Meet the Seaquarium stars: Flipper, Salty, Lolita, Hugo, Carolina Snowball

The closing of the Miami Seaquarium draws the curtain on decades of stars at the marine park. Tourists and locals trekked to the Rickenbacker Causeway attraction to see Flipper. Lolita and a cast of characters in amphitheater shows

Let’s take a look at the famous figures over the years:

Hugo

Biography: Hugo the killer whale was captured and brought to the Miami Seaquarium in 1968. According to the Seaquarium, the orca was named after Hugo Vihlen, who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in a six-foot sailboat. Hugo was joined in 1970 by Lolita. Hugo died at age 15 in 1980 from a brain aneurysm.

Lolita

Biography: Lolita was captured in 1970 and broiught to the Seaquarium. The orca was named Tokitae — Toki for short — by a group of indigenous people in Washington state, where captured. Toki became best known as Lolita, the performing star at the Miami Seaquarium. Lolita performed with Hugo for 10 years, and was the solo star of the killer whale show since his death in 1980. Lolita died in 2023 at age 57.

Flipper

Biography: Flipper may be the most famous of the Seaquarium stars. Flipper was the star of a CBS network TV show in the 1960s, with scenes shot in the Seaquarium lagoon. The dolphin — several took the name Flipper through the years — also was a presence for the Miami Dolphins in the mid-‘60s, swimming and jumping in a tank in the Orange Bowl end zone.

Salty

Biography: Salty the Sea Lion performed in comedic shows under the Seaquarium’s landmark golden geodesic dome. Several Salty movies were also filmed at the park.

Carolina Snowball

Biography: The white albino dolphin was captured in South Carolina and arrived at thr Seaquarium in 1962 and became a major attraction at the marine park. The dolphin died in 1965. Her baby, Sonny Boy, died at the Seaquarium in 1973.

This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 7:24 AM.