A horrible incident took place at Orange County Sea World Orlando where a killer whale trainer Dawn Brancheau was pulled underwater by one of the killer whales named Tilikum. The killer whale pulled her by her long pony tail near the theme park’s Shamu Stadium. Rescuers could not help her in time due to the aggressive nature of the whale. The orca Tilikum is also linked with two previous deaths since it was brought in 1991. After autopsy the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiners Office concluded that Brancheau, 40, died of traumatic injuries, while the details about the injuries were not released.
The killer whale which was trained to perform beautiful acrobatic displays, performed rather a horror show for the visitors.
The killer whale’s future, now being in the center of all news, is still unclear. The corporate curator in charge of animal behavior for Sea World Parks & Entertainment Chuck Tompkins believes that the orca need to be stay put as it cannot survive in the wild. Another well-known animal expert Jack Hannah agreed with Tompkins saying “animal experts such as Brancheau are aware of the risks, as well as the benefits, of working with live animals”.
The visitors that day at SeaWorld said that the whales were acting badly in the earlier show that took place. Meanwhile the animal lovers are saying that holding captive this large animals in a small pool is insane and it is certain that the animals are not built for this and incidents like this is a indication of that.
Investigations are still ongoing but the death of Brancheau has raised questions about the security and safety of the trainers working with this kind of large animals.