Killer Whales Kill Trainers

[MA-Caver]

Two attacks resulting in deaths of trainers at Sea World.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_re_us/us_seaworld_death
ORLANDO, Fla. – A SeaWorld spokesman says a killer whale that attacked and killed a trainer in Orlando is the same one involved in two other deaths, including a Canada trainer's.
SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs says the whale that killed 40-year-old trainer Dawn Brancheau in front of a horrified audience Wednesday is Tilikum.
Tilikum was one of three whales blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia.
A man's body was also found draped over Tilikum at Orlando SeaWorld in July 1999.
Daniel Dukes reportedly made his way past security at SeaWorld and either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water of Tilikum's huge tank.
An autopsy ruled that he died of hypothermia, but authorities said it appeared Tilikum bit the man and tore off his swimming trunks.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

When accidents like this happen it's time to let those particular animals go back into the wild... provided they weren't born and raised at the park. But many now are and thus don't have the necessary skills to hunt for their food and survive among their kind.
Hopefully they won't put the animals down and will just use them for live exhibits.
Sad for the trainers who obviously loved the animals enough to work with them and providing thousands with the thrill of seeing the intelligence of these beautiful creatures.
Prayers go to the families.
This is one of my favorite wall papers... showing the trust that is there...

 

[grydth]

One always has to remember that, from terriers to tigers, we are dealing with animals. These beings have instincts totally different than ours... in the case of a killer whale, instinct tells them to look at you like a bag of chips.

They are not cuddly and nice, but instead one of the most savagely efficient and intelligent killers ever to swim the seas..... one can find a great deal of beauty in what they truly are by nature, just never forget what they truly are.

 

[CoryKS]

A SeaWorld spokesman says a killer whale that attacked and killed a trainer in Orlando is the same one involved in two other deaths, including a Canada trainer's.

It's the eponymy, stupid.

 

[MBuzzy]

I'm torn on this....on one hand, this is an incredible show and something that I want to take my kid to see....but on the other hand, they are killers and they are in captivity. I can't say that I think they are somehow better off in captivity.

Zoo and wildlife preserves and such are in general a good thing and I've seen how Sea World treats their animals and it is VERY well. I just think that it was an unfortunate accident and hopefully it doesn't happen again. After all, with the thousands of shows that they do with these gargantuan creatures, there are surprisingly FEW injuries!

 

[MA-Caver]

I'm torn on this....on one hand, this is an incredible show and something that I want to take my kid to see....but on the other hand, they are killers and they are in captivity. I can't say that I think they are somehow better off in captivity.

Zoo and wildlife preserves and such are in general a good thing and I've seen how Sea World treats their animals and it is VERY well. I just think that it was an unfortunate accident and hopefully it doesn't happen again. After all, with the thousands of shows that they do with these gargantuan creatures, there are surprisingly FEW injuries!

Surprisingly FEW REPORTED injuries. How many close calls have these trainers have had? How many times have they taken a new whale and in the midst of training (whatever that entails) it decides the trainer would make a better, more filling lunch than the salmon that's been fed to him in bits and pieces, and to have to perform a rescue from the animal? How many times has the world famous Shamu been a near miss?
There are videos to be found on the net that were "leaked" one of is of a woman/trainer who was repeatedly taken out in the middle of the tank and the whale waited til she swam back and he grabbed her again and pulled her right back out.
One would imagine that like Tigers in a Sigfried and Roy show the predatory animals are merely being tolerant of the human interaction.
The adage holds ... play with fire and eventually you'll get burned. But my concern is for the animals themselves. Often times a Tiger or a Lion or a Bear would be put down because it attacked a human (trainer or special guest for the show). With these whales will they consider doing the same thing?
Like Pam is to Tigers I am to Orcas... (and bats ) Somehow there has to be a line drawn on these type of interactions and the consequences that are faced when something goes wrong.

The morbid humor part of me recalls a FAR SIDE cartoon showing a killer whale and a dolphin in a tank with a trainer on a platform high above them and the killer whale says to the dolphin... "Herring Smerring, I'm going for the whole shameer!"

 

[Bruno@MT]

People sometimes seem to forget that these type of animal have tens of thousands of years of 'killer' evolution in them. Even if they were born in captivity, they are still killer whales. The same applies to people raising lions or wolves as pets.

As sad as it is for the family, this is a case of 'live by the sword, die by the sword'. Eventually people push their luck or meet the wrong animal at the wrong time and that is when they discover that 150 pounds of tender meat is no match for 1000 pounds of pure muscle with teeth at the end. It's kinda like what happened to Steve Irwin, although he was even crazier.

 

[Twin Fist]

there is not a ONE SINGLE verified instance of orcas attacking humans in the wild.

not ONE

we are simply not in thier diet.

these killings are not simple predation, they are cases of lashing out.

