Killer Whale kills trainer

[fatchowmein]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,6350085.story



Very sad. I love Sea World. :(

[Demiurge]

Orca in a pool.

Lion in a cage.

This stuff happens when you mess with dangerous animals. Just ask Timothy Treadwell. Still sad.

[nooshinjohn]

It is sad... My question is given the history of this particular KILLER Whale, why did SeaWorld continue to allow this animal to be shown, and used in performances. Just Like Manticore(Seigfrid & Roy) this whale had a history of attacking trainers and those that had gotten in the water with it. It had even killed a human before. Another escaped with his life, suffering a broken foot in the process. While the loss is tragic, and a horrific event for those that witnessed it, it could have easily been prevented IMHO. SeaWorld will loose on this BIG TIME.


RIP Dawn Brancheau

[schwarcw]

Why do people drive fast cars around a track? Why do people ski down a mountain at 90 mph? Why do people sky dive or bungy off a very high bridge?Why do people text while driving and eating a cheeseburger (I do this)? It's all for the thrill!

The whale had a history, it had already killed two people, she knew it. She loved the animal and her job taking care of it. Tragic story, RIP.

[nooshinjohn]

^^^not looking to argue, as all of your points are true. I would ask these questions however.
Why do people go to Sea World? Why do they walk around the Park? Why do they take their kids there? Why do the go to the Shamu Show?

They do it for the entertainment. Sea World even allows lucky guests to "pet" the whales. When they do such careless things with an animal that cannot tell the diference between people and live bait, they are knowingly taking risks with public safety, and that is the bottom line. That whale should have been released back into the wild or put down. Two deaths(I only knew of 1) and numerous other incidents should have been a clear warning that they were rolling the dice with people's lives. Sadly this woman and two others lost their lives to this animal, and for what? I guess the SHOW must go on...


My last question is when does it stop?

[Sherardp]

I was reading about this on Yahoo and as mentioned it had a history that should have been taken care of sometime ago. I was thinking the same thoughts as John, as I too feel it should have been released back into the wild or something to that extent. Now this poor woman is gone, and it must be tragic for those that witnessed something so terrible. Very sad, and I'm sure Sea World is going to be seeing a major lawsuit on this one from the family.

[leroyjr1]

i was reading about this on yahoo and as mentioned it had a history that should have been taken care of sometime ago. I was thinking the same thoughts as john, as i too feel it should have been released back into the wild or something to that extent. Now this poor woman is gone, and it must be tragic for those that witnessed something so terrible. Very sad, and i'm sure sea world is going to be seeing a major lawsuit on this one from the family.

+1...

[acsubie]

I was reading about this on Yahoo and as mentioned it had a history that should have been taken care of sometime ago. I was thinking the same thoughts as John, as I too feel it should have been released back into the wild or something to that extent. Now this poor woman is gone, and it must be tragic for those that witnessed something so terrible. Very sad, and I'm sure Sea World is going to be seeing a major lawsuit on this one from the family.

Whats ashame is that Sea World will prolly end up keeping the whale, just saw on the news that its the only mature mating male whale for all the Sea Worlds

[Mazeroth]

On our news station they were talking about how they may have to put the whale down. If they did that, I will be effin' pissed. You take a perfectly natural animal out of its habitat, try to tame it, it kills (hey, it's a KILLER whale) and now some are saying it needs to die. Unreal.

[shadowofnight]

On our news station they were talking about how they may have to put the whale down. If they did that, I will be effin' pissed. You take a perfectly natural animal out of its habitat, try to tame it, it kills (hey, it's a KILLER whale) and now some are saying it needs to die. Unreal.

+1 ....It should have been taken out of the show after the previous incidents , and only used for breeding. They think they can tame the big cats and bears too, and get pissed when they flash back to their natural instincts...idiots.

[danger boy]

I hope this woman's family sues Sea world and they close that whale exhibit down. move the whale somewhere else where they don't have to perform like trained monkeys.

why do we humans think we should cage and keep animals in an un-natural enviroment like that?

[Ron-P]

why do we humans think we should cage and keep animals in an un-natural enviroment like that?

What about your pets? Dogs, cats, hamsters, birds...and so on. Most all are animals in an un-natural environment.

[danger boy]

What about your pets? Dogs, cats, hamsters, birds...and so on. Most all are animals in an un-natural environment.

yeah, but cats and dogs at least are domesticated.. and they aren't gonna kill your ass either.

a whale and wild tiger will. you can not make them domestic. ever.

[Ron-P]

Domesticated dogs have killed.

