No one was injured in the incident involving the killer whale, named Ky, and his trainer, Steve Aibel.
"It looked like Ky lost a little bit of focus," Aibel said.
Aibel has trained with Ky for the past 10 years, and said he was caught off-guard by Ky's behavior.
"Seventeen years of training with animals and I've never had an experience like that," he said.
At first, it seemed like part of the show, but then Ky began diving right over Aibel. As soon as Aibel would come up for air, he was slammed back underwater.
Trainers rushed to the side of the tank, there was little they could do.
"I wasn't frightened," Aibel said. "I think that by being calm throughout the process -- that helped to calm (Ky) down."
Aibel went back to work with Ky Monday, and credited patience and training with helping to resolve the situation.
He wasn't sure what set Ky off, but said that the killer whale was near breeding age, which might be to blame for the erratic behavior.
Not coasters but Amusement parks but yeah....
The Trainer is already swimming with the same whale again.. crazy
Im surprised there was no help for him at all. He looked like he was basically on his own. You would figure they would have some sort of procedure in place in case of something like this.
I saw this on channel 7. They said that parents told their kids to cover their eyes because they thought the trainer would be killed. I'm glad that he is okay.
Given that they say the whale was nearing mating age ( Today Show ), I can't help but think of that episode of King if the Hill where the dolphin gets well uh, friendly with Hank.
It's the most fun in the park when your laughing in the dark.
