RSSTrainer Dawn Brancheau Dies at SeaWorld’s Shamu Stadium in Killer Whale Attack
It’s why they are called “KILLER WHALES”.
“Dine with Shamu” show? I am guessing Sea World may want to rename the tourist attraction after the horrible incident.
Brancheau with Tilikum.Photo: AP Photo/Julie Fletcher, Orlando Sentinel
40 year old, experienced trainer Dawn Brancheau was drown and killed on Wednesday at Sea World’s Shamu Stadium when she was reportedly dragged into the orca’s tank at about 2 pm. According to The Orlando Sentinel, witnesses said that the killer whale suddenly grabbed Brancheau by the upper arm, tossed her around in his mouth and pulled her beneath the water. A truly sad and tragic event.
Suddenly, they saw a woman in the killer whale’s jaws, her face bloody. The more than 20-foot-long orca circled round and round, turning her over and over, they said.
“It was terrible,” Sobrinho said. “It’s very difficult to see the image.”
Witnesses who watched the attack while eating at the “Dine with Shamu” show — a poolside buffet where trainers demonstrate their connection with the animals — told the Sentinel a female trainer was petting a killer whale when it grabbed her and plunged into the water.
It reappeared on the other side of the tank and leapt up holding the woman, they said.
Within minutes, an alarm sounded, and security workers escorted the spectators out. Some people were screaming, and children were crying, Sobrinho and Oliveira said. The scene was more orderly at “Dine with Shamu.”
It appears that this is not the first time that this Killer Whale as, um killed. Would that make it a serial killer whale? I think we need to remember that these animals are not playful creatures at heart. All the training in the world does not stop the fact that in the end, it is a killer whale. Using sarcasm to make their point, the blogprof further reminds us killer whales are at heart killing machines.
The killer whale who took the life of a SeaWorld trainer is something of a serial killer … whale, as it appears the marine mammal, named Tilikum, has a “violent history.” The largest killer whale in captivity (weighing in at five tons), Tilikum was responsible for the drowning of a biology student in 1991 and the 1999 death of a gatecrasher, who was found naked and dead on the whale’s back. Experts said these deaths were not attacks, but “misguided attempts by the otherwise docile whale to play.”
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7 Responses to “Trainer Dawn Brancheau Dies at SeaWorld’s Shamu Stadium in Killer Whale Attack”
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This is insanity to keep these mamals in captivity. They are called “killer whales” for a reason. They are carnavours and they will revert to nature and kill from time to time.
I am sorry the woman lost her life, but she knew the danger with this animal. The idea that the whale was playing is someone desiring to give human behavior to animals. That is a refusal to understand reality.
I agree with Tx Grandfather…let the whales be whales and go out in the ocean away from humans..
Wild means just that.
[...] Reflections on Monday’s tragic killer whale attack at SeaWorld. [...]
Imagine the sweetest pet you have ever known, then imagine him or her weighing 15,000 pounds. We’d be running from it like Godzilla.
To be fair, she slipped into the pool. That said, a Killer whale is like a bus with teeth. Even when playing, a human is no match for them. There is always a risk with any wild animal in captivity.
Think “Shamu-psychology” for a moment! You are Shamu – you train (play) with the same individual over days, months, maybe years. You have a wonderful time and develope an affection. One day “it” comes dressed as a killer whale and looks like your youngster. This confirms that you are family. The size of this “it” is a bout right. Maybe is is your youngster! You know if your Young is out of the water element for too long it will dry out and die. You come to the rescue. The only way you can get your beloved “it’ into the water is by the thing that hangs from her back of her head(pony tail).
You do a wonderful job, drag it into the saving watery element and hold it down. “It” should get better soon – unfortunately the trainer drowned. What a shame that we could not think like a killer whale earlier!