[exalted512]

Domesticated dogs have killed.

So have people...maybe everyone should be in a cage too.
-Cody

[disneyjoe7]

Sad, and RIP Dawn.


And to think this was say 3 miles from me at the time.

[TNRabbit]

On our news station they were talking about how they may have to put the whale down. If they did that, I will be effin' pissed. You take a perfectly natural animal out of its habitat, try to tame it, it kills (hey, it's a KILLER whale) and now some are saying it needs to die. Unreal.

Ding Ding Ding! We have a winnner~

[Hillbilly61]

I think I was entertained by this woman at SeaWorld. When there a few years back, they were offering a behind the scenes lecture concerning the animals and the show for pretty cheap. We bought the tickets. I would recommend the add on tour to anyone.

While I begin by stating "entertained", what is meant by being informed how they train and work with these large animals. Not stuff for the big show, but how they do it. It a was very, very, cool informational session.

During the lecture she kept on reminding the dozen or so couples among us to yell if the whale is on a headlong "torpedo" drive towards her as she was lecturing us, facing us with her back against the pool. During that particular lecture, we called out instances several times.

She would jump aside and the whale would launch itself onto the platform mouth wide open. Then it would slid back into the water.

I guess she was not looking and had forgotten to asked the audience to call out the approach this time.... These whales are not domesticated. As explained by the lady that was lecturing us, this "grab" technique is how they catch many seals to eat.

Hillbilly

[cfrizz]

+1 ....It should have been taken out of the show after the previous incidents , and only used for breeding. They think they can tame the big cats and bears too, and get pissed when they flash back to their natural instincts...idiots.

Precisely, SeaWorld was stupid to keep the whale performing. They can't release him to the wild, he has been in captivity for at least 19 years!

[mhmacw]

if i missed a like post pardon me but doesnt it seem a little out of line to not take more precautions with something named a KILLER WHALE? doesnt seem like rocket science to me.

[Huck344]

Yeah, it's sad that the woman died, but it was her choice to have a job in which she played with a killer whale. It's not the whale's fault that it did what is natural to him. I don't know about putting it back into the wild, I would assume it has become somewhat domesticated by now. I also don't think it should be put down.

It reminds me of a story from a few years back. Some guy out here (California) owned a couple of chimps as pets, but they were taken away from him because they had attacked someone. One day, this guy decided to go visit one of his chimps on it's birthday and if memory serves me well, the chimp went nuts and tore off the guys balls. I think they ended up putting the chimp down.

Bottom line is that if you know the risks and still decide to play with dangerous animals, then you have no one to blame but yourself.

[brettw22]

That whale being released into captivity = it'll be killed and eaten in short order.

As for the lawsuit by her family, if they do they're idiots.......their daughter chose the job, and knew the risks.........while unfortunate, it's something she was willingly employed doing.

[fatchowmein]

History and speculations.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/ki...planation.html

Over the years, Tilikum has sired at least 17 calves, 10 of which are still alive, making him the most successful orca father in captivity. He is also the only captive killer whale grandfather.

[Demiurge]

Ding Ding Ding! We have a winnner~

While I agree large animals like that can be dangerous, human beings gave them that name and as names go it's not very apt.

Still, you could call 'em Pussy Wales and I'd no sooner be in a pool splashing around with one.

[danger boy]

That whale being released into captivity = it'll be killed and eaten in short order.

but that's the natural order of life.. the strong feed on the weak...

[Mike Kozak]

Orcas, and many other animals for that matter do not belong in captivity. I paraphrase from a news article ' we know lions are dangerous, but we do not lay on them or try to pet them'

And we are all in shock that this happened???

[dfranks]

Whats ashame is that Sea World will prolly end up keeping the whale, just saw on the news that its the only mature mating male whale for all the Sea Worlds

Tough, that young lady won't be doing any mating anytime soon now thanks to the whale.

I wonder if she has kids, or a husband???

Human beings ARE worth more than animals. Put the creature down

[PhantomOG]

Tough, that young lady won't be doing any mating anytime soon now thanks to the whale.

I wonder if she has kids, or a husband???

Human beings ARE worth more than animals. Put the creature down

are you serious?? You think it should be put down for some sense of justice to the woman? Or are you afraid of this killer whale prowling the streets at night finding other victims?

Put Sea World "down" for setting the whole chain of events into motion.

[George Grand]

Whale of a tale.

Brett, I love you man, but nothing gets released INTO captivity.

[madmax]

Life happens. Its better to feed killer whales and get eaten than to cower in the closet your whole life.
madmax