Tilikum, the whale responsible for the death of his trainer Dawn Brancheau, will continue to live at SeaWorld. SeaWord CEO Jim Atchison said in a statement today that SeaWorld is scheduled to re-open and added, “we will make improvements and changes and move forward.”
Atchison said of the decision to keep Tilikum, “no animal is ever subject to any punishment and Tilikum is no exception.”
What do you guys think about this? I know that SeaWorld has a fairly decent record of taking care of their animals and educating the public about sea life, but deaths like this are a reminder that wild animals are, in fact, wild.
This shouldn’t be surprising, considering this whale, along with two others, killed a trainer in Canada before Sea World even got him.
They’re now blaming her ponytail, even though she always wore one, and in spite of the fact that witnesses said that the whale grabbed her by the waist.
I predict that this whale will be in a position to kill trainers for years to come. I’m guessing death benefits cost much less money than the whale makes for them…
I’m pretty sure the CEO said the trainers will not perform in the water with any of the whales anymore. It was a spectacular show to watch when the trainer rides the nose and is thrown in air. It is mind boggling to see a tiny human with such a bond to a behemoth creature.
Also, Tilli was always known to be aggressive and only a handful of trainers where allowed to interact with him; they were never allowed in the water with him. I’m sure even fewer will be able to interact with him and they won’t be standing in knee deep water with him ever again.
i believe they really want to keep him around just as a breeding machine
“It is mind boggling to see a tiny human with such a bond to a behemoth creature.”
Yeah…they really had a great BOND didn’t they? Almost as good as Rihanna and Chris Brown. You only kill the ones you love…pfttt
TILLY IS A WILD ANIMAL, HE DIDINT ASK TO BE PUT ON A TANK FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT! stop blaming the orca, when clearly it´s our society´s fault, oh and that sneaky ponytail of hers..
I’ve been to Sea World Orlando at least 20 times. I live two hours by car from Orlando and I love themes parks. In fact, I’m taking my daughter to Disney World tomorrow.
The animals seem to be very well treated and Sea World funds a lot of research. I do think it is sad to see the orca’s fin slumped over. They keep it down in captivity. But, at this point, Killi can never be released into the wild because she would die of starvation. She was taken while she was still on her mom’s milk; she has no idea how to hunt and is too old to ever excel in hunting lessons. If she has to remain in captivity Sea World Orlando will take better care of her than the majority of other orca captivity homes.
Tilli is a guy…didn’t mean to keep referring to him as she.
While you’re correct that she would not survive in the wild now, you overlook the fact that he was caught off the cost of Iceland and taken out of the wild to be at Sea World. At one time he survived in the wild just fine and was not born in captivity like many show animals.
Let’s put you in a small glass cage and see how you feel! I’m sure you’d be wanting to bite the hand that feeds you before too long.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1253901/MARTHA-HOLMES-The-price-pay-caging-them.html
I read this article the other day, and learned a few things I didn’t know. I have LOVED killer whales since I was a kid but have never been to a sea park and never will.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/02/25/article-1253564-08741DCA000005DC-980_634x518.jpg
this is a picture of the seaWorld park in orlando. I don’t know what all the tanks look like, but this looks fucking horrible.
It is insanely cruel to keep animals like this caged for the entertainment of people and make the owners fat and rich.
“It is mind boggling to see a tiny human with such a bond to a behemoth creature.” Lisa, you’re really dumb. think it over. And you shouldn’t be prideful of going to sea parks, you should be fucking ashamed that you have supported this “business”
It makes me sick. The human race is so shameful.
As I said when this happened, I would probably do a lot worse if I were held in such a proportionately small environment and had to do inane tricks over and over again.
To paraphrase Chris Rock “That Killer Whale didn’t go crazy, that Killer Whale went Killer Whale”…that’s what happens sometimes. I’m sure the trainer was a really nice person, but I always get a little chuckle when I think of Roy(the other half of Sigfried), the “Grizzly Man”, and any others that are so arrogant to think they can actually train and control any of God’s creatures that can turn on them at any moment.
Completely agree!
Let Shamu and Tilli and all the rest wild animals where they belong, in the wild.
“But, at this point, Killi can never be released into the wild because she would die of starvation. She was taken while she was still on her mom’s milk; she has no idea how to hunt and is too old to ever excel in hunting lessons.!”
Yup, they fund a lot of research and so forth, but it’s ridiculous to capture wild animals so that people can go, pay and be entertained. When you buy a ticket you support this. And Disney Word?! Oh weeping jeez!
To each their own.
Hm, killer whales are called killer whales for a reason… Why is this -any- surprise?
It’s surprising because more humans have probably died from the complications of cutting themselves while opening canned soup than have died at the fins of killer whales/orcas.
But, yes, killer whales in the wild are natural alpha hunters, skilled and efficient at preying on tasty (pretty exclusively non-human) morsels.
I did think of that Chris Rock quote. Also, I thought of a recent odd, at-least-mildly amusing headline (paraphrased here), ‘Rapper C-Murder Convicted of Murder.’
Once again, Skeelo nails it. Dude, you need your own gossip blog….you’d kick Beet’s ass.
It’s a killer whale for Christ’s sake. A wild animal. Let the thing live in a tank at Sea World and stop asking for her to perform tricks and interact with trainers. Let her retire-she paid her dues. Everybody is always so shocked when animals act like animals.
what dues
I think Dizz means the “Killer Whale Workers United” union that she’s a member of. As far as I can tell, she’s up to date on her dues.
Considering that there have never been any reports of orcas attacking humans in the wild and in fact some sailors have fallen in the water into the middle of a pod of orcas and nothing happened to them this is so not a case of it “going killer whale” it’s a case of the poor thing living in a space that when compared to what it would have in the wild is the equivalent of a person spending their whole life living in a closet and let me ask you, would you not be completely insane if that was your life?
They really need to release this whale back into the wild if there is no medical reason to keep it around. I’m disgusted by Sea World’s negligence in putting this whale in a show, knowing its history. I hope the trainer’s family sues Sea World into the ground. Yes, there is a certain liability that comes with working with wild animals, but this is absurd.
I’ll never go to a Sea World park, ever.
i’ve always felt sickened when i visit places like that or the zoo.
it is not natural and not very educational, after all we are simply spectators to wild animals living in captivity.
Whales should live in the ocean. period. it does not matter how well they are fed or loved, they are in what we would feel like is a prison and their behavior is not wrong when they kill or harm humans, that is the only natural aspect of places like sea world.
all of that show may be entertaining but that is all it really is=entertainment.
If you want your kids to learn about wild animals subscribe to national geographic, rent dvd’s on the subject and go online.
I’ve actually never been to a zoo,just for that reason.
It breaks my heart to see animals that should be hardly ever seen by humans,living in the wild somewhere,kept in tiny,confined spaces.
Have to agree with you all. It’s a killer whale! What do people expect? It mind boggling that humans think they are superior to animals and get all up in arms when an animal acts as their instinct instructs them to. Trained or not, its still an animal.
I am glad to read that the CEO of Sea World is not going to “punish” animals – that sounds right.
Has the history of animal training taught us nothing? How many faces must be chewed off before we give up the dream of making them into humanoids?
Let’s make a list of seemingly sweet large captive “pets” or deranged escaped zoo animals that have gone bazerk (and his is only in our lifetime)
-Gorillas
-Chimps
-Tigers
-Elephants
-Pet snakes that constrict pets and children
-killer whales
-Bears
-wolves
-Beverly Hills Chihuahuas
…and the list goes on.