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Link Sad day. I can only guess what PETA will say about this ... Quote:
MIAMI (Reuters) - A killer whale at the SeaWorld amusement park in central Florida killed a trainer on Wednesday, a sheriff's spokesman said.
"She apparently slipped and fell into the tank and was fatally injured by one of the whales," Orange County Sheriff's spokesman Jim Solomons said.
The 40-year-old trainer was dead when rescue officials arrived, he said.
Media reports said the orca at the park's Shamu Stadium grabbed the woman by the waist, thrashed her about and dragged her underwater.
The trainer was killed in the whale holding area just before the start of a public performance and the stadium was immediately evacuated.
Dan Brown, president of SeaWorld Orlando, said the victim was one of the park's most experienced animal trainers.
There were conflicting reports about how the incident occurred. The Orlando Sentinel quoted a spectator as saying the whale came up from the water and grabbed the trainer by her waist. The sheriff's official said preliminary accounts indicated she slipped and fell in, but that was still under investigation.
The Florida park is owned by the Blackstone Group, a private equity company that also owns part of the Universal Orlando theme park.
A spokesman for SeaWorld in San Diego, California, said killer whale shows have been suspended following the death in Orlando.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the orca involved in Wednesday's incident, named Tillikum but popularly known as "Tilly," has a controversial past.
The whale was blamed for the drowning of one of his trainers in 1991 while he was performing at Sealand of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia, the newspaper said.
Sold to SeaWorld as a stud in 1992, the whale was involved in a second incident when authorities discovered the body of a naked man lying across his back in July 1999.
Authorities said the man, who had either snuck into SeaWorld after hours or hidden in the park until it closed, most likely drowned after suffering hypothermia in the 55-degree (12.7 C) water.
A former contractor with SeaWorld told the Sentinel that Tillikum is typically kept isolated from SeaWorld's other killer whales and that trainers were not allowed to get in the water with him because of his history.
There are no sacred cows.
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Quote:
Link
Sad day. I can only guess what PETA will say about this ...
You don't have to guess, it's on their website:
http://blog.peta.org/archives/2010/02/captive_whale_kills.php
Quote:
Earlier this afternoon, another trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando was killed after being pulled into the tank by an orca named Tilikum (or Telly, for short). According to a witness, the whale, who has been involved in two previous fatal incidents involving human beings and who our captive wildlife director, Debbie Leahy, describes as "12,300 pounds of sheer rage," leapt out of the tank and grabbed the trainer by the waist, pulled her into the water, threw her around like a rag doll, and then held her underwater until she drowned. SeaWorld officials canceled the dolphin and whale shows for the rest of the day, but SeaWorld remains open (have they no shame?!) and will continue to exploit and abuse these captive animals despite the many horrific injuries and deaths of trainers and animals that have occurred throughout the theme park's history.
PETA has long been asking SeaWorld to stop taking wild, ocean-going mammals from their families and ocean homes and confining them with no semblance of a life to an area that, to them, is the size of a bathtub. No wonder these huge, intelligent animals, like the beaten elephants in the Ringling Bros. circus, lash out after being forced into subservience and forced to perform stupid circus tricks for their food for so long. For years, PETA has been calling on SeaWorld to switch to hugely popular robotic replacements like those used in the amazing "Walking With the Dinosaurs" exhibit. The public needs to stand up now against this cruelty and stop patronizing aquariums and whale and dolphin shows. Please join us in saying, "Enough!"
~Lyuokdea
~Lyuokdea
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Legend
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Quote:
For years, PETA has been calling on SeaWorld to switch to hugely popular robotic replacements like those used in the amazing "Walking With the Dinosaurs" exhibit.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.
- John Muir
#GMSTRONG
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Legend
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I feel for her and her family.
I guess if you choose to swim with alpha male killer whales, you know the risk.
Kind of like running around a pen where a big ass bull rules the pen....you might get chased.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. GM Strong ![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/small-gator-chomp.gif)
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First off, congrats to Dan Brown, I didn't know that he shifted on over to SeaWorld.
