Sanctuary Project, which has the aim of freeing whales in confinement. Ironically, the funding was for two whales specifically, Lolita and Kiska. One of these two beautiful creatures is long dead, and the other is probably on the verge of it.

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