Lolita, World's Loneliest Orca, Gets Endangered Species Protection

Federal officials on Wednesday granted a long-captive killer whale the same status that her wild kin have under the Endangered Species Act.  But for now, Lolita, the Florida-held orca, won't be changing addresses as a result.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) determined that Lolita, a killer whale living since 1970 at the Miami Seaquarium, shares the established federal status of the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales of the Pacific Northwest coast.   But the change in status doesn't compel the Miami Seaquarium to get her a bigger pool, return her to the wild, or do much of anything else so far, according to NOAA officials.

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