 

[Jade Tigress]

I'm torn on this....on one hand, this is an incredible show and something that I want to take my kid to see....but on the other hand, they are killers and they are in captivity. I can't say that I think they are somehow better off in captivity.

Zoo and wildlife preserves and such are in general a good thing and I've seen how Sea World treats their animals and it is VERY well. I just think that it was an unfortunate accident and hopefully it doesn't happen again. After all, with the thousands of shows that they do with these gargantuan creatures, there are surprisingly FEW injuries!

I have seen the show at SeaWorld many years ago. It was impressive and it was obvious that the animals are well loved and taken care of. But your point about the captivity of these animals is spot on.

I can't remember where I read or heard this, but animals like killer whales, dolphins, etc. that use sonar, are particularly stressed when kept in captivity. They are used to an oceans worth of space. When they are kept in captivity, no matter how large the tank, the sonar bounces off such a small relative area for them that it can drive them crazy.

Very sad story all around.

 

[CoryKS]

there is not a ONE SINGLE verified instance of orcas attacking humans in the wild.

not ONE

we are simply not in thier diet.

these killings are not simple predation, they are cases of lashing out.

That may have as much to do with our strange reluctance to go swimming in polar waters as whether we are on their diet.

 

[Xue Sheng]

One always has to remember that, from terriers to tigers, we are dealing with animals. These beings have instincts totally different than ours... in the case of a killer whale, instinct tells them to look at you like a bag of chips.

They are not cuddly and nice, but instead one of the most savagely efficient and intelligent killers ever to swim the seas..... one can find a great deal of beauty in what they truly are by nature, just never forget what they truly are.

QFT

And a bit of a side note.

They recently discovered that if Killer whales are in the area Great White Sharks are not. Great Whites tend to fear killer whales because killer whales will eat them. Killer whales show up and great whites tend to head for deep water

there is not a ONE SINGLE verified instance of orcas attacking humans in the wild.

You are right but you also need to take into account that White tip sharks are thought to have had killed more humans (historically) than any other shark species but they can't prove it so they are not the top man-eater. This is because there are not that many survivors just a lot of missing people. White tip sharks tend to be the first on the scene at shipwrecks.

 

[MA-Caver]

there is not a ONE SINGLE verified instance of Orcas attacking humans in the wild.

not ONE

we are simply not in their diet.

these killings are not simple predation, they are cases of lashing out.

That may as much to do with our strange reluctance to go swimming in polar waters as whether we are on their diet.

Like I pointed out to MBuzzy... there was not ONE REPORTED attack. How many eskimoes have been taken since they've taken to the arctic waters in their kayaks? And likewise we just don't go swimming or make it easy for the whales to get at us in their normal range of habitat.
Either way I'm agree that the stress of the animals living in an enclosed space and having the noise and constant attention of thousands of screaming high pitched small hairless animals directed at them can be stressful as well. Including getting them to perform outside their normal day to day activities in the wild.

Here is more on the story... including a couple of videos.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100225/ts_csm/282809

I like this paragraph as well ...

“These behemoths are denied all of their natural, instinctual inclinations, and we humans tend to think, ‘Well, this is just a bad animal.’ But it is a wild animal, used to running free in an entire ocean, but now confined to a very small space,” says Joyce Tischler, founder of and general counsel for Animal Legal Defense Fund. She compares an orca’s life in captivity in a tank to keeping a human being in a bathtub for his entire life. She says most Americans have romanticized notions of sea life perpetuated by such TV series as “Flipper.” But even dolphins are known to aggressively run their teeth down the backs of humans in hundreds of incidents that are not reported outside the conservation community press, she says.

Likewise this line which makes me feel better that they DO understand the creatures well enough to get an idea of whats wrong...

The orca is the largest member of the dolphin family and is known as a favorite at Sea World. Killer whales are a highly social species.
But “the vast majority of the orca whales in captivity would be far better off to be returned to the wild. Orcas are unbelievably ill-suited to life in theme parks and can be successfully returned to the wild. We know, because we have done it,”

Hopefully with the animal in question this is what they will do.

“This isn’t the first time that stressed-out orca whales have injured or killed people, and unfortunately, it is not likely to be the last,” says Phillips. “It is high time that the marine park industry get out of the captive orca business.”

Indeed! Though as much as I would love to attend one of those shows at the park... I think I'll probably save up money to take a cruise to Alaska at the time of year where they're most spotted and view them there in their natural habitat.

 

[MBuzzy]

My biggest fear out of this whole incident is that they will decide to euthanize the animal. A dog turning on a human is one thing, but a killer whale is an entirely different thing to me. If anything it should be returned to the wild, although after 27 years of captivity, who knows how he would fare in the wild....