Killer Whale Kills Sea World Trainer By Ashley

Killer Whale Kills Sea. World Trainer By: Ashley Deetjen

The Story • In Orlando, Florida one of their trainers Dawn Brancheau died on Feb. 24. The whale that used to be at the former Sealand of the Pacific attraction in Oak Bay grabbed her ponytail and dragged her underwater. • The killer whale grabbed and dragged the trainer by her braided ponytail into his tank. He than grabbed the braid , pulled her underwater, and eventually had drowned Dawn. Officials said he was so aggressive that rescuers could not immediately jump in and help the trainer. • Other trainers at the park had to than lead whale to a smaller pool and lifted him out of the water with a platform to free Brancheau’s dead body from his jaws.

Meet the Killer Whale • The bull orca’s name is Tillikum. He is one of Sea. World’s biggest whales. • He was captured when he was two years old from Iceland. • The killer whale is now 30 -year-old and weighs 12, 300 -pounds. • Tillkum’s past violence experiences with trainers only allowed certain trainers to work with him. Diane Brancheau was one of the few, she has worked with killer whales for 16 years. • Diane started visiting Sea. World since age 9. She began working with sea lions and otters and than advanced to killer whales.

Tillikum’s Past • Unfortunately this is not the first time he has been involved with an attack against a trainer. • Tillikum was one of the three whales involved in the attack in 1991. The year following the previous attack he was sold to Sea. World. • He was also involved in the attack in 1999 when a trainer had climbed into the water after the tourist attraction had closed for the day. The next day his body was found dead laying across Tillkium’s back.

Investigators Say… • The parks officials said they have never in their history of their parks experienced an incident like this. • All of their standard operating procedures are under review. • Nancy Black, a killer whale expert commented this incident saying Tillikum could have playing and this incident could have a real accident. • Other authorities said killer whales are very intelligent creatures. They have emotions, and feelings. The whale could have been unhappy in the situation or bored. • It was also said that because the whales are kept in small concrete tanks they can become neurotic because of swimming in circles all day without the socialization of their families.

Debate on Killer Whales • Due to these attacks against trainers people are starting to debate on weather killer whales should be released back into the ocean. • Researchers say there would be problems returning whales to Iceland when there is no record kept of their families. • Brancheau's sister told the press that Diane would not want anything done to Tillkium.

Killer Whale’s Futures • • • The debate on the future of killer whales is becoming a big issue because this is Tillkum’s third time being involved. As of now Sea. World officials say that Tillikum will not be killed because of this incident. Animal rights activists say this incident as caused many questions to be asked about keeping wild animals in captivity. The Sea. World in Orlando closed immediately after the accident and the Shamu show has been suspended. The park has initiated an investigation to determine what happened and what needs to be done to provide safety to all it’s trainers and animals.

Video of the attack • http: //phreakaholic. com/news/dawnbrancheau-attack-video/

Sources • http: //www. timescolonist. com/Trainer+family+pushes+releas e+Sea. World+killer+whale+death+video/2730935/story. html • http: //www. clickorlando. com/news/22659901/detail. html • http: //articles. latimes. com/2010/feb/25/nation/la-naseaworld-death 25 -2010 feb 25/2