Seaworld Whale goes on rampage

[Homicidalheathen]

If you have not seen it you should. And don't be a patron of Sea World.

story follows:

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ORLANDO, Fla. — A killer whale attacked and killed a trainer in front of a horrified audience at a SeaWorld show Wednesday, with witnesses saying the animal involved in two previous deaths dragged the trainer under and thrashed her around violently. Distraught audience members were hustled out of the stadium, and the park was immediately closed.

Veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, was one of the park's most experienced. It wasn't clear if she drowned or died from the thrashing.

SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs confirmed the whale was Tilikum, one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer who lost her balance and fell in the pool with them in 1991 at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia.

Tilikum was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by Orlando SeaWorld security was found draped over him. The man either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water and died of hypothermia, though he was also bruised and scratched by Tilikum.

A retired couple from Michigan told The Associated Press that Wednesday's killing happened as a noontime show was winding down, with some in the audience staying to watch the animals and trainers.

Eldon Skaggs, 72, said Brancheau was on a platform with the whale and was massaging it. He said the interaction appeared leisurely and informal.

Then, Skaggs said, the whale "pulled her under and started swimming around with her."

Skaggs said an alarm sounded and staff rushed the audience out of the stadium as workers scrambled around with nets.

Skaggs said he heard that during an earlier show the whale was not responding to directions. Others who attended the earlier show said the whale was behaving like an ornery child.

The couple left and didn't find out until later that the trainer had died.

"We were just a little bit stunned," said Skaggs' wife, Sue Nichols, 67.

Another audience member, Victoria Biniak, told WKMG-TV the whale "took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off."

But Jim Solomons of the Orlando County Sheriff's Office said Brancheau slipped or fell into the whale's tank, which seemed to contradict Biniak's description.

Authorities provided few immediate details. SeaWorld in San Diego also suspended its killer whale show after Brancheau's death. It is not clear if the killer whale show has been suspended at SeaWorld's San Antonio location, which is closed until the weekend.

According to a profile of Brancheau in the Orlando Sentinel in 2006, she was one of SeaWorld Orlando's leading trainers. It was apparently a trip to SeaWorld at age 9 that made her want to follow that career path.

"I remember walking down the aisle (of Shamu Stadium) and telling my mom, 'This is what I want to do,'" she said in the article.

Brancheau worked her way into a leadership role at Shamu Stadium during her 12-year career with SeaWorld, starting at the Sea Lion & Otter Stadium before spending the past 10 years working with killer whales, the newspaper said.

She also addressed the dangers of the job.

"You can't put yourself in the water unless you trust them and they trust you," Brancheau said.

Steve McCulloch, founder and program manager at the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program at Harbor Branch/Florida Atlantic University, said the whale may have been playing, but it is too early to tell.

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions," he said. "These are very large powerful marine mammals. They exhibit this type of behavior in the wild.

"Nobody cares more about the animal than the trainer. It's just hard to fathom that this has happened."

Mike Wald, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Atlanta, said his agency had dispatched an investigator from Tampa.

Wednesday's death was not the first attack on whale trainers at SeaWorld parks.

In November 2006, a trainer was bitten and held underwater several times by a killer whale during a show at SeaWorld's San Diego park.

The trainer, Kenneth Peters, escaped with a broken foot. The 17-foot orca that attacked him was the dominant female of SeaWorld San Diego's seven killer whales. She had attacked Peters two other times, in 1993 and 1999.

In 2004, another whale at the company's San Antonio park tried to hit one of the trainers and attempted to bite him. He also escaped.

In December, a whale drowned a trainer at a Spanish zoo.

Then there was the July 1999 incident at the Orlando SeaWorld, when the body of a naked man was found draped over Tilikum.

Daniel Dukes reportedly made his way past security and remained in the park after it had closed. Wearing only his underwear, he ended up in the frigid water of Tilikum's huge tank.

An autopsy ruled that he died of hypothermia in the 50-degree water. But officials also said it appeared Tilikum bit the man and tore off his swimming trunks, likely believing he was a toy to play with.

Dukes' parents filed a lawsuit against the park later that year but ended up withdrawing it.

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[Eevee]

My mom JUST told me about this seriously.

And, in all honesty, I just had a rant about whales Monday night (on the way to Necto, actually...lol). I'm afraid of whales.

They are huge and can crush you or drown you or whack you with their fin...so scary!

[TheGimp]

Shamu went crazy....>.< not being a smartass but it said on the news that it twas Shamu that was responsible....

[candyman]

See I bought my "Nuke the Whales" shirt for a reason...we send them to tiny pools of water inland and let people view them like freak shows and they repay us with random and uncommon acts of animal-like behavior? Bastards...

[freydis]

I have been arguing with a co-worker about this all day. She thinks he should keep performing there and they should do nothing. I think if this whale has killed 3 people well it should be put down. I told her if we had the death penalty in this state and I killed 3 people they'd kill me

See, here's where I disagree. So many would punish a wild animal held in captivity for acting upon natural aggression or instincts.

It's not like the thing is out in the wild and set on attacking random people.