Second off, I want to know what size bathtub PETA officials have. I sure as hell don't have room to move around that much in my tub if I were to take a bath. I agree it is small in comparison, but not that small.
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Well i guess the bath tub thing is a bit of an exagerration but this is PETA after all but I think everything else they said is pretty much right on.
KING
You may be in the drivers seat but God is holding the map. #GMSTRONG
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Legend
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Quote:
First off, congrats to Dan Brown, I didn't know that he shifted on over to SeaWorld.
You haven't read his book? "Angelfish and Deep-ends"?
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2nd String
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This is horrible, I saw this on television earlier. My heart is with the family.
I agree with PETA's first paragraph (that Lyuokdea posted), after that, they've lost me. I don't condone their shifting the focus from an innocent woman being killed to animal abuse, and I find it just as shameful (have they no shame?!). But they have particular points, and that's: wild animals are wild regardless of how tame they may appear.
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Quote:
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Second off, I want to know what size bathtub PETA officials have. I sure as hell don't have room to move around that much in my tub if I were to take a bath. I agree it is small in comparison, but not that small.
That was one part of their article I agree with -- and that's a very rare thing. If you had to LIVE 24/7 in that bathtub, it might get a bit cramped after a while. I think it would be like us living in our living room for our entire lives. Sure, you can move around, but would you rather see the rest of the world and be free?
#gmstrong #gmlapdance
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Dawg Talker
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LOL, not that Dan Brown  He was GM over at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay when I did some contractor work over in their parks, he was a nice guy.
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Legend
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just clicking, con. I actually agree with this: Quote:
PETA has long been asking SeaWorld to stop taking wild, ocean-going mammals from their families and ocean homes and confining them with no semblance of a life to an area that, to them, is the size of a bathtub. No wonder these huge, intelligent animals, like the beaten elephants in the Ringling Bros. circus, lash out after being forced into subservience and forced to perform stupid circus tricks for their food for so long.
I'm sure these animals are treated well for the most part, I just think they shouldn't be in captivity unless they're rescued and near death, or something like that. On the other hand, animals born in captivity might be better off staying put. I dunno, I'm not an expert but I love animals and I never blame them for doing what is natural, even if it means loss of a human life.
As someone else more or less said, if you mess with the bull you might get the horns. Wild animals need to be free.
![[Linked Image from i28.photobucket.com]](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c201/shadedog/mcenroe2.jpg) gmstrong -----------------
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This is unbelievably ironic.
Sometimes - too often, I admit - I'll get into some video genre on youtube - and I'll watch a certain "genre" if you will, for days. Hunting. 4 wheeling. Stupid drunks. People falling. Nature vid's. Red Green show - whatever......I find something that interests me, and I go to town watching them.
And on Monday, I started watching about orcas. And seaworld, and orca attacks at sea world..........Ironic.
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Legend
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The whale needs killed, agreed,
The trainer was grabbed into the water from outside the water. This is the third time the whale has been involved in killing a human. The whale has already been separated from all other whales and swimmers.
This person wasn't a joker who jumped a fence, or even a first year first day on the job sea world trainer, this was a 12 years of experience trainer.
To not kill the whale, is to not continue to give value to innocent life, it is the same argument for the death penalty, if those who are given authority and dominion over these kinds of things don't kill the killers of the innocent, then they are trivializing the death.
The whale must die before it kills again, actually after the first two strikes, it is a shame this had to happen, and after the first death it is a shame the 2nd death had to happen.
Ever watch whale wars, send it to one of those Japanese ships.
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Legend
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I'm not too sure why you replied to me - especially with your first statement being what it was.
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Legend
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They could just release it back into the wild ... that would be death penalty enough.
