Miami Seaquarium defies county’s eviction deadline

MIAMI – Miami-Dade County’s eviction deadline was Sunday, but The Miami Seaquarium in Virginia Key was quiet.

The 38-acre oceanarium’s parking lot was empty in the morning. There weren’t moving trucks near Rickenbacker Causeway.

The Miami Seaquarium’s owners announced the intention to defy the county on Friday with a fight in federal court — seeking $35 million in damages while claiming the eviction was forced without a “lawful plan” for the animals.

The county announced the eviction after U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors found violations. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said this was in addition to a “troubling history.”

The Seaquarium was founded in 1955 and welcomed the “Flipper” film crew to the dolphin exhibit in the 1960s. The beloved orca Lolita, also known as Tokitae, was captured in the Pacific and brought to the park on Sept. 24, 1970.

Children from all over Latin America traveled to Miami to meet Lolita. She was the inspiration behind the 1993 film “Free Willy.” Animal advocates increasingly took an interest in the captive orca.

Palace Entertainment bought the park in 2014. The National Marine Fisheries Service listed the orca as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2015. The Dolphin Company purchased the park in 2022. Lolita died last year.

This is a developing story.

Read the announcement Friday:

Read the lawsuit: