Various news reports across the country have provided accounts of the tragic incident which occurred around 2 p.m. EST in Orlando, Florida. Although initial reports from SeaWorld suggested that the trainer had slipped and fallen into the orca tank with the 30 year-old male orca, the largest in captivity, eyewitness accounts verify that the orca actively grabbed the trainer from poolside and dragged her forcibly underwater. The trainer, 40 year-old Dawn Brancheau, was pronounced dead when rescue officials arrived.
WDCS’ thoughts and condolences go out to her family and friends, and mourn this unfortunate tragedy.
Unfortunately, this fatal attack is not the first time that a killer whale at a SeaWorld park has turned on a trainer. And even more disconcerting is the fact that Tilikum has been involved in previous fatalities here and at other facilities. Tilikum, along with two other orca, was involved in the death of trainer Keltie Byrne at Sealand of the Pacific, Canada on Feb 20, 1991. And in July 1999, 29 year-old Daniel Dukes was found dead, draped over the back of Tilikum, also at SeaWorld’s Florida facility.
In Nov. 2006, trainer Kenneth Peters, 39, was bitten and held underwater several times by a 7,000-pound killer whale during a show at SeaWorld’s San Diego park. He escaped with a broken foot. The 17-foot-long orca who attacked him was the dominant female of SeaWorld San Diego’s seven killer whales. She had attacked Peters on two prior occasions, in 1993 and 1999.
And, to top off this growing list of incidents, a killer whale repeatedly slammed its trainer underwater during a show at Sea World San Antonio in 2004. Steve Aibel, who trained the whale named Ky for ten years, was surprised but not injured. Ky’s father is Tilikum.
Ms. Brancheau is the second trainer to die this year. A whale trainer at Loro Parque on Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands was reported to have died during a training session for the zoo's Christmas orca show. 29 year-old Alexis Martínez from Puerto de la Cruz is thought to have drowned when he was hit by a 14 year-old captive male orca and remained underwater for several minutes.
WDCS notes that captive orcas are not domesticated animals and indeed are strong, wild animals constrained in an environment that places them under considerable stress. These tragic events are a reminder that orcas are powerful and often unpredictable animals. These incidents are by no means isolated. Aggression between captive orcas and equally disturbingly, aggression towards trainers, has increased in recent years. Serious injuries are not uncommon among trainers engaged in in-water activities with captive orca. Read here for similar tragic stories. These animals are inherently unsuited to confinement in captivity, and suffer stress, injury and a much reduced life expectancy. More information about orcas in captivity can be found at: http://www.wdcs.org/submissions_bin/orcareport.pdf
Tilikum, like other orcas that have been in captivity for decades, was captured from the wild. Now 30 years old, he was taken from the waters of Iceland at the approximate age of two. Other orcas, such as Corky, who resides at SeaWorld San Diego, and Lolita, residing at the Miami Seaquarium, have been confined for nearly four decades after being captured from their native waters in the Pacific Northwest.
Media attention on the negative aspects of captivity has had an impact on the public’s perception of dolphin theme parks. Opinion polls conducted over the past decade reveal most people now think captivity of marine mammals is justified only when there are measurable scientific or educational benefits. Furthermore, the findings of a recent poll indicate when the public is informed of animal welfare concerns associated with whales and dolphins in captivity, a significant number say the information would influence their decision to participate in these activities in the future.
Captivity is a process, not an end result. It is a contrived experience that claims many victims—whale, dolphin and human. WDCS is saddened by this tragic accident that claimed the life of Dawn Brancheau, another victim in the cycle of captivity at Sea World Parks. WDCS continues to call for an end to keeping orcas in captivity.