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Dawg Talker
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Sorry for the hijack, but we have been talking about PETA in here so it sort of fits in. Looks like PETA is going after something else too.....I was laughing so hard when I read this: Animal-rights group PETA plans to unveil within the next few weeks a "cheeky spay-and-neuter" billboard featuring Tiger Woods — without the golfer's blessing. The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals is searching for a local advertiser to put up a billboard in Windermere, which will include an image of Woods and text: "Too Much Sex Can Be a Bad Thing....For Little Tigers Too. Help Keep Your Cats (and Dogs) Out of Trouble: Always Spay or Neuter!" It will be a challenge to find an advertiser to put up the sign, acknowledged Virginia Fort, a campaigner with PETA who is working on the project. "It's a fun, tongue-in-cheek approach. We hope these billboard companies will understand," Fort said. She said the billboard isn't meant to offend the golfer, his family or fans, but to prevent millions of cats and dogs from being euthanized at shelters each year. "The world has been transfixed on Tiger's life after Thanksgiving. We're putting the focus where it needs to be," Fort said. It's uncertain when the billboard would go up in Windermere but "the soonest would be in two weeks," she said. Woods is not affiliated with PETA and has not endorsed the ad, Fort said. "We're sure Tiger will appreciate our attempt — from a story that's distracted the world and followed Tiger — to turn it into something positive for little tigers," she said. Woods' attorney, Mark NeJame, declined to comment. The golfer's agent, Mark Steinberg, and spokesman, Glenn Greenspan, did not return phone calls seeking comment. Orlando Sentinel
![[Linked Image from img.photobucket.com]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v638/Concor1033/NEWDTsig.jpg)
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Dawg Talker
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There are certain animals that are just not meant to captured and forced to do little tricks for our entertainment. It's been established that Orcas are highly intelligent and they can never be fully broken. Females in the wild live an average of 50 years (and up to 90) but they average less than 6 years in captivity. On top of that they have terrible mortality rates among calves born in captivity. They're taking a highly intelligent, long distance animal that is used to interacting with large, complex family groups over great distances and putting them in tiny sensory deprivation chambers and made to jump through hoops for fish treats, 4 and 5 times a day every day, month in month out, year in year out. What would any reasonable person expect to happen? It's inevitable.
They may have to kill the animal and it's very sad for the woman and her family but lets be quite clear, it's people, and Seaworld entertainment corporation specifically that brought this upon themselves. I have no desire to see stupid animitronic whales but I otherwise totally agree with the PETA statement regardless how unpopular they are.
"Team Chemistry No Match for Team Biology" (Onion Sports Headline)
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Legend
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Quote:
Quote:
First off, congrats to Dan Brown, I didn't know that he shifted on over to SeaWorld.
You haven't read his book? "Angelfish and Deep-ends"?
If you would have said "Angel and Deep-ends" I would have thought you were talking about porn.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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PETA is funny....they start off with a good thought, but then take it too far (as usual).
And, from other posts of theirs too, they want Sea World and others to put $$$ into rescuing and helping distressed marine animals. But, the second that you make any $$$ with them soem of which can be funneled back to those efforts it is evil.
#gmstrong
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Legend
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That's sad news, but folks... they're called KILLER Whales for a reason. It is no different than a caged bear or lion - it is a wild animal in captivity, you can never control or predict them. And PETA is a bunch of freaks.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
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"The tiger didn't go crazy. The tiger went tiger. Roy was the one who was crazy."
#gmstrong
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Legend
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Never turn your back on an animal that has the word "killer" as part of it's name.
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Quote:
Never turn your back on an animal that has the word "killer" as part of it's name.
Just clicking Dave
I heard a report today that is saying the Orca grabbed her pony tail she actually died from being caught underwater,not from the jaws of the Orca.
