Whale that killed its trainer won't be isolated
26-02-2010 Mike Schneider, Associated Press, The San Francisco Chronicle, USA
ORLANDO, Fla. - -- Trainers will continue working with a killer whale who grabbed one of their colleagues and dragged her underwater, killing her, but SeaWorld said Thursday that it is reviewing its procedures after the attack.
People lined up to get into the park a day after the whale named Tilikum killed veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau as a horrified audience watched. Tilikum had been involved in two previous deaths, including a Canadian trainer dragged underwater by him and two other whales in 1991.
"We have every intention of continuing to interact with this animal, though the procedures for working with him will change," SeaWorld said in a post on its blog.
Chuck Tompkins, who is in charge of training at all SeaWorld parks, said Thursday that Tilikum will not be isolated from the Orlando location's seven other whales. Tilikum fathered some of them and will continue mating with others.
"We want him to continue to be part of that social group," Tompkins said.
Brancheau, 40, was rubbing Tilikum from a poolside platform when the 22-foot, 12,000-pound creature reached up, grabbed her long braid in his mouth and dragged her underwater.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that trainers trying to help her could not get into the water because Tilikum was so aggressive. They had to coax him into a pool and raise him out of the water on a platform before they could free her.
She probably died from traumatic injuries and drowning, the medical examiner's office said.
Visitors who remained after a noon show saw Tilikum charge through the pool with Brancheau in his jaws.
Audience member Eldon Skaggs, who saw the attack, said Brancheau's interaction with the whale appeared leisurely and informal at first. But then, the whale "pulled her under and started swimming around with her."
Because of Tilikum's size and the previous deaths, trainers were not supposed to get into the water with him, and only about a dozen of the park's 29 trainers worked with him. Tompkins says the park believes he is the biggest male killer whale in captivity.
Tilikum was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia.
A few months later, SeaWorld asked the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service for permission to bring Tilikum to Orlando temporarily, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press. The agency is responsible for issuing permits to bring orcas and other marine animals into the United States.
Sealand, which eventually closed, said at the time it was selling the whales because it was scrapping its killer whale show.
In a Jan. 8, 1992, letter, the agency said SeaWorld wanted to bring Tilikum to Orlando to provide medical treatment and care unavailable in Canada. The letter does not specify Tilikum's medical condition, nor does it mention his role in the deadly attack on the trainer.
Despite that, the documents show SeaWorld Orlando received permission in October 1992 to permanently display Tilikum and the two other killer whales involved in the Canadian trainer's death. Both of the other whales have since died.
Tilikum was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld security was found draped over him.
(Bron: http://www.sfgate.com/)
(Bron foto: http://www.freewebs.com/swo_orcas/tilikum.htm)
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