Captive Cetaceans are tragically sad compared to their free ranging families in the ocean. Throughout this blog I have tried to provide links to information stated enabling you to check things out and make your own minds up. Research really is the key, don't be told what to think and say, check it out for yourself.
Once again it comes to light that Seaworld are not exactly honest with the things they put in print.
How can anyone call ex trainers liars when they have access to documents like Tilikum's own animal profile, which is full on untruths.
The first half
Accidental drowning in 1991? Really? Keltie Byrnes Coroners Inquest shows she was repeatedly dunked by the whales and they also refused to let her leave the pool or allow anyone in to retrieve her, she had to be hauled out by a weighted net dragging the pool.
Accident? No not really.
7.6.1999 Drowning - no specific behaviour noted.
That isn't true is it as Daniel Dukes medical examiners report shows both pre and post mortem injuries, including having his scrotum ripped off pre death. Do you think he didn't scream or shout out when that happened?
Then there is the law suit filed by his parents which states Daniel Dukes had injuries to his legs and ankles consistent with him being pulled into the pool.
the only truth in that part of his profile is ''no behaviour noted'' as it seems it wasn't noted although the evidence does show it DID happen!
2.24 2010 Grabbed pony tail, held trainer underwater, carry/tow trainer
Really??
We all know full well from the massive coverage and court report itself that this is far from what happened on that dreadful day.
The injuries listed in Dawn Brancheau's autopsy report smash this part of the file to bits.
The frightening part of this section of Tilikum's profile is that this is Seaworld's OWN animal profile and as a trainer reading their version, would you think Tilikum was a danger? Would you know the things he did to those poor people? Would you still believe the ponytail theory as even though it was proven in court not to be a pony tail it still says it here?
On to the summary -
During times of frustration due to social stress in the environment, Tilikum has exhibited aggressive behaviour which includes LUNGING at control trainer.
This is the Believe show minutes before Dawn's death as you can see there is definitely social stress in the environment, they are definitely deep fast swims, so much so that the trainers abandoned the stage and one orca was taken up out of the water. Doesn't get much more stressful that this as the trainers showed by their absence. They yet again repeat that Tilikums's involvement in the death of Daniel Dukes was not known. If I can find the medical examiners report surely they can too!!
That horrible day eye witness account of Dawn's rescue
Next paragraph - he displays possessive behaviour not only with things in his pool but also with other whales, especially Taima. Does that tell you he doesnt want her taking away? Sadly he had no choice when she died.
Next paragraph - We utilise his relationship with Taku and recently Trua. Tilikum has been successful in solo semen collection since that time. So that is the real reason he is in with Trua, do you ever hear Seaworld give that as the reason??
As for this ridiculous video which states why Seaworld give their orcas gelatin
Tilikums own profile shows he is given 10 gallons of gelatin to increase his hydration levels. He is also trained on a stomach tube for hydration as well as trained to drink water from a cup.
If he was wild would he do any of those things? No of course he wouldn't as he would get all his fluids from the fish he caught, so despite Seaworld's claims that the fish is restaurant quality, it is still dead, and still lacking the fluids he needs to survive.
Would you want to be fed an un natural diet of gelatin?
Gelatine is made from pig skin, cow skin, and the bones of both animals! Gross, isn't it? He is a fish eating orca as they all are, not a skin and bone eater, and he is given 10 gallons of this every day!! The last paragraph shows why he is at Seaworld. He has fathered 12 calves and only had contact with one of them in 2007. How sad is that, its not Tilikum Seaworld want, its his sperm. Is this the life he was born to have? Is this the life we should have given him?
Is there any wonder he behaves like he does, and what hope has he got? NONE what so ever. He will never see his family again, never swim in the ocean he was stolen from, and yes he was stolen against his will, he has been made into something totally un natural - masturbation, separation, fear, tubes for hydration, fed an un natural diet of bones and skin, toothless, fin bent over, and yet Seaworld still maintain they thrive in that environment.
How will he leave his tank prison - only death releases those poor creatures, Seaworld know it, we know it and deep down the fans know it and should be ashamed of themselves for defending this as a good life for a mater of the ocean. What an absolute joke and what a tragedy for all the orcas in their care and all the fans they have lied to who look no further than Seaworld themselves for the proof.
Incidents have occurred between the Seaworld orcas and their trainers since captivity began. The majority of incidents can be backed up if research is done correctly, many of them done from Seaworld's own animal profiles.
Although some of the incidents say bumped, fluked etc and it may seem like nothing, remember these are huge animals and these actions were directed at trainers, the majority of those types of incidents have also been taken from the Seaworld Animal Profiles who deemed them warranted to be permanently mentioned.
Those animal profiles are linked to each incident where available so you can check out what Seaworld themselves too.
San Diego first incident 1971 - 2010 duration of 39 years have had 48 incidents
San Antonio first incident 1989 - 2010 duration of 21 years have had 10 incidents
Orlando first incident 1989 - 2010 duration of 21 years have had 11 incidents 2 resulting in death
Loro Parque first incident 2007- 2010 duration of 3 years have had 4 incidents 1 resulting in death
73 incidents in total
plus 14 incidents cited in court cases in 1987 87 incidents
These are the ones that have been documents, many haven't.
20/4/1971 Shamu SD PR Secretary Annette Eckis, wearing
a bikini, slid off the back of an orca she was riding for a publicity
stunt.
5-year-old female Shamu seized her leg and swam around the tank refusing
to release the screaming woman until familiar divers entered the pool.
Eckis suffered lacerations and puncture wounds.
22/05/1978 Winston SD 8-year-old male Winston attacked trainer Greg Williams, who was treated
at a hospital for several small puncture wounds. Winston took the
trainer's legs in his mouth during a training session. News link - once again 'he was playing'
23/02/1984 Kandu V SD 7-year-old female Kandu 5 took trainer Joanne Hay in her mouth and pinned her against a wall during a performance.
12/08/1984 unknown SD Two killer whales grabbed the legs of trainer Bud Krames and pinned him
against a glass retaining wall during a performance. Krames suffers
bruises.
11/02/1984 Kandu V SD 7-year-old female Kandu 5 briefly grabbed the legs of trainer Georgia
Jones during a Shamu show but released the trainer unhurt. The
4,500-pound killer whale took Jones’ legs in her mouth, but didn’t bite
down.
16/11/1986 Kandu V SD 9-year-old female Kandu 5 pressed her snout against trainer Mark Beeler
and held him against a wall for a few seconds during a performance
before several hundred spectators.
In November 1987 SD things opened up at Seaworld San Diego, newspapers reported on at least 14 incidents that hadn't been documented. On
November 21, 1987, Orky the mature five-ton male came crashing down on 26-year
old John Sillick during a show in San Diego. At the time Sillick was riding on
the back of a female orca. It was a crushing blow. Sillick almost died. He
had severe fractures to both his hips, his pelvis, ribs and legs. After six
operations in fourteen months, according to Sillick's lawyer, he was
"reconstructed" with some three pounds (1.4 kg) of pins, plates and screws,
including a permanent plate inserted in his pelvis and all his thoracic
vertebrae permanently fused. He can walk today but his activity is limited.
After Sillick's injury, changes were finally made at Sea World. Sea World's
owner, Harcourt Brace jovanovich (HBJ), the book publisher, stepped in with
chairman William jovanovich calling the shots. The trainers were told to stop
riding the whales, to stay out of the water with them, and to go back to the
old training methods. Chief trainer Butcher was dismissed along with long-time
zoological director and veterinarian Lanny H. Cornell and Sea World San Diego
president Jan Schultz.
Various reasons are given for the accidents, but none can be fully explained.
Some could have been simple miscalculations on the part of the whales, or
missed signs. There might also have been poor signals from inexperienced
trainers. The Orky incident with John Sillick did not surprise trainers who
knew Orky, his history and his recent circumstances. Captured in April 1968,
Orky had grown up with Corky at Marineland of the Pacific near Los Angeles,
California. Soon after becoming mature, in 1978, he pinned trainer Jill
Stratton on the bottom of the pool, nearly drowning her. "After that," said
long-time Marineland head-trainer Tim Desmond, "we didn't regularly do water
work with him because we didn't feel it was safe." On January 20-21, 1987,
three weeks after Sea World owner HBJ bought Marineland, and promised not to
move the orcas, Orky and Corky were trucked to San Diego, to join several other
orcas. The new situation new breeding age females and much breeding activity -
altered the social interactions of all the whales. But probably more
important, Orky was being asked to perform according to the Sea World method
with several trainers in the water. For Orky it had all happened almost
overnight. Some Sea World trainers contend management was in too big a hurry
to break in Orky. Did Orky have trouble making the transition? It is difficult
to determine, but Robert K. Gault, Jr., then Sea World's president, admitted to
the New York Times that they may have over-emphasized the importance of
the entertainment, adding: "We did not have enough experienced trainers."
When Butcher had brought in his new methods and tried to standardize training
in all four parks, he alienated several veteran trainers. In one year, about
35 trainers departed, according to Bud Krames, a senior trainer who left
because he didn't agree with the system. New trainers had to be hired. Three
of the five trainers in San Diego had three months or less experience working
with orcas. Sillick, a veteran by comparison, had less than two years. In the
year following the accidents, some of the injured trainers began to blame Sea
World for not warning them about the "dangerous propensities of killer whales"
as one lawsuit put it. Jonathan Smith's lawyer charged that Sea World and HBJ
"negligently and carelessly owned, maintained, trained, inspected, controlled,
supervised, located, transported and placed" the orcas, thereby exposing Smith
to serious injury. Sillick and Weber also filed lawsuits. All three were
later settled out of court with gag orders imposed. Following the terms of
their deals with Sea World, the lawyers have refused to reveal any more than
the basic details of their clients' cases. This means that no one can know any
findings behind these cases; no one can learn or benefit from the thousands of
pages of prepared evidence.
Way back then there were incidents causing the same concerns as today.
After Butcher left, Sea World revamped the training programme. Under new
chief trainer Michael Scarpuzzi, they returned to a simple, consistent approach
of rewarding each behaviour. Instead of going into the water, trainers began
directing the whales from the deck with hand or underwater acoustic signals.
But less than half a year later, they were back in the water. This time the
animals were being taught to focus their attention on the main trainer on
stage, ignoring trainers in the water. All of it was conveniently just in time
to celebrate Sea World's 25th anniversary with a new orca show. The show must
go on! Only time will tell if the current training programme proves safer than
those of the past.
Only time will tell if the training programmes prove safer was said back in 1987. Well we know the answer to that question. NO IT HASNT as we shall see
03/04/1987 Kandu V /Keanu SD
A six-ton orca suddenly grabbed trainer Jonathan Smith, 21, in its
teeth, dove to the bottom of the tank, then carried him bleeding to the
surface and spat him out. Smith gallantly waved to the crowd - which he
attributed to his training as a Sea World performer - when a second orca
slammed into him. He continued to pretend he was unhurt as the whales
repeatedly dragged him 32 ft to the bottom of the pool. Smith was cut
all around his torso, had a ruptured kidney and a six-inch laceration of
his liver, yet he managed to escape and get out of the pool. Later
reports indicate that the whales involved had been 10-year-old female
Kenau and 9-year-old female Kandu 5.
A suit filed in March by ex-trainer Jonathan Smith is pending in
Superior Court. Smith alleged that injuries inflicted by two of the
whales during a show last year were caused by the negligence of the
company.He sued Seaworld. His suit says officials concealed the "dangerous propensities
of killer whales" from him and assured him that it was safe for him to
participate in the shows, even though he had no formal training. 15/06/1987 Kandu V SD Trainer Joanne Webber, 29,
suffered a fractured neck when 9-year-old female Kandu 5 landed on top of her and pushed
her to the bottom of the pool during a practice session. Webber had five
years experience working with orcas.She sued Seaworld in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court that Sea World
and its parent company, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, knew that the whales
were "ferocious and dangerous" and were "likely to attack and injure
human beings," but induced her to enter the pool by telling her the
whales were "safe" and "gentle."
Webber's injuries were aggravated by Sea World personnel who delayed
treatment, insisting that her wetsuit be removed at the park so that it
would not be damaged by medical personnel who would try to remove it at
the hospital, the lawsuit says.
Webber, who returned to a job at Sea World after her health improved,
went back on medical leave last week after Sea World officials
requested that she either take an office job at the park or go back in
the water with the whales, according to Paula Tupper, an associate in
the law firm of Patrick R. Frega.
Her injuries included fractures
of the first cervical vertebra, contusions of the skull and scalp, and
bruises to the left arm and shoulder. After a year, two cracks in a
vertebra in Webber's neck still have not healed completely, and she has
lost 50% of the side-to-side motion in her neck, Tupper said.
'In Great Pain'
Webber
was able to free herself and get out of the pool after the whale
attack, Tupper said. Park personnel then allowed her to walk about 50
feet from the pool to an enclosure, where she was told to remove her
wetsuit, Tupper said.
"In great pain" and unable to comply, the
lawsuit says, she was "stripped of (the) wetsuit by Sea World
personnel." Tupper added that Webber was told to dress and walk about
200 yards to a waiting ambulance.
The lawsuit also names 35 unidentified defendants and asks for unspecified damages.
The
defendants "well knew that killer whales had a dangerous propensity for
attacking, ramming, dragging and smashing persons located in the pool,"
but concealed those facts, the lawsuit says.
They also knew that
the whales were "capable of uncontrollable erratic behavior, aggression,
and attack," but nevertheless placed a newly acquired and "known
dangerous" male whale in proximity to female killer whales, thus
increasing "the likelihood of erratic behavior and attack," the suit
alleges.
Webber never would have gotten into the tanks if she had known the facts, the suit contends.
28/09/1987 SD Trainer Mark McHugh was bitten
on the hand while feeding an orca between shows.
As you see above all 3 cases were settled out of court with gagging orders incorporated Following the terms of
their deals with Sea World, the lawyers have refused to reveal any more than
the basic details of their clients' cases. This means that no one can know any
findings behind these cases; no one can learn or benefit from the thousands of
pages of prepared evidence.
30/09/1987 SD While working with one orca during a performance trainer Chris Barlow, 24,
was being rammed in the stomach by
another orca. Barlow was hospitalized with minor injuries.
Trainer were taken out of the water.
08/04/1989 Kasatka SA 12-year-old female Kasatka mouthed a trainer's leg. SW Animal Profile
30/09/1989 Kasatka SA 12-year-old female Kasatka mouthed a trainer's feet. Sw Animal profile
29/10/1989 Katina SO 13 year old Katina mouthed a trainers waist. SW Animal Profile
28/07/1990 Corky 2 SD 24-year-old female Corky 2 pushed the mid-section of a trainer. SW Animal Profile
31/07/1991 Kasatka SD 14-year-old female Kasatka grabbed a trainer's foot (termed "jaw popped on foot" in Injury Report) and fluked a trainer's back SW Animal Profile
02/04/1992 Katina SO 15-year-old female Katina bumped a trainer's hip. SW Animal Profile
1992 Kayla SD 3-year-old female Kayla pushed a trainer back toward pool during training. SW Animal Profile
25/04/1993 Kasatka SD mouthed feet and legs during hydro SW Animal Profile
15.07/1993 Kasatka SD 16-year-old female Kasatka mouthed a trainer's feet and legs, grabbed a
knee and dunked the trainer, grabbed a foot and dunked the trainer. SW Animal Profile
03/08/1993 Katina SO 17-year-old female Katina bumped a trainer's body. SW Animal Profile
24/02.1994 Katina SO 18-year-old female Katina bumped a trainer's hand. SW Animal Profile
20/07/1996 Kayla SA 7-year-old female Kayla split to slide out during the show after a
non-bridged behaviour. At that time, a guest tried to touch her and she
thrashed her head from side to side with her mouth open. No injury
occurred. SW Animal Profile
22/11/1996 Orkid SD 8-year-old female Orkid head popped a trainer's arm. SW Animal Profile
03/10/1997 SD 20 year old Ulises came out at a trainer SW Animal Profile
23/06/1998 Orkid SD pushed a kayak with a trainer inside around SW Animal Profile
16/07/1998 Orkid SD 9-year-old female Orkid was performing a hydro-hop behaviour during a
night show. The trainer accidentally hit her tail flukes with his hand
upon his re-entry and she responded by hitting him in the stomach with
her head. She responded to a stage call calmly. SW Animal Profile
09/03/1999 Takara SD 7 year old Takara came out at a trainer. SW Animal Profile
12/06/1999 Kasatka SD After her calf Takara split to a back pool during a show, 23-year-old
Kasatka, the dominant female in the park, began to fast swim around the
perimeter, grabbed trainer Kenneth Peters' leg and attempted to throw
him out of the pool at SeaWorld San Diego. Peters was pulled out of the
pool by another trainer. SW Animal Profile
05/07/1999 Tilikum SO Daniel P Dukes Seaworld said died o Hypothermia and his animal profile states Tilikums involvement not known, the autopsy report shows pre and post mortem injuries and complete avulsion of testes.
16/08/1999 Kayla SA 10-year-old female Kayla became aggressive with a trainer during a
waterwork sequence in the show after several behaviours without
reinforcement, in combination with social problems between Kayla and
adult female Winnie. SW Animal Profile
2000 Corky SD Prevents trainer from exiting pool by rostrum blocking SW Animal Profile
2000 Ikiaka SO Young male Ikaika has a history of aggression, often of a sexual nature,
which began with an attempt to breed a young calf at SeaWorld shortly
before his transfer to Canada. SeaWorld's veterinarians then sedated
Ikaika twice daily with Valium to "try to mellow him out." "We've
already seen some of the precursors (of a human attack) up there,
meaning he's grabbed boots, he's grabbed targets, he's grabbed an arm
before," Chuck Tompkins, a senior executive at SeaWorld and head animal
trainer, said in an affidavit. Those are signs Ikaika is testing his
environment and seeing what he can do, Tompkins told the court. "And if
you're not aware of all the little things that killer whales do, you can
get somebody really, really hurt," Tompkins said in his affidavit.
"I've got grave concerns on the safety of the staff and inevitably the
safety of the animal because of the lack of change. News report on the court case with Marineland
2000's Tuar SO While a trainer was retrieving an article from the back of the mouth,
young male Tuar clamped down on the trainer's arm and held tight for
several moments. SW Animal Profile
2000's Tuar SO Young male Tuar was involved in one swim over a surfaced trainer during
waterwork with another young male, Tekoa. He did respond to a recall
after two attempts. SW Animal Profile
2000's Tuar SO Since his move to Texas in April 2004, young male Tuar has opened his
mouth towards trainers on a few occasions while in the water with him.
This behaviour seems to present itself when sequences are predictable,
and has been during solo waterwork only. SW Animal Profile
2002 Ulises SD 25-year-old male Ulises was doing a waterwork session in "A" pool. His
trainer was on his back and wanted him to move closer to the acrylic by
giving him the cue to "steer" him in a directional way. Ulises did not
know this behaviour. Instead, he took this as a finger roll, the trainer
fell off and Ulises began to go on a descent. He ignored the trainer on
the porch trying to receive him and turned around to go back towards
his trainer in the water. He turned ventral and scooped her up, and then
started to become erect. She was able to get off at the porch and
reinforce him. He was calm. SW Animal Profile
31/07/2002 Orkid SD 13-year-old female Orkid was given the opportunity to rehearse pulling a trainer into the water by her bootie (sic!). After placing a foot in Orkid's mouth several times Orkid pulled the trainer in the water and pulled the bootie off. SW Animal Profile
07/08/2002 Orkid/Splash SD A female SeaWorld trainer was hospitalized and recovering from a broken
arm after an incident at Shamu Stadium on Wednesday. The 28-year-old
Tamaree was doing poolside training with 12-year-old male Splash and
13-year-old female Orkid. "She was playing with the whales, talking to
them," said SeaWorld spokeswoman Darla Davis. "The next thing we know,
as it appears from the video, she was pulled into the water." The park
has its own video from a pool camera, and it also reviewed a video taken
by a visitor who was recording his children nearby. Park officials said
the trainer swam out of the water on her own. She was taken to a local
hospital, where a pin was put in her arm. Doctors also are monitoring
scrapes for possible infection. SW Animal Profile
2003 Kayla SA 14-year-old female Kayla had refused multiple separations prior to the
show opening. She proceeded to perform abnormally high bows on a fast
swim cue, came back and received an LRS(* see below), performed another
set of bows on the fast swim. She was then asked for a line up, tactile
was applied and she lined up with a slight lean. As the trainer backed
over the wall, she then came out of the line up towards him with her
mouth open. No contact was made. She then performed a head bobbing
behaviour and split to the front pool. After several minutes staff
attempted control and they were able to separate her to the back pool to
continue the show. SW Animal Profile
01/08/2003 Kyuquot SA During a portion of the show, 16-year-old male Kyuquot refused to let a
trainer exit the pool. He did not become aggressive, but refused
callback tones and slaps, and would not allow the trainer to leave the
pool. The trainer was able to get close enough to the glass to pull
himself out very quickly, and Kyuquot then proceeded to fast swim around
the pool, followed by sliding out at stage. SW Animal Profile
27/07/2004 Kyuquot SA 12-year-old male Kyuquot repeatedly slammed trainer Steve Aibel
underwater during a show. Aibel, who was uninjured, had trained Kyuquot
for 10 years. Kyuquot refused a rocket hop during a show, then repeated
it well. However, Kyuquot then refused to allow the trainer to exit the
pool. He then proceeded to swim over the trainer, blocking any exit from
the pool for two to three minutes. He refused several callback
attempts, including tones, hand slaps, and attempts at control by
trainers in various positions around the pool. Once the trainer was
close to the middle of the pool, Kyuquot then calmed down, finally
drifting close to the stage, where the trainer was able to quickly exit.
During the whole incident, Kyuquot never once opened his mouth on the
trainer. SW Animal Profile
22/08/2004 Ulises SD 27-year-old male Ulises was doing a Scuba session with his trainer in
"A" pool (a spotter Scuba diver was also at the bottom), when he looped
around, became erect, and then swam on top of his trainer. He ignored a
hand slap and tone before responding to a second tone. SW Animal Profile
Summer 2004 Kayla SA During a night show, 15-year-old female Kayla had performed the first
two songs of the show acceptably, and then did two ventral squirt bow
cues. She responded well to both LRS that occurred, and
then received a primary reinforcement for the second LRS. She was then
asked for a fluke splash to the back, and then asked to separate to the
back pool. During the separation attempt, she lunged at her trainer,
although no contact occurred. After several minutes, she separated into
the back pool, allowing the show to continue. SW Animal Profile
18/10/2004 Kasatka SD A trainer was attempting to Scuba dive in "E" pool with 28-year-old
female Kasatka and her 3-year-old male calf Nakai. The trainer did not
have approval to swim with fins. He may have brushed her with his fins
and she became aggressive, mouthing fins and Scuba gear. She eventually
responded to a hand slap stage call. SW Animal Profile
01/04/2005 Taku SO A SeaWorld Orlando trainer is expected to return to work soon after
being injured by an "overly excited" killer whale, a theme-park
spokeswoman said Sunday. 11-year-old male Taku, one of nine at the park
that go by the stage name Shamu, swam rapidly past the trainer and
circled back, bumping him repeatedly during the Shamu Adventure show at
12:30 p.m. Friday, spokeswoman Becca Bides said. "The trainer maintained
control of the animal," Bides said, and the show continued
uninterrupted. The trainer, supervisor Sam Davis, was taken to Sand Lake
Hospital for unspecified minor injuries and released the same day, she
said.
Additional eyewitness account: "The trainer and Taku were about to
slide on the slide out at the end of the show when Taku completely
stopped and started "bumping" the trainer. The trainer was male and he
finally swam out of the tank. I knew something was wrong because non of
the whale except Kalina wanted to perform. Then they finally got Taku
out to splash people at the end of the show, when this incident took
place
." Killer whale jolts trainer, Orlando Sentinel, April 4, 2005.
14/04/2005 Orkid SD During a two whale - one trainer interaction, 16-year-old female Orkid
initially responded to a stage call but quickly reached back and pulled a
trainer by her ankle to the bottom of "A" pool. Orkid responded to the
call back tone. Seaworld Animal Profile
06/05/2005 Orkid SD 16-year-old female Orkid grabbed a trainer's foot and dunked the trainer. Seaworld Animal Profile
2006 Corky 2 SD After a good playtime session including waterwork in "A" pool, while
sitting at stage with a few trainers next to her, 40-year-old female
Corky 2 began to mouth a trainer's ponytail. She corrected quickly once
asked by a trainer on stage to sit "heads up". Seaworld Animal Profile
Oct 2006 Kayla SA After performing a sequence in the show, 17-year-old female Kayla was in
the stage slide out with her trainer receiving secondary reinforcement.
As the trainer attempted to point her back in the water, Kayla lunged
at thim with her mouth open, contacting him and throwing him several
feet. She immediately came back to control, separated to the back pool
perfectly, and was very good behaviourally the rest of the day. Seaworld Animal Profile
Nov 2006 Kayla SA After performing a med pool separation well, 17-year-old female Kayla
was receiving various secondary reinforcers while the gate closed when
she pulled away from the wall. She was asked to come back to control,
which she did. After a whistle bridge, the trainer went to feed her.
Kayla lunged at her, knocking a bucket off the wall. No injury occurred. Seaworld Animal Profile
15/11/2006 Orkid SD A SeaWorld trainer was injured, when 18-year-old female Orkid grabbed
senior trainer Brian Rokeach by the leg, pulled him to the bottom of the
pool and held him under water for about 26 seconds. Orkid released
Rokeach after Peters repeatedly slapped the water, the signal for the
animals to return to the front of the Shamu Stadium stage. Rokeach
suffered a torn ankle ligament but was not hospitalized. In response to
the incident, SeaWorld increased to five the number of trainers who must
be available during live performances and other times when trainers are
in the water with the whales. Seaworld Animal Profile
29/11/2006 Kasatka SD 30-year-old female Kasatka attacked Kenneth Peters, SeaWorld San Diego's
most experienced trainer, during a show at Shamu Stadium. Kasatka
grabbed the trainer's foot and dove to the bottom of the 36-foot tank.
They surfaced less than a minute later, but she ignored other trainers'
signals to draw her to the side. The orca dove a second time with the
trainer for about a minute. Peters only escaped after other trainers
worked a large safety net between the two. He suffered puncture wounds
and a broken left foot. That's the second reported attack by Kasatka on
Peters. Seaworld Animal Profile
06/04/2007 Tuar SA 7-year-old male Tuar opened and closed his mouth around a trainer's leg after a dive in prior to the ballet sequence of the show Seaworld Animal Profile
10/04/2007 Orkid SD 18-year-old female Orkid was doing an Artificial Insemination session.
She had been a bit vocal but was asked for the roll over behaviour for
an ultrasound. The trainer then asked Orkid to perform a slide-out
behaviour. She refused this behaviour and then swiped her head making
contact with the trainer which resulted in the trainer falling over the
wall. She did perform the slide-out behaviour after this. The
35-year-old trainer was taken to a hospital for examination and was
found to have suffered minor injuries after the bump from the
5,900-pound whale. Seaworld Animal Profile
06/10/2007 Tekoa LP A trainer at the Loro Parque theme park on Tenerife is in hospital after
she was injured this weekend during a training session with 6-year-old
male Tekoa at the centre in Puerto de la Cruz. The Canarias 7 newspaper
says the incident happened at the pre-show warm up on Saturday, when the
orca crashed into the trainer, injuring her right lung and breaking her
forearm in two places. She was rescued by two colleagues after the
marine mammal dragged her down to the bottom of the pool. The trainer is
now said to be stable after surgery on Saturday. Later it becomes know
that the injured trainer is 29-year-old biologist Claudia Vollhardt from
Germany, who has worked at the park since 2003. OME News write that it
was a male orca that hit the trainer and dragged her down after the
impact. Then that same animal grabbed the trainer by the arm and brought
her back up to the surface. OME News Spain
Jan 2008 Takara SO 16-year-old female Takara hit a trainer with her tail fluke, who was smacked off the slide-out. Seaworld Animal Profile
Spring 2009 Skyla LP In the spring of 2009, during a public show, 5-year-old female Skyla
started pushing her trainer around the pool and up against the pool
wall. Shortly thereafter, special protocols (limits on water work and a
mandate that only senior trainers work with her) that had been standard
practice for Tekoa after the incident in 2007 were enacted for Skyla as
well. Outside magazine
Sept 2009 Keto LP Incident with Brian Rokeach and Keto. Outside Magazine
24/12/2009 Keto LP KETO KILLS ALEX MARTINEZ A Loro Parque trainer has been killed by one of the whales during a
training session. The trainer was 29-year-old Alexis MartÃnez, and the
accident occurred at 10.30 am this morning during the first training
session for the Christmas Special planned for the New Year. The other 7
trainers were also present in the training session. As far as can be
determined right now, Alexis was hit by 14-year-old male killer whale
Keto, and his death was caused by drowning because he was under the
water unconscious for several minutes before he could be rescued. The autopsy report on MartÃnez was telling and states bluntly that his was a
"violent death." It describes multiple cuts and bruises, the collapse
of both lungs, fractures of the ribs and sternum, a lacerated liver,
severely damaged vital organs, and puncture marks "consistent with the
teeth of an orca." It concludes that the immediate cause of death was
fluid in the lungs (i.e., drowning) but that the fundamental cause was
"mechanical asphyxiation due to compression and crushing of the thoracic
abdomen with injuries to the vital organs." In other words, at some
point Keto probably slammed into MartÃnez with such force that he caved
in his chest. Outside Magazine
2010 Orkid SD 21-year-old female Orkid has been sliding out in various slide-out areas
on her free time which has resulted in possibly dangerous scenarios for
guests at the Dine with Shamu area. Changes are (were?) being made to
the areas to help decrease the frequency of this behaviour in areas
where person might be injured Seaworld Animal Profile
24/02/2010 Tilikum SO A veteran animal trainer whose dream was to work at SeaWorld Florida was
killed Wednesday when one of the show's killer whales dragged her
underwater. SeaWorld said that 29-year-old male Tilikum pulled Dawn
Brancheau, 40, into the orca's tank about 2pm. Witnesses told that the
animal suddenly grabbed Brancheau by the upper arm, tossed her around in
his mouth and pulled her beneath the water as dozens of tourists looked
on in horror. The autopsy report shows multiple injuries including a complete avulsion ( an avulsion is an injury in which a body structure is forcibly detached from its normal point of insertion by either trauma or surgery) of the left upper extremity with associated fracture of the proximal left humerus.
Just to establish fact as I know Seaworld has stated it is a lie - the autopsy report does indeed state Dawn Brancheau's left arm was separated from her body as in the picture above. . You can see from Tilikums Animal Profile it just states, grabbed pony tail, pulled in water, held trainer underwater, carry tow trainer. For Keltie Byrne it says be advised Tilikum was involved in an accidental drowning and for Daniel Dukes it says drowning no specific behaviour noted. As you can see from the records, autopsy reports etc, above this is hardly giving the trainers a full view of what happened and what danger they could be in, other than telling them Tilikum had his own protocol, it doesn't tell them why.
It also states during times of frustration due to social stress in the environment, Tilikum has demonstrated aggressive behaviour by mouthing the stage, vocalisations, deep fast swimming, tightening body posture, banging gates, and sometimes lunging towards control trainers. It also says occasionally he has displayed possessive behaviour of objects and whales in his environment.
This is the show prior to Ms Brancheau's death which shows social stress in the environment. One orca rammed up out of the water and control lost so much the trainers left the stage
The report on the incident states
Finally—now holding Brancheau by her arm—he was guided onto the medical
lift. The floor was quickly raised. Even now, Tilikum refused to give
her up. Trainers were forced to pry his jaws open. When they pulled
Brancheau free, part of her arm came off in his mouth. ( I suspect this is where the paramedic on Blackfish got his information from so he wasn't actually lying). The paramedics went to work, attaching a defibrillator, but it was
obvious she was gone. A sheet was pulled over her body. Tilikum, who'd
been involved in two marine-park deaths in the past, had killed her.
There are probably more videos on you tube if you choose to look for them. These incidents are documented although the early ones are in newspaper archives, the majority are documented by Seaworld themselves. These incidents are all before the movie Blackfish was created, and I hope it gives you some insight into one of the reasons people protest Seaworld regardless of the movie Seaworld like to keep your attention on.
Seaworlds website states 4. The film spins an entirely fictitious account of Dawn Brancheau’s death in order to advance its anti-captivity narrative.
To support this bias slant, and specifically the idea that Tilikum was a
psychotic and violent animal because of captivity, the film engages in a
series of false and misleading statements about the circumstances of
Ms. Brancheau’s death:
In
its opening sequence, the film misleadingly cobbles together separate
pieces of innocuous training and performance footage, synched with the
actual 911 calls, to mislead the audience into believing it is viewing
the actual footage of Ms. Brancheau swimming with Tilikum prior to the
fatal incident. In fact, the opening sequence does not depict either
Ms. Brancheau or Tilikum, or an attack of any kind. From the date Tilikum arrived at SeaWorld, no one was allowed to swim in the water with Tilikum, and Ms. Brancheau never did so.
The opening sequence is above, it shows a trainer doing waterworks with a killer whale, no where does it state it is Ms Brancheau and that it certainly not Tilikum, so I guess that is Seaworld's presumption as I certainly didn't see the clip like that at all.
Purely for shock value, the film
includes a recording of an EMT technician, subsequently proved to be
mistaken, suggesting that