Trainer drowns by Killer Whale at Seaworld Orlando

[rct2wizard360]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... full.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There's about three conflicting reports right now.
One being this happened during a live performance, the other was that it happened in a holding tank for the whale.

Apparently this whale has killed two others in the past.

Regardless, keeping the thoughts with the family.

[sfgamguy]

Oh my gosh. Thats really sad

[onyxhotel08]

Puts the name killer whale into more emphasis.

[CoastsToCoasters]

I'm an animal person, so hopefully no one goes PETA on me here, but if its killed other people maybe this whale isn't meant for captivity and seein they most likely or obv can't release it into the wild, its time to put the animal down?

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[Jackluver18]

That's really sad, I feel for the family

[monsterfan99]

I'm an animal person, so hopefully no one goes PETA on me here, but if its killed other people maybe this whale isn't meant for captivity and seein they most likely or obv can't release it into the wild, its time to put the animal down?

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

That's what bothered me is they knew the animal was aggressive in the past, even before Sea World bought it. If you know this, maybe it's not the right animal to interact with people. I fully expect the animal to be euthanize at some point.

Things like this will happen when working with animals. They are large, strong and work off instincts. It's sad for the family of the recessed, but it's part of the risk in working with wild animals.

[UWW-10]

^ Not only that, but the Today Show had an interview with a man from Vancouver from where the whale was originally from and they claim that they had told SeaWorld that the whale was not to be used for show/human interaction...only for breeding....apparently SeaWorld put out a statement claiming they were unaware of a discussion every taking place like this, but it does make you wonder......

I feel sorry for the trainer and her family, friends, and co-workers, but animals are unpredictable (no matter how "trained" they are) and I'm sure this is something that has to be in the back of the minds of these trainers whenever they are in physical contact.

[rct2wizard360]

Update.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/02/26/fl ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A former head of animal training said Friday that Brancheau left herself vulnerable to attack and that she may have broken the park's training protocol.

"Dawn, if she was standing here right now, would tell you that that was her mistake in allowing that to happen," said former SeaWorld trainer Thad Lacinak, who had worked with Brancheau in the past, on ABC's "Good Morning America."

I'm not so sure. I mean I dont think a trainer that experienced would put herself in such a dangerous situation but then again, it's not my position to decide. But it sounds like SeaWorld just wants to cover themselves if a lawsuit pops up.

We'll see where this goes.

[rizash]

Not implying anything here, but with a disclamer from previous owners this sounds horrible. It probably means the animal was a high stress capture or abused animal. Animal acts always involve risk, but a smart creature in captivity, with a high stress and dangerous history is always a bad combination.

Even the best trained most experienced animal trainers get hurt or killed. Eventually you get comfy around them, and eventually it gets someone hurt.

I feel for the friends and family of the worker, and am greatful they brought these creatures into our lives, even given the risks.

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[Danhockey04]

I'm an animal person, so hopefully no one goes PETA on me here, but if its killed other people maybe this whale isn't meant for captivity and seein they most likely or obv can't release it into the wild, its time to put the animal down?

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

That's what bothered me is they knew the animal was aggressive in the past, even before Sea World bought it. If you know this, maybe it's not the right animal to interact with people. I fully expect the animal to be euthanize at some point.

Things like this will happen when working with animals. They are large, strong and work off instincts. It's sad for the family of the recessed, but it's part of the risk in working with wild animals.

Number one, I knew this lady, she was very nice and loved her work. I talked with her while I worked at Sea World, she loved her job and took it seriously. No one has ever swam in the same water with Tilikum, it was always left to swim alone because of its previous history. There were certain operation protocols when having to deal with Tilikum and I personally do not know if she followed them or not, she may have made a mistake.

