Toki the Orca to return home after 50 years in captivity | 7NEWS 

It’s barbaric what they’ve done to this animal. The people who have profited from this and the people who paid to see should all go to jail for 50 years.

Please do a soft release if she gets to the point where she wants to venture out beyond the sanctuary. Leave a door open so that she can return as many times as she wants. This method is documented to be more successful than the usual approach.

What we humans have done to these poor animals is horrendous. This baby deserves to be free.

Thank you to everyone who is doing this big effort of bringing her home.

They should have never held Toki the beautiful Orca whale captive to begin with!😢 I pray n emit the best for her, on the rest of her life's journey! It's been a long time coming the precious old girl! My heart goes out to her!❣️❣️❣️ I'm so happy for you Toki!

This makes me cry. God bless you.

I just saw resident orcas for the first time. I was so blessed to pull in just in time to a beautiful Oregon coast overlook. There they were! A family of three! Their tall dorsal fins zooming and cutting through the waves. A beautiful sight to behold, and all I could do was give thanks to God for their freedom! Then I prayed and prayed for Toki to one day soon enjoy that freedom. Dear God… Toki is Your beautiful creation! Please orchestrate whatever is necessary to mercifully, bring her to her native waters and her family. Please prepare her pod’s hearts to receive her lovingly and gently. Please let her live many many more years and enjoy freedom, and help her forget that humans ever touched her. Please have favor on your beautiful, gigantic, perfect, black, and white creation! I also pray that you would help us all not to have hateful hearts toward even the evil people who caused this. Help us to do everything with as much love as possible to keep all of the channels open for the best possible outcome for Toki. In Jesus name, I pray… Amen!

Watching old capture footage is gut wrenching. I’m glad we’ve (mostly) smartened up on this one issue. Many, MANY more to go.

I agree. She needs to be out now! Been hearing about this for a while now and yet she's still in that fish bowl....😡

This breaks my heart💔 will she truly be able to survive in the wild after being in captivity for over 50 years 🥺 especially with them stating "she doesn't know fish are real food"

I can not wait to witness this day that she's free!!!!

God bless this man.

How anyone can justify kidnapping a living creature and holding it captive for any length of time, let alone 50 years, for greed is beyond me. But to kidnap such a large, intelligent creature, and force it to live in these conditions is CRIMINAL. The fact that some people are debating whether captive orcas should be returned to the wild or not, just because a couple orca pods are sinking boats sickens me. I’m surprised that whales and dolphins haven’t turned against humans already!

She will survive that's her true environment. Every part if her was made for that

I don't get how toki is going to be able to adjust to something else after 53 yrs?! I think it's gross we did that to her, but now all that orka knows is being in a small confined tank dealing w humans. The whole thing is sad, but hearing there is a sanctuary created seems like she might have a chance

i hope she gets some company. i would hate it if her sanctuary had no friends. she is already so isolated. just worrying she can't wait so long or that the travel will be long and tiring for her. Hoping for the best outcome

What on earth is this guy thinking? I mean wild animals have instincts that the whales captures stripped Toki of when they kidnapped him from his pod over 50 years ago, they know they gotta hunt, eat, know how to work as a team or pod, and reproduce. Toki doesn't even know how to have fun as an orca in the wild with other orcas. This guy, even though his intentions are good and from a place of love, is not thinking of Toki's all around best interest. That orca is now a domesticated animal, its learned how to trust humans for all of its needs to be met. Even though they are gonna put him in a controlled area of the ocean where the pod he was kidnapped from as a child, he cannot survive on his own and doing this could actually end the poor whales life. I know he feels horrible for this animal but to put this whale back into an enclosed part of the ocean and for him to see other orcas for the first time in 50 years, could be overwhelming and cause that poor animal so much anxiety and stress is playing Russian roulette with this whales life. We seriously need to stop all forcible capture of wild animals for our entertainment and trials for chemicals and cosmetics. I still believe that as the so called most evolved mammals on this planet we are the worst predator to other forms of wildlife and nature this world has ever seen. Can you imagine being torn away from the only family you've ever known, being transported to a pool and being forced to comply to another species orders through training and in most cases pain. As a species we are all consuming, narcissistic, mean, corrupted, have a God complex, naive, stupid, unruly, dishonest, disobedient, egocentric, disgusting, polluting, littering, heartless creatures in the universe. Instead of investing finances to fix and clean the planet we are slowly killing, we look to other planets to repeat this same process and leave carnage and destruction in our wake. So sad

God bless everyone especially the guy fronting the cash!!❤❤❤

"Feedom isnt given, its taken."

Since they're gonna release her back into the wild, the veterinarians and the trainers needs to make sure that she'll be ok but locate her family first before releasing her from animal sanctuary sea pen and maybe teach her to cut off contact from humans so she can be with her family in the wild. First thing is to teach her how to hunt in the sea pen with live fish and more. If she's fully recovered and ready to be released, then she's ready to go back to be with her family. She's a beautiful animal that deserves to be free. Sending prayers for her

Good luck Toki! God bless you and keep you safe and healthy 🙏💖 We need to stop taking wild animals and keeping them for our own amusement! How would each of us like to be captured and kept in a tiny cage for somebody else's amusement for almost our entire life? People can be so heartless and ugly!

