Miami

Seaquarium gets eviction notice after death of orca

MIAMI>> The Miami Seaquarium, an old tourist attraction that was home to Lolita, the beloved Orca that died last year, is being evicted from the waterfront property it leases from Miami-Dade County.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava cited a “long and troubling history of violations” in a lease termination notice sent Thursday to the chief executive officer of The Dolphin Company, which owns the Seaquarium. The company was told to vacate the property by April 21, according to the letter from the mayor’s office.

The company did not respond to an email seeking comment from The Associated Press.

But Seaquarium officials sent a letter last month to Levine Cava, inviting her to visit the park so she could witness the animals’ well-being for herself.

The county had advised the park in January that it was looking to terminate the park’s lease after a review from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates the treatment and care of captive animals.

Eduardo Albor, CEO of The Dolphin Company, said in a Feb. 29 post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that it was “a shame” to see the mayor ignore the request. “We stand with our great staff and support them,” Albor wrote.

Levine Cava said during a news conference Thursday afternoon that representatives of the county’s parks department have made regular visits to the park over the past year and a half. “The current state of the Miami Seaquarium is unsustainable and unsafe,” Levine Cava said.

The action follows a series of federal inspections that found multiple problems at the Seaquarium, including unsafe and structurally deficient buildings.

Animal rights activists had sought Lolita’s freedom for years.

The orca spent much of her life in tank a that measures 80 feet by 35 feet and is 20 feet deep. She died Aug. 18 at age 57.

The Seaquarium opened in 1955 overlooking Biscayne Bay and was among the first theme parks devoted to marine life. It garnered international attention in the 1960s when the television series “Flipper” was filmed there.

— The Associated Press