Releasing an Orca that has been in captivity for 50 years (Lolita) doesn’t sound like the act of mercy everyone’s trying to make it out to be, at least not to me. Only one other Orca (Keiko) of Free Willy fame has ever been released before, and it wasn’t a resounding success. Keiko was released in 1998, and was found dead in 2003 (5 years), at 27 years old, and was never able to reassimilate into any existing Orca pods. Releasing an animal that is almost twice as old sounds like a cruel “cost cutting” measure. Just move her to a larger facility. She doesn't have the instincts to survive.