I saw the movie Blackfish, cried all the way through it.😢She needs to be back home and hopefully her family is still alive waiting for her. I can’t imagine the life she has had and what she has had to endure. Godspeed Toki❤

My name is Anthony Volo I praise these guys doing this and back then 1000 percent and all my friends should too if you know me please help them get this done 👍

We need start a program for retirement with other Orcas, any wild born should have the chance of returning to their own pods. All these animals locked in bathtubs around the world is unacceptable continuous abuse physically and mentally. Good luck to her 💕💕💕

Mother Earth bless this beautiful lady, keep her strong, and let her live the life You Ordained for Her. Better a year of freedom than 10 a prisoner. Shame on those who made this hell happen. 😕

how beautiful. i wish we could do this for all the captive wild animals we stole, but this is a good start 😊

The determination of "friends of toki" is beautiful! Even if she can't be reunited she will be in a sanctuary!

This may not be a good idea. The whale in Free Willy didn't adjust to being released very well as it was very lonely and died prematurely.

All them parks should be be closed down and never be allowed to open again their animals and should be free their not their for human entertainment I hope she makes a great life in the wild ❤

Shame on those people who took her out of her home all those yrs ago!!!! Leave these animals alone! God did not put them here for human entertainment!!!

A once wild free living magnificent creature had its place in the ocean only to be captured at the hands of some wicked evil human monsters and totally robbed of its natural life. I am sorry to say the whale may feel afraid of it’s new surroundings and could be traumatised especially at its older age , a gradual introduction is critical for her wellbeing into the wild. I truly hope this beautiful animal live her last few years in peace and freedom .❤❤

My father took me to sea world when I was a little girl and I’ll never forget how sad I felt for this beautiful creation to be in captivity against his will. I have taught my children growing up the zoos and marine parks are merely for human amusement at the cost of these amazing beautiful creatures, freedom and lives. For this amazing smart creation, it must’ve been like a life sentence in a prison cell! I pray for your safe return, and I pray that your pod will except you with love! The heartbreak to know that they snared you and stole your life out of your beautiful open habitat for the amusement of people! Please father God give her the freedom to live her final days in complete peace with her own kind! I believe the reason that they started attacking humans working with them, is due to losing their minds being trapped in isolation. May God bless your journey home sweetheart

This should have been done for her long ago,but hopefully it will be good for her. And thank you to those who haven't forgotten her and are helping her to go home

Oh my goodness after 50 yrs in captivity. Will Ocra know how to survive, defend herself ???

I hope everything goes ok for toki so glad it's getting out of that awful pool its kept in ❤

I really hope this is true she needs to go home to her pod.

They can make a tank with access to ocean. She can come and go as she feels comfortable. She must be with her people!!!!

Will she be ok after all these years?

Thanks so much for all the efforts to make the whale free.. They should put their captures in a close water tank for 50 years

This is 😢. If this organization was MAKING MONEY they would have her out ASAP!! She’s got anxiety due to what’s been done to her

Many thanks to all involved in the return of this beautiful creature to its natural habitat…I pray all goes according to plan and wish her the very best in her remaining years😕🦈

Toki is likely "institutionalized" and being hand fed. Wonder if can survive in the open ocean?

God bless her , well done team Toki. Nothing will replace half a century of captivity and human ignorance but perhaps a better quality of life in her closing years 🙏💗

Please God make this tragic story have a happy ending 😭🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

It's going to have a hard time out there,Goodluck mate.

Honestly I don't go and see all those poor animals on that condition it breaks my ❤ and I teach my kids about that cruelty

I think Seaworld should pay for the arrangements to have a release, and they should do it with each retired orcas because you’re the one the most benefit financially from the exploitation of this beautiful creature for 50 years, they made more than anything that will cost to safely slowly releaser back to freedom or leave early golden years in a nice century instead of a bathtub in Miami that’s like probably 90° every freaking day freaking

I hope she does well and paves the way for all the other orcas kept in captivity I am really rooting for her this could be huge

That's just cruel to release back into the wild...y'all just don't want to bury her when she dies...

As a child I grew up going to aquariums because I loved animals and I didn't understand captivity and actually was one of the children to be picked on stage to do the live performance😮 I was maybe seven SeaWorld in Orlando in the year Versace the fashion designer was shot by Andrew cunanan and I actually got to see the houseboat where he... But I digress, it was with the whales and dolphins and it was one of the most unique experiences from my childhood and I would never regret it for anyting but those days are over and I really think we need to repay what we did to these precious animals. They're way more like humans than we ever thought😢

This is amazing. It is a vile practice. Utterly dispicable. I'm so glad they are not dumping her into the ocean without first, help. And this footballer is super for paying for it. And these chaps who want to rescue her are truly the best.

He has my support

I’m born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. I live near the passage where Tokitae was captured. Her mama is still out here. She’s 90+ years old and still looking for her baby. It’s tragic that she never got to see her again.

