As a baby whale, Lolita had another name: Tokitae. She and her pod—or whale family—lived along the coast of Washington State.

At four years old, Tokitae was busy learning to catch fish. She also studied her pod’s high-pitched calls. Sometimes she played with other young whales. But like other whales in her pod, she spent most of the time with her mother.

On August 8, 1970, something disturbed the pod’s peaceful waters. Speedboats sliced through the waves. Airplanes hovered overhead. Explosions went off. More than 80 of the whales were frightened into a cove. Whale herders trapped them there with a three-acre net. The herders wanted to catch baby whales. They planned to sell them to aquariums and parks.

During the capture, Tokitae’s mother cried out. Tokitae had been taken. Would the two ever see each other again?

The whale herders took seven whales captive that day. One adult whale and four baby whales died. The whale herders didn’t want anyone to find out about the whale deaths. So they sunk the whale bodies to the bottom of the water.

Tokitae was sold to the Miami Seaquarium. She moved into her new tank, one of the smallest whale enclosures in the world. But Tokitae’s new owners didn’t like her name. They thought she needed a name that made her sound like a star. So they renamed her Lolita. Now she is 49 years old. Her wild orca family has become an endangered species. Of all the whales captured with her, Lolita is the only one living today.