Killer whale Tilikium photo: seaworld
Just last week at SeaWorld in Orlando, trainer Dawn Brancheau was dragged under water to her death by Tilikium, a 12,000 pound killer whale. Dawn, an experienced trainer, was said to have broken protocol by laying in the 4 inch deep “slide out”-a shallow part of the whale pool where trainers can enter-next to Tilikium, which was forbidden due to the whale previously displaying aggressive behavior towards trainers. What is thought to have happened in this particular tragic situation is that Tilikium mistook Dawn’s long ponytail for a new toy and clamped down on it and dove underwater to play. Such a sad situation, and there have been many questions and opinions raised as to the fate of Tilikium, was Dawn in the wrong, should SeaWorld continue to use Tilikium in their display, should wild animals be held and forced to perform in captivity, and going forward, what should SeaWorld do in order to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again?
What are your thoughts?
blaming this whole incident on the whale is completely stupid.
health and safety measures should have been put in place if they are that worried. tied back hair properly with a hat.
wear a hat that swimmers use? (can’t remember the name.)