Stop making it perform. Leave it in an exhibit. Let it live out its life.

This is not a domestic animal. Animals can be dangerous. It's in their nature. We get hurt when we mess with something we shouldn't.

It's like these people who own big cats and get mauled.

It's not something anyone should be treating like a pet. You know the risks when you get in there with it.

[IsleofRhodesEnt]

This is about as obvious as Moby Dick being a Sperm Whale....the word "Killer" is in it's title...KILLER whale...not Pacifist Whale...not Non-Violent Whale....nope...KILLER whale.

I think what happened is that it seen "Free Willy" and got pissed that no little kid saved him, but instead bought lil stuffed animals of him.

[Homicidalheathen]

Watch the cove, if you still think its ok to trap and train big smart (I believe spiritually advanced fish) such as whales and dolphins after that...then...you have no heart.

BTW there have been many

'shamu's'

its just a name....they die all the time. Its like Lassie, there was more than one and the first wasn't even a boy dog.

Edited February 25, 2010 by Homicidalheathen

[Msterbeau]

See, here's where I disagree. So many would punish a wild animal held in captivity for acting upon natural aggression or instincts.

It's not like the thing is out in the wild and set on attacking random people.

Stop making it perform. Leave it in an exhibit. Let it live out its life.

This is not a domestic animal. Animals can be dangerous. It's in their nature. We get hurt when we mess with something we shouldn't.

It's like these people who own big cats and get mauled.

It's not something anyone should be treating like a pet. You know the risks when you get in there with it.

Yup. Let the thing go back in the wild. Obviously it doesn't have the temperament for being a stage performer. Putting it down would be ridiculous.

Edited February 25, 2010 by Msterbeau

[LadyKay]

Them poor whales pen up like that and force to do stupid tricks for human entertainment. That is not how they were meant to live. They should be free.

[LadyKay]

I think if this whale has killed 3 people well it should be put down. I told her if we had the death penalty in this state and I killed 3 people they'd kill me

PUT DOWN!!! It should have never been forced to live that way! This is what happens when you pen up an animal that was meant to live free! What would you do if you were capture by some whales and forced to do stupid tricks for their entertainment? Wouldn't you do everything in your power to be free?

Oh and by the way. I heard that one of the deaths was because someone at night had climbed over the fence and got into the pool with the whale.

Edited February 25, 2010 by LadyKay

[candyman]

Its ok to keep an animal for treatment and rehab...or breed them in captivity before letting them into their habitat...you could even put them on display for a short time...but animals have never been very good at being behaved attractions and should be let out after some time. I like to go to the zoo and stuff to look at them and watch them but damn there has to be some way to do a rotation or something...

[Simon Bar Sinister]

the first strike in the wildlife jihad against humanity.

[pomba gira]

See, here's where I disagree. So many would punish a wild animal held in captivity for acting upon natural aggression or instincts.

It's not like the thing is out in the wild and set on attacking random people.

Stop making it perform. Leave it in an exhibit. Let it live out its life.

This is not a domestic animal. Animals can be dangerous. It's in their nature. We get hurt when we mess with something we shouldn't.

It's like these people who own big cats and get mauled.

It's not something anyone should be treating like a pet. You know the risks when you get in there with it.

I agree.

It isn't like this animal is seeking out people to kill.

Certainly it should not be made to perform any longer. I would say it should be released into the wild... but, I know sometimes that isn't possible with social species, because a herd/pack/troop/pod/whatever will not accept stranger animals. Don't know if that's true of orca, but seems likely.

the first strike in the wildlife jihad against humanity.

The Animal Conspiracy! Tim Bedore knows what's going on!

[Simon Bar Sinister]

saw an updated story about this whale about 45 minutes ago. seems that Sea World bought the orca off of some aquarium in British Columbia that went belly-up. the BC people said they sold this orca - along with two female orcas - on the condition that they only be used for breeding purposes and not be put into performance situations.

[TitsMcGee]

Oh and by the way. I heard that one of the deaths was because someone at night had climbed over the fence and got into the pool with the whale.

And in my opinion if the man was that stupid, he deserved to die.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

If this was a dog, it would be dead already. Put the killer down.

[phee]

People always seem surprised when a wild animal acts like a wild animal...

Just let the thing go away from people... it clearly doesn't like them....

OR

maybe we should kill all the people who have harmed whales to even the score a bit

[pomba gira]

saw an updated story about this whale about 45 minutes ago. seems that Sea World bought the orca off of some aquarium in British Columbia that went belly-up. the BC people said they sold this orca - along with two female orcas - on the condition that they only be used for breeding purposes and not be put into performance situations.

I smells a lawsuit...

If this was a dog, it would be dead already. Put the killer down.

But it isn't a dog. Dogs need to be able to interact safely with humans... orca whales do not, as long as they aren't used for performance. Which this one obviously should not have been.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

I smells a lawsuit...

But it isn't a dog. Dogs need to be able to interact safely with humans... orca whales do not, as long as they aren't used for performance. Which this one obviously should not have been.

but it was and has killed three times now. If it was a human, it would be in prison or on death row. It's not. It's a whale. Kill it and be done with it.