Killer Whale Kills trainer at Sea World

[feederband]

Mixed emotions on this one...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loc ... 2688.story

[HURAKAN]

Sometimes when you play with fire, you get burned.

[brunota2003]

And that would be the same job that my fiancee has always had her mind set on achieving.

[HURAKAN]

And that would be the same job that my fiancee has always had her mind set on achieving.

Working with animals sounds fun but when it has to do with dangerous animals, then the story is different. This whale is a hunter and doesn't matter how much training it gets, you can't get the hunter out of them. The same happens with tigers, lions, elephants, etc. These animals didn't evolve to live in cages or large pools. They should take the whale to a sanctuary and let it live for the rest of its days there.

[arkess7]

They must have not been feeding the orca properly or something!!!! that is friggin HORRIBLE!!!!! My prayers go out to that womans family!!!!!

[arkess7]

I just cant get over it! I am born and raised Orlando.....been 2 SeaWorld many times......can u flippin Imagine sittin there with ur KIDS AND WATCHIN THAT SH@@!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!! so many prayers to those familes

[feederband]

Wow.... Now there saying this whale as killed 2 other times?

[O Town]

This is an absolutely horrible accident, but the orcas are wild animals and the trainers know the risks. Tilikum, the whale involved, is my families favorite whale there. We would scream for him to come out at the end of the shows because he was so massive it was almost a guarantee to get wet. When I mean massive I mean he was twice the size of most of the other whales there and was able to splash up into the second level of the crowd. I am also familiar with this trainer, after having annual passes there for the past 10 years I have seen her in many shows. But out of the many many Shamu shows I have seen over the years I can only remember 2 times that the whales weren't cooperating and we would have to wait for them to get another whale or wait till the one calmed down and never was Tilikum involved he was never in the actual shows where the trainers would swim with him, he would always come at the end and do his famous back roll fluke splash.
We are having a hard time believing this really happened and are very saddened by it. Our prayers are with all of Dawns family and friends.


Here is an interview with Dawn back in 2000 and shows her doing what she loved, she like my own kids
dreamed of being a trainer since she was little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbegU5x_c8s
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbegU5x_c8s[/youtube]

[Stephanie]

And that would be the same job that my fiancee has always had her mind set on achieving.

Working with animals sounds fun but when it has to do with dangerous animals, then the story is different. This whale is a hunter and doesn't matter how much training it gets, you can't get the hunter out of them. The same happens with tigers, lions, elephants, etc. These animals didn't evolve to live in cages or large pools. They should take the whale to a sanctuary and let it live for the rest of its days there.

I agree, especially the bolded piece.

[tropicana]

its sad, and i dont think that the whale meant to harm the trainer, i mean he could have swallowed her but he didnt.
Remember tho, she loved what she was doing, she loved working with the animals.

Having said that, is it right to do this to the animals, have them perform daily? I dont think so, its done at every single circus, zoo and animal show across the world. Its all about money.

Right here in Niagara Falls, thousands on thousands of people come to Marineland every year just to see the killer whales.

It generates so much money every summer.

http://www.marinelandcanada.com/video/

Killer whales kept at arm's length
SeaWorld trainer's death not likely at Marineland, says park spokeswoman
Thu Feb 25 2010

Niagara Falls, ON
The death of a SeaWorld trainer who was attacked by a killer whale Wednesday has little chance of ever happening at Marineland in Niagara Falls, a company spokeswoman said.
That's because Marineland stopped performances with trainers and whales 12 years ago with the opening of its viewing facility Friendship Cove.
"We don't do routines with the killer whales any more like we used to," said Marineland's marketing office manager Ann Marie Rondinelli Thursday.
"The killer whales do splash and jump sessions there, but (trainers) don't go in the water with them during those splash and jump sessions."

It was near the end of a routine at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, that a 12,300-lb orca named Tilikum grabbed hold of 40-year-old trainer Dawn Brancheau from a platform and pulled her under water in front of horrified spectators.
The whale, described as acting ornery earlier in the day by one spectator, has been linked to two other deaths over the years.

[Category 5]

This is what happens when you keep 25 foot meat eating whales in tanks. Why not let them play with Great Whites while they're at it?

[StormingB81]

They said the Whale though the pony tail was a toy. I am from Orlando. Been there plenty of times. I ALWAYS see them with the hair up.

[southerngale]

Such a horrific tragedy! My prayers are with Dawn's family and friends and the people who witnessed her death. I can't even imagine. A few of you could use a little compassion, IMO.

[Ptarmigan]

Such a tragic situation. There is one documented case of killer whales killing a person in the wild. It usually happens in captivity.