Number two, they should not and most likely will not euthanize this orca, they may just rework the protocols to make sure this never happens again. But everyone I know at SeaWorld, employees I know that knew her is really getting more than pissed off at all this talk about killing the animal because everyone is looking at it the wrong way, it's a sad situation, not a time to debate what to do with the animal. Media and all the PETA members think you know what the animal wants, but what makes you think they are better off in the wild, every time I went there, they all looked happy and were much better off in Sea World than in the wild. It's no different than a dog being enclosed in a home or a cage and taught tricks, same thing. I know she would not want any harm done to the animal, just by the way she was, it was her life work and to kill the animal, you'd be eliminating all her efforts and saying it was pointless. It was a horrible incident and it was very saddening that it happened to such an amazing and nice person, but she would definitely be very angry with the way the public and media is handling it. And it's not like she didn't know what she was doing, she was very experienced and one of a few that was allowed in the water with the orcas.

Lastly, it was a freak accident, Tilikum has had issues in the past, but that is why the safety protocols are in place. I've seen and worked shows were Tilikum would interrupt it and swim out and do anything it wants, it has had issues, but that's no reason to put the creature down, it's how it has been and is a fierce predator. But every trainer knows the risk of working with these creatures, and she never showed that fear, she loved these creatures and would want the best for them. They were part of her family and her life, if only any of you got to meet or even talk to her, you'd realize this, but people need to stop with this whole "animals shouldn't be trapped in these "prisons"". These animals live great lives and seem to love being around their trainers and by you saying to stop this, it basically takes away any and all studying of these animals and people's life work. It's like saying I'm gonna take away everything you've done with your life and throw it in the garbage so it can slowly die and rot away.

[Chitown]

Great post Dan and I pretty much agree with everything you stated.

The only thing I would like these marine parks that have orcas is to make the tanks they live in bigger and theme them to an ocean environment. Having them in tanks that look like swimming pools and the fact that these are large creatures, they don't seem to have much room to swim.

Hell no, this orca should not be put down. If he wanted to be aggresive and had the intention of killing her, he would have tore her apart. These animals freakin kill and eat blue whales so what do you think a human being is going to look like after an orca gets through with one?

[Coaster Justin]

Our thoughts go out to Her and Her Family.

[CoastsToCoasters]

I fully agree with chitown about the tanks. That has always irritated me. They stare at blue white walls all their captive lives. Give them sand rocks and plants to swim around, look natural. :/

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[monsterfan99]

Just wanted to clarify that I don't think the animal should be put down. I am just stating I expect the animal to be put down.

[Trailblazer Tony]

Excellent post Dan!!!! It has been more than frustrating living in Florida this week and turning on the news and hearing them talk about this from every false angle imaginable. The fact of the matter is that it was a freak accident that occurred to an individual who knew the risk involved with her job, but came to work anyways because she loved what she does. The important thing right now should not be about giving the whale a similar fate as the Bartman ball (Cubs reference), but rather with keeping her family and fellow workers in your thoughts and prayers in their tough time!

[FParker185]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loc ... 5041.story

The whale will be saved.

[david]

Why doesn't the whale move into the open ocean? is something wrong with doing that? Or are they just money hungry?

[FParker185]

The whale has been in captivity it's entire life, it would die pretty much immediately if they released it.

[onyxhotel08]

How close was she is he managed to grab her by her ponytail? And they mentioned at first she was bleeding from the face?

[BP317]

I live only a couple miles away from SWO and for days after the accident there were a lot of helicopters and other media vehicles etc were swarming the gates trying to speak with park guests and employees. Like Danny said, there is a terrible lack of respect for the family/investigative process, unfortunately that is what happens whenever something like this happens anywhere and the media sees a lot of activity (caused by people like PETA). Sea World Parks & Entertainment do great work and the animals there are taken very good care of. Jim Atchison did a good job dealing with a hostile media crowd at the press conference, regardless of how some media outlets think he was too defensive he did exactly what he needed to. Once the investigation is finished and released hopefully that will quite people speaking out against Sea World.

[monsterfan99]

^Odds the story will be forgotten nationally within a week.

[Cole]

^Odds the story will be forgotten nationally within a week.

Welcome to the World.
My thoughts and prayers go to her and her family.