Well done!!! I hope you succeed in freeing all of them, it's so wrong the way all these beautiful sea mammals are confined to these dreadfully tiny pools for fun!!!

I just hope that this beautiful animal will have a successful life of adapting into the wild. Most of the time animals in captivity don't have a good chance of surviving in the wild because they weren't able to learn the necessary skills to be able to survive.

Will he be able to find his pod that they took him from? Bc they stay together for life. I hope so! It's hard to believe it's still legal to capture these creatures and keep them in captivity like this.

Please get her home now!

Idk it’s like dumping your goldfish into the lake. Or a prisoner in the center of New York City. The temperature change can’t really be managed either. People who caught whales who were healthy are monsters

Poor beautiful Orca get her home NOW she should never of been held!!!!

This is insane .They should free all the whales there not pets

Tokitae, may your journey be safe and may your will be strong!

I praythat all goes well with her release. Toki needs to be among her own kind, and free! Give her the space she deserves. Let her know what real living is.❤️

Don't stop, Phil ❤

SeaWorld is not longer in my visits, we used to go there me and my daughter, but why day she told she not longer wants to visit Seawold because they keep the animals in cages . She was 8 years old then . Now she is 14 and we have not visit it since .

Hopefully, she can learn the communication of another Pod and join them. It's hard for ones in captivity to return safely because socially others in the wild often reject them. Hope it works out.

They are taking too long to move her.😭

🎉 CAN NOT WAIT FOR HER TO RETURN HOME

You all are Wale Angels ❤ Thank you for save her life, it's sad they keep Animals in captive 😢😢

Toki made parole!!! Yaaaay!! ❤❤❤....I pray she finds her pod.

He's beautiful

I really hope she's successful. 💜 She's going to need a lot of rehabilitation. She knows nothing about being back in the ocean. 😭

This is so sad 😢 if the move can be done successfully, I hope she'll survive the change after half a century of torture. Thanks and bless those who really care about Toki 🙏💙

This is heartbreaking, those beautiful free spirited wild animals captured for human entertainment, 50 long years. I was not even born I can't bear the idea of this beautiful animL in captivity swimming in a fishbowl his whole life 🐬🤦‍♀️

Those horrible "men" had no right to capture those poor Orca's. Some of them died 😟 How would they like to be captured and put in prison?! Happy and safe future Toki 💛 when you're finally free 🐬🌊🌈

I dont think people are understanding this enough!!!! 50 years in captivity is going to make it very hard for her to adapt!!! i wish her the best of luck! and the most love, and i hope they take the right steps in releasing her and not just throwing her into the ocean and saying that's that. doing it like that will likely cause her to die almost immediately because she now relies on humans to feed her she probably doesn't even know how to hunt anymore.

She needs to go back to her family her calls are heartbreaking.. She wants to go back

Hopefully she can survive after being held all these years!

Not gonna lie, it broke my heart to see her being captured.

Even if she gets there, gets sick and dies from being in a non sterile environment, she will be happier then in that cage

Too sad they didn't do something like this for Kiska in Canada 😢

Purely down to greed and money…..set this whale free

She spent 50 years in a small jail, shame on every single person responsible for this.

Her name is Tokitae! I don't know why they start shortening it to Toki! Irritates the heck out of me! It has been Tokitae for a long time! She is a member of the Southern Resident orcas (SRKW), they reside in the waters of the Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest. I live on an island in the Salish Sea and see her relatives often.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP YOU GET THIS RELEASE DONE SOONER❣ ???

Their releasing her because she s a senior whale and her life expectancy is short at this point in her age. They don't want her to die on captivity so there releasing her back to wild. Its sad and pathetic I think

When is she being transported?

we love you toki ❤️ fly high you beautiful angel. They didn’t deserve you. those cries for help went unnoticed but i knew. you deserved none of it. poor baby. they were never going to let you go. swim freely with hugo my love ❤️ They didn’t deserve you. What she lived wasn’t a life. simply torture.

And to think that Lolita's mother is still alive and enjoying the freedom these intelligent creatures deserve. A blatant example of animal abuse: she was kept in a small tank for 50 years for the sake of profits for the Miami Seaquarium. How can the owners enjoy that money? Having lived for 40 years close to the Seaquarium, as a matter of principle, I never took my family there.

Should NEVER have been permitted in the first place. Horrendous

We have no idea what call of the wild has tortured this creature for 50yrs..stuck in a tank..thankfully we won't try this again.

Home...❤

Hopefully this goes well

Dear God,please PLEASE help this beauty and her human allies get her home. Please God.

One orca safe. Now let get the rest back out to sea. Terrible to see the state they are left to live in when taken care of by humans.

Yes excellent

YES YES!!!! FREE THEM ALL! FREE WILLY

Is this fair? Can she live if she is no longer wild? Will other Wales accept her can she manage to feed herself?

R.I.P. TOKI. 😭😭😭💔💔😔😔😔

I hope she makes though, also I hope your going to help the other mammals that are swimming around as you can see in the videos

Free her😢 this is heartbreaking