KING
You may be in the drivers seat but God is holding the map. #GMSTRONG
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Legend
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Video shows SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau in water with killer whale moments before fatal attack BY Helen Kennedy DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Originally Published:Thursday, February 25th 2010, 3:36 PM Updated: Thursday, February 25th 2010, 3:57 PM The six-minute video shot Wednesday shows Brancheau feeding and playing with the six-ton Tilikum, the largest and oldest killer whale in captivity. Still from WESH.com video The six-minute video shot Wednesday shows Brancheau feeding and playing with the six-ton Tilikum, the largest and oldest killer whale in captivity. Related News * Video * VIDEO: Footage shot moments before whale attack * Articles * She lived her dream at SeaWorld * Killer Whale kills trainer at Orlando's SeaWorld SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau was in the water up to her shoulders frolicking with a huge killer whale seconds before the orca playfully grabbed her ponytail and dragged her under, according to a tourist's video of the tragedy. The six-minute video shot Wednesday shows Brancheau feeding and playing with the six-ton Tilikum, the largest and oldest killer whale in captivity. An edited version of the video posted online by WESH-TV in Orlando, Fla., ends moments before the trainer and whale's relaxed romp suddenly turns fatal. Police officials had previously said Brancheau slipped and fell into the tank with Tilikum. Witnesses had recounted dramatic scenarios in which the orca jumped out of the water and grabbed the trainer. The video instead shows Brancheau feeding him fish, rubbing his nose, pouring buckets of water on his snout and then getting into the water with him. "He had done an entire show sequence where he performed and he did really well. Dawn was rubbing him down and interacting with him and rewarding him for doing such a good job," SeaWorld curator Chuck Tompkins told CBS' "The Early Show." "There wasn't anything to indicate to us that there was a problem," he said. Unlike the other orcas at SeaWorld, Tilikum - who has accidentally killed twice before - is not accustomed to performing with humans in his tank. His part of the famous Shamu show comes at the end, when he uses his massive tail to splash the audience. "Trainers do interact with Tilikum from the sides of the pool, but do not enter the water with him," SeaWorld said. But the tourist video clearly shows a smiling Brancheau in the water with the giant whale. An autopsy found that Brancheau, 40, one of the most experienced trainers at SeaWorld, died of drowning and multiple trauma. Her body was not recovered from the whale's jaws until staff members coaxed him into a smaller pool and lifted him out of the water on a platform, officials said. SeaWorld, which has temporarily suspended its killer whale shows, said Tilikum, a 30-year-old orca who is kept largely as a breeding stud, will not be put down. He may still be part of the performances. "We have every intention of continuing to interact with this animal, though the procedures for working with him will change," SeaWorld officials said in a statement. Later, the statement was updated to say: "We will continue to care for the animal as we always have regarding his social and psychological stimulation, care and nutrition. "We are reviewing our protocol on the proximity of our employees and Tilikum." The killer whale drowned a trainer in 1991. A homeless drifter who snuck into his pool in 1999 was found naked and dead on the orca's back. Animal advocates called for SeaWorld to end shows that require dolphins and whales - intelligent mammals with strong social urges - to perform in relatively small tanks. The water shows could be replaced with virtual reality marine extravaganzas, they said. "The death of yet another trainer at SeaWorld did not have to happen, and I must appeal to you to take strong action now so that it never happens again," TV game show host Bob Barker wrote to SeaWorld on behalf of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "I urge you to make that humane move now and to start moving the captive orcas and other marine mammals to transitional coastal and wildlife sanctuaries." hkennedy@nydailynews.comRead more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national...l#ixzz0gbKTmU4C web page
You know my love will Not Fade Away.........
#gmSTRONG
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Dawg Talker
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Wait, let me get this straight, a KILLER whale lived up to its name? One that has claimed the lives of 3 other people already? SHOCKING! 
"The medium for the bad news was ESPN, which figured. The network represents much of what is loud, obnoxious and empty in sports today."
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LMAO!
Maybe they should have changed his name from Tillikum
to
wait for it...
Ta Kill um.
sorry.... but it just came so slow and fat over the plate....
"too many notes, not enough music-"
#GMStong
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Quote:
A homeless drifter who snuck into his pool in 1999 was found naked and dead on the orca's back.
That's interesting. Almost what an elder would do to help a new calf keep up with the pod. Just odd that he was found resting on the whale's back, which is not something that they would do to a toy. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe a "Lenny" complex like the character from Of Mice and Men?
Also beaked whales are not known for their empathy, they're almost as malicious to one another as humans are in the way they bully others for sport.
There are no sacred cows.
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Quote:
said Tilikum, a 30-year-old orca who is kept largely as a breeding stud, will not be put down. He may still be part of the performances.
OH I get it now,he is a money maker for them so they will not release him back into the wild like they should have long ago.
KING
You may be in the drivers seat but God is holding the map. #GMSTRONG
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OH I get it now,he is a money maker for them so they will not release him back into the wild like they should have long ago.
I'm not sure if he was born in captivity, but according to the article his first "incident" was in 1991, which means he's been in captivity for at least 20 years.. releasing him into the wild isn't an option, he would never survive.
yebat' Putin
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Quote:
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OH I get it now,he is a money maker for them so they will not release him back into the wild like they should have long ago.
I'm not sure if he was born in captivity, but according to the article his first "incident" was in 1991, which means he's been in captivity for at least 20 years.. releasing him into the wild isn't an option, he would never survive.
I dont know,they are pretty damn smart animals that do not have many predators to watch out for,they are at the top of the food chain. Other orcas that have been in captivity for long periods of time have been released into the wild and done very well.
Didnt you see Free Willy? 
KING
You may be in the drivers seat but God is holding the map. #GMSTRONG
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Tilikum is not a first-time offender. In 1991 — eight years after he was captured off the coast of Iceland — he and two other killer whales drowned a trainer during a performance at Sealand of the Pacific in Vancouver. In 1999, a man who trespassed in SeaWorld after hours and apparently jumped in the whale tank was found dead the next morning, lying across Tilikum's back. Was the big whale just a bad seed? At least one marine-mammal expert thinks that yes, that's at least part of the answer. "When Tilikum was wild, he was a transient, not a resident," says Russ Rector, a former dolphin trainer who is now a fierce opponent of keeping any dolphins and whales in captivity "Resident whales are the kind that live in a fixed place, like Puget Sound. Transients travel the world, eating dolphins, fish, other whales, basically anything that gets in their way." Such animals need to be particularly aggressive, both to establish territoriality when they're passing through and to hunt such a wide range of large prey. Those are traits that don't go away. Article
#gmstrong #gmlapdance
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Legend
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Quote:
Didnt you see Free Willy?
No, I thought that was a Bill Clinton sex movie.. you mean it wasn't? 
I am by no means an expert but there is more to it than just being a predator, there are natural migration routes that these animals follow to get food, etc..
hey if they think he can survive then send him back out to sea.. but the article states the other option as putting him down, so I'm just assuming that sending him back out into the wild isn't an option....
yebat' Putin
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Probably too domesticated at this point.
"The medium for the bad news was ESPN, which figured. The network represents much of what is loud, obnoxious and empty in sports today."
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Quote:
Quote:
Didnt you see Free Willy?
No, I thought that was a Bill Clinton sex movie.. you mean it wasn't?
I am by no means an expert but there is more to it than just being a predator, there are natural migration routes that these animals follow to get food, etc..
hey if they think he can survive then send him back out to sea.. but the article states the other option as putting him down, so I'm just assuming that sending him back out into the wild isn't an option....
No Bills porno was SLICK WILLY
All kidding aside,these animals migration routes are instinctive,it is not something they are taught and remember. Other Orcas have been released back into the wild and have got right back into the whale scene.
Either way,isnt it better to release the thing back into the ocean and let him have at it than to euthanize him??
KING
You may be in the drivers seat but God is holding the map. #GMSTRONG
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http://www.wgntv.com/news/wgntv-killer-whale-tilikum-stay-sea-world-feb26,0,5612328.story ORLANDO, Fla. - SeaWorld Orlando said Thursday that it intends to keep Tilikum, the 12,000-pound killer whale that has now been involved in three fatalities in 19 years, but it hasn't decided whether Tilikum will perform in front of audiences again. The mammoth male orca has been valuable property for the resort through the years, both as a stud who has fathered 13 calves and as a performer who delights audiences with outsized splashes. But the characteristics that make the killer whale so prized -- testosterone and size -- also make him especially dangerous for the trainers who work with him, some orca experts say. Tilikum on Wednesday pulled veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau by her ponytail into his tank and drowned her. Since the tragedy, the resort is taking extra precautions with the animal, with trainers forbidden from putting their bodies close to him. The only mature breeding male at SeaWorld, Tilikum is big and randy. As a result, SeaWorld must often keep him separated from the seven other killer whales in its collection. Chuck Tompkins, corporate curator of animal behavior for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, said the park's female killer whales typically only want Tilikum around them when they are sexually active. All of SeaWorld's other orcas are either females or juveniles. "Any one day he could spend the whole day by himself, and the next day he could spend the whole day with the females," Tompkins said. He added that Tilikum spends as much as three days alone, though never longer. But some experts say extended periods of isolation can be stressful for a killer whale, an inherently social animal. That, they say, can in turn make them prone to unpredictable behavior such as that exhibited Wednesday. "The more isolated they are, the more stressful the situation because, in the wild, social contact is just a constant for them," said Susan Berta, co-founder of the Orca Network in Greenbank, Wash., which advocates for killer whales in the Pacific Northwest. Wednesday's tragedy was the third death linked to Tilikum. In 1991, he was one of three killer whales that drowned a trainer at the Sealand of the Pacific aquarium near Victoria, British Columbia. And in 1999, authorities discovered a dead body draped across his back; authorities determined the man had sneaked into SeaWorld's orca tank at night and drowned. "We've proved in the past few years that putting people in solitary confinement makes them crazy. How can we expect anything different from marine animals?" said Edward O. Keith, an associate professor at Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center. "When animals get under stress, they act out; they do crazy things." In addition to aggressiveness, the 12,000-pound orca's size makes him uniquely threatening. Tilikum is the largest killer whale at any of SeaWorld's parks -- roughly twice as big as the next-largest in Orlando. Because of his size and his history at Sealand of the Pacific, SeaWorld prohibits all of its trainers from entering the water with Tilikum and allows only the most experienced handlers -- who included Brancheau -- to work with him from the edge of the tank. Naomi Rose, a marine-mammal scientist for the Humane Society of the United States, said Tilikum is simply too big for SeaWorld. Keeping an orca of that size confined to a man-made tank could also make him agitated and unpredictable, she said. "In terms of his stress levels, his size is a factor," Rose said. "He is so big, I don't care how big SeaWorld's tanks are, they are too small for him." SeaWorld officials are emphatic that neither isolation nor confinement contributed to any erratic behavior with Tilikum. Tompkins said the orca never exhibited any signs of frustration or stress, even in the moments leading up to Wednesday's tragedy. He also said the park's handling of the male killer whale's interaction with the females "is very similar to what we see in the wild." "We spend hours and hours each day observing and learning about these animals," Tompkins said. "We live by the rule of watching them every day and knowing them." Park officials say, and many orca experts agree, that it would be difficult to release the whale back into the wild after more than two decades in captivity. Tilikum is 30 years old, and SeaWorld says it expects him to live until 35 or 40. And despite his past controversies, Tilikum is a valuable animal. Tilikum, for instance, has fathered 13 calves for SeaWorld at a time when marine parks and aquariums have all but abandoned efforts to acquire new killer whales from the wild, at least in part because of negative publicity. Though the National Marine Fisheries Service has the authority to issue capture licenses for marine mammals that would be used for public display, a representative for the agency said it hasn't received such a request in more than 20 years. A spokesman for SeaWorld said Thursday that the park is putting together a team of animal-behavior experts, likely to include representatives from the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and International Marine Animal Trainers' Association, to review existing procedures with Tilikum.
#gmstrong #gmlapdance
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Either way,isnt it better to release the thing back into the ocean and let him have at it than to euthanize him??
I don't know. It's still pretty tame. What if it headed straight for the nearest harbor looking for people when it got bored w/ other whales?
I think the best bet is for SeaWorld to keep him and just learn from the mistake.
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Joined: Sep 2006
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
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Tilikum is not a first-time offender. In 1991 — eight years after he was captured off the coast of Iceland — he and two other killer whales drowned a trainer during a performance at Sealand of the Pacific in Vancouver. In 1999, a man who trespassed in SeaWorld after hours and apparently jumped in the whale tank was found dead the next morning, lying across Tilikum's back. Was the big whale just a bad seed? At least one marine-mammal expert thinks that yes, that's at least part of the answer.
"When Tilikum was wild, he was a transient, not a resident," says Russ Rector, a former dolphin trainer who is now a fierce opponent of keeping any dolphins and whales in captivity "Resident whales are the kind that live in a fixed place, like Puget Sound. Transients travel the world, eating dolphins, fish, other whales, basically anything that gets in their way." Such animals need to be particularly aggressive, both to establish territoriality when they're passing through and to hunt such a wide range of large prey. Those are traits that don't go away.
Article
Thanks.....nice find.
Makes sense to me.
Sounds like he is just a bad ass who doesn't need to be in a circus show.
I would just let him go back to the wild. If he can't readjust, he dies....but something tells he if he gets hungry, he will find something to kill and eat.
Being accustomed to being around humans might make him a target....though I don't know that Killer Whales are hunted....but if so, that's how it goes.
Just ship him out to sea amid fertile hunting grounds and be done with it. If he dies.....well, he is probably going to die if we keep him in a tank, so what's the difference??
I just have a feeling a Killer Whale doesn't forget how to hunt, especially if he has done it before in the open ocean. Seems he just demonstrated he still has some skill.
No disrespect to the young lady intended.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. GM Strong
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2nd String
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2nd String
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I saw a show on Discovery a couple months ago that said they have witnessed Orcas, or 'Killer Whales", in the wild actually hunting Great White Sharks. At this point, Orcas are the only known predator for Great Whites. So let's get this point across - Anything that Jaws runs from, I tend to stay away from. 
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Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
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Quote:
I saw a show on Discovery a couple months ago that said they have witnessed Orcas, or 'Killer Whales", in the wild actually hunting Great White Sharks. At this point, Orcas are the only known predator for Great Whites.
So let's get this point across - Anything that Jaws runs from, I tend to stay away from.
I love to swim. In pools, ponds or lakes.
I did go scuba diving about 10 years ago - in the ocean. I saw things I don't care to ever experience again. Long story short - there were 5 of us, plus a guide.
You ever hyperventilate underwater? I don't know if I did, but when we were done, my air tank was at under 25% left - everyone else had somewhere around 60 to 65% left.
When I go to an ocean now I may walk in a little - but my knees don't get wet.
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That reminds me of when me and my wife went down to the Gulf Coast of Florida about 15 years ago. I was only about 20 or so and I had never bveen in the ocean in my life. Her Aunt took us the beach in Venice Florida and we were going through the sand collecting fossilized sharks teeth. I mean they are like really easy to find so the thought is going through my head that there must really be a ton of sharks out there. So we go out in the water and some how I end up farther out than anyone else ,not reall far,just past where my feet can touch ground. I look inland and my wife is standing there pointing at something by me. I look over and there is this HUGE shadow underwater moving right by me. I flipped out and did the panic swim towards shallower water,and the shadow follows me for a minute and then continues moving parralel to the shore line till it is out of sight. When we get back on the beach it turns out it was a manatee,and people are telling me how rare it is to get to swim that close to one in the wild and how lucky I am. I sure didnt feel lucky,actually I felt kind of stupid that I panicked like that  KING
You may be in the drivers seat but God is holding the map. #GMSTRONG
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Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Whale kills trainer at Florida's
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