Sad news out of Seaworld Orlando.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Feb Wed 24, 2010 6:06 pm

Just saw this....A female trainer was killed by one of the killer whales at Shamu Stadium today. See the story here:

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

Very sad!

ericpabear · Post by **ericpabear** » Feb Wed 24, 2010 6:56 pm

Kill the darn thing! Don't let it kill a fourth time!

3rd) An experienced female trainer at Sea World Orlando, Dawn Brancheau, was fatally injured by one of the whales.

2nd) Sold to SeaWorld as a stud in 1992, the whale was involved in a second incident when authorities discovered the body of a naked man lying across his back in July 1999

1st) Nicknamed "Tilly," the large whale was blamed for the drowning of one of his trainers in 1991 while he was performing at Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia.

Mamabaminjamin · Post by **Mamabaminjamin** » Feb Wed 24, 2010 7:00 pm

Wow!!! That is really sad. We need to remember these are wild animals and they need to be treated as such.

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Feb Wed 24, 2010 7:04 pm

The trainer and her family are in our prayers.

Why don't they let him go? You keep something like this

, in this

. Things are going to go wrong once in awhile!

MetalRage · Post by **MetalRage** » Feb Wed 24, 2010 8:49 pm

Saw this on the news before. I didn't think this would ever happen. They always look like they work with the whales very well

Post by **Len90** » Feb Wed 24, 2010 11:41 pm

It just goes to show you that these are live animals and over time that killer animal instinct can take over. Condolences to the family of the trainer. Such a sad tragedy.

kcarts · Post by **kcarts** » Feb Thu 25, 2010 2:32 pm

Sea World wont let the whale go or euthanize it as it is their "stud" for breeding and is worth millions of dollars to them. That is why he was brought to Orlando in 1999.

"What you need to remember is, we've done thousands of interactions with this animal with no incidents whatsoever," Tompkins told the Orlando Sentinel. He also noted that Tilikum had fathered many calves at SeaWorld, calling him "a valuable asset not only from a breeding standpoint but from a behavior standpoint, too."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business ... 6536.story

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Feb Thu 25, 2010 3:06 pm

kcarts wrote:Sea World wont let the whale go or euthanize it as it is their "stud" for breeding and is worth millions of dollars to them. That is why he was brought to Orlando in 1999.

"What you need to remember is, we've done thousands of interactions with this animal with no incidents whatsoever," Tompkins told the Orlando Sentinel. He also noted that Tilikum had fathered many calves at SeaWorld, calling him "a valuable asset not only from a breeding standpoint but from a behavior standpoint, too."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business ... 6536.story

That explains a whole lot!! The almighty dollar!!

boilerbabe · Post by **boilerbabe** » Feb Thu 25, 2010 3:06 pm

So very sad. The trainer actually grew up in Cedar Lake IN. This was on the news last night.

How can you say to kill it ericpabear? This is a wild animal and as tame as trainers may think it is, it is still a wild animal. These large creatures do not belong in captivity. They are called "killer whales" for a reason.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of the trainer. Those marine biologists dedicate their lives to their work. So sad when one of them is lost.

mindflipper · Post by **mindflipper** » Feb Thu 25, 2010 4:08 pm

As boilerbabe points out, these animals are "wild" even though they are in captivity. The basic feral instinct for some species is even genetic - some animals can't be domesticated. Being a trainer involved with a wild animal, they are aware of the risks being highly dangerous and potentially deadly. It's a potential job hazard every day, but when nothing happens for years a person could start to think the likelihood of it happening is never. This is not the first accident to happen with trainers and wild animals - the most heavily covered in the media in the past few years was Roy Horn at the Mirage in Las Vegas. The tiger was not killed, and years later in their final stage performance Siegfried & Roy used the same tiger in their stage trick.

It's not necessarily if the "almighty dollar" that determines if the animal is put down or not - it's the intent of the attack and the nature of the animal afterwards. If the animal is rabid or changed by the event to where it's dangerous to public safety, then it would be put down. I would guess the killer whale is probably in quarantine for observation after the attack to determine what should be done with the animal.

ericpabear · Post by **ericpabear** » Feb Thu 25, 2010 6:06 pm

boilerbabe wrote:So very sad. The trainer actually grew up in Cedar Lake IN. This was on the news last night.

How can you say to kill it ericpabear? This is a wild animal and as tame as trainers may think it is, it is still a wild animal. These large creatures do not belong in captivity. They are called "killer whales" for a reason.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of the trainer. Those marine biologists dedicate their lives to their work. So sad when one of them is lost.

PREVENTION !!!
THE PRESERVATION OF HUMAN LIFE!!!!
TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT TILL SHE DIES, A MOTHER IS CRYING!!!!
There are other killer whales that have not killed. This one has killed three humans. If we can prevent another death, I say kill it. I don't not value any animal life over a humans life. We track down bears, cougars and other "wild" animals if they kill a human, so they won't get a chance to kill again. Even if a person kills another, we punish that person.

If it is about the money, they can have a big fish fry.
I would drive all the way there just to buy a whale steak.

MmeLeota · Post by **MmeLeota** » Feb Thu 25, 2010 6:23 pm

mindflipper wrote:As boilerbabe points out, these animals are "wild" even though they are in captivity. The basic feral instinct for some species is even genetic - some animals can't be domesticated. Being a trainer involved with a wild animal, they are aware of the risks being highly dangerous and potentially deadly. It's a potential job hazard every day, but when nothing happens for years a person could start to think the likelihood of it happening is never. This is not the first accident to happen with trainers and wild animals - the most heavily covered in the media in the past few years was Roy Horn at the Mirage in Las Vegas. The tiger was not killed, and years later in their final stage performance Siegfried & Roy used the same tiger in their stage trick.

It's not necessarily if the "almighty dollar" that determines if the animal is put down or not - it's the intent of the attack and the nature of the animal afterwards. If the animal is rabid or changed by the event to where it's dangerous to public safety, then it would be put down. I would guess the killer whale is probably in quarantine for observation after the attack to determine what should be done with the animal.

This is very true...they are WILD animals nonetheless. The people who owrk with them day in and day out know this and respect that fact. They know there is always a risk that one day the animal will snap and hurt someone. I vividly remember the Roy Horn accident and am very happy that Roy insisted that the animal not be harmed.

I agree that this was a very tragic accident and my prayers go out to the trainer's family, but I believe this animal should live....preferably back in the wild, though with how long he has been in captivity, I'm not sure he would be able to survive.

ericpabear,
True you have a point about the mother grieving, but let me ask you this...don't you think that the trainer's mother would want to try and continue the conservation work her daughter worked all her life for? This situation is no different from someone being killed in the line of duty. Her life was committed to the conservation of these animals and unfortunately she was the victim of a hazard of the job. The same hold true for any dangerous job out there...

mindflipper · Post by **mindflipper** » Feb Thu 25, 2010 6:28 pm

I would prefer the whale to be released back in the wild than killed. At least it has some chance...

Jacca5660 · Post by **Jacca5660** » Feb Thu 25, 2010 7:50 pm

ericpabear wrote:
boilerbabe wrote:So very sad. The trainer actually grew up in Cedar Lake IN. This was on the news last night.

How can you say to kill it ericpabear? This is a wild animal and as tame as trainers may think it is, it is still a wild animal. These large creatures do not belong in captivity. They are called "killer whales" for a reason.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of the trainer. Those marine biologists dedicate their lives to their work. So sad when one of them is lost.
PREVENTION !!!
THE PRESERVATION OF HUMAN LIFE!!!!
TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT TILL SHE DIES, A MOTHER IS CRYING!!!!
There are other killer whales that have not killed. This one has killed three humans. If we can prevent another death, I say kill it. I don't not value any animal life over a humans life. We track down bears, cougars and other "wild" animals if they kill a human, so they won't get a chance to kill again. Even if a person kills another, we punish that person.

If it is about the money, they can have a big fish fry.
I would drive all the way there just to buy a whale steak.

This is truly sad!

Here are some theories of why it happened.:

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/w ... s/19373498

NaCler · Post by **NaCler** » Feb Fri 26, 2010 8:07 am

I'm pretty sure that if the trainer had survived this attack somehow she would not want the animal put to death.

I would also want the animal released.