Orca kills trainer at Florida's SeaWorld

[dave nz]

MIAMI (Reuters) - A killer whale at the SeaWorld amusement park in central Florida killed a trainer on Wednesday, police and company executives said.

"She was rubbing the killer whale's head, and (it) grabbed her and pulled her in" to the pool, said Chuck Tompkins, Corporate Curator of Zoological Operations at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.

Forty-year-old Dawn Brancheau, a trainer with 16 years experience at SeaWorld, was dead when rescue officials arrived, said Orange County Sheriff's spokesman Jim Solomons.

Media reports said the orca at the park's Shamu Stadium grabbed the woman by the waist, thrashed her about and took her underwater.

The trainer was killed just before the start of a public performance and the stadium was immediately evacuated.

Dan Brown, president of SeaWorld Orlando, said the victim was one of the park's most experienced animal trainers, and that she drowned.

There were initially conflicting reports about how the incident occurred. The Orlando Sentinel quoted a spectator as saying the whale came up from the water and grabbed the trainer by her waist. The sheriff's official said preliminary accounts indicated she slipped and fell in, but that was still under investigation.

"We don't know what was going through the killer whale's head. It just got done doing a wonderful session with Dawn ... his behaviour was great ... that's the reason that she was rubbing his head," Tompkins told Reuters.

"We don't have any other specifics yet. This is a terrible, terrible situation that's happened, it's a tragedy, our greatest sympathy goes out to her family."

The Florida park is owned by the Blackstone Group, a private equity company that also owns part of the Universal Orlando theme park.

A spokesman for SeaWorld in San Diego said killer whale shows had been suspended following the death in Orlando.

"We cancelled the show this afternoon in light of the incident in Orlando. We'll look at it again tomorrow," said SeaWorld spokesman David Koontz. "We're very saddened by the loss of a sea world family member."

According to the Orlando Sentinel the orca involved in the incident, named Tillikum but popularly known as "Tilly," has a controversial past.

[Victor]

Very sad. I believe the Orca was also involved in a couple more instances.

[dave nz]

Yeah saw this on the news here tonight, apparently there is controversy as to exactly what happened in this case...... and the Orca's past was/is sketchy.

[uva3021]

cue morricone music now

[Victor]

The Orca did drag her into the pool.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100225/...seaworld_death

[Ron Mexico]

"killer" whale.

Feel sorry for the girl and her family but there is a reason they are called killer whales.

[MCP313]

Humans shouldnt be ****ing with any wild animals.

With that said we do anyways all the time so tragic events like this unfortunately take place.

Truth be told Im shocked these types of things do not happen more often. Even though they are called 'Killer Whales' arent they friendly by nature? Why else do they swim with them at these shows? I remember seeing Shamu when I was 9 in San Diego and I know it meant alot to me that day because it was over 20 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday.

Sad story....

PEACE


The killer whale (Orcinus orca), commonly referred to as the orca and, less commonly, blackfish, is the largest species of the dolphin family. They are found in all of the world's oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas. Killer whales as a species have a diverse diet, although populations often specialize in particular types of prey. Some feed exclusively on fish, particularly salmon, and other populations hunt marine mammals such as sea lions, seals, walruses and even large whales. Killer whales are regarded as an apex predator as they have no natural predators.

There are up to five distinct killer whale types distinguished by geographical range, preferred prey items and physical appearance. Some of these may be separate races, subspecies or even species. Killer whales are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups which are the most stable of any animal species.[3] The sophisticated social and vocal behaviour of killer whales have been described as manifestations of culture.

The IUCN currently assesses the conservation status of the killer whale as data deficient because of the likelihood that one or more killer whale types could actually be a separate species in need of protection. Some local populations are considered threatened or endangered due to depletion of prey species, habitat loss, pollution by PCBs, historic capture for marine mammal parks, and conflicts with fisheries. In late 2005, the killer whales known as the "southern resident killer whales" were placed on the U.S. Endangered Species list.

Wild killer whales are not considered a threat to humans,[4] although there have been cases of captive killer whales attacking their handlers at marine theme parks. The killer whale features strongly in the mythologies of indigenous cultures. In Western cultures, it has had a reputation for being a fearsome predator, but in recent decades better understanding has led to widespread appreciation of the species.