Marcia Henton Davis was born in Buenos Aires Argentina in 1964 to American parents. She and her family traveled and lived in multiple countries throughout the 60’s and 70’s until finally permanently settling in central Florida. As a child, she became fascinated with the natural Florida beauty and its abundant wildlife, including dolphins, whales and manatees. After learning behavioral aspects of canine conditioning, Marcia started her zoological career at Miami Seaquarium in 1987 and worked with Tokitae the beloved Orca until 1995. She then went on to work with terrestrial animals at multiple Florida zoos, including Disney’s Animal Kingdom where she taught operant conditioning techniques to new zookeepers while caring for African Elephants. Having the ability to work with a wide variety of animal species ranging from primates, manatees, big cats and large mammals, she garnered a full and diverse toolbox of animal behavioral knowledge. She went on to open her own swim school in 2006 teaching thousands of children water safety skills using operant conditioning techniques in Florida until 2023. She was then invited to join the project to bring her friend Tokitae home to a sea sanctuary being developed in her natal waters of the Salish Sea in Washington. An ethologist, animal lover and rescuer, Marcia has always been driven by animal behavior, environmentalism and conservation. She authored a 2022 memoir about Tokitae titled “Pretty Colors - Nice Day” describing their friendship and early experiences together. In her most recent book “Unfathomable” she incorporates Tokitae’s tragic story as well as analyzes the deep connections we humans have with Orcas. Discussing humanity’s effects on this highly intelligent and kindred species and exposing how our decisions to keep these special beings in concrete tanks deeply affect not only their lives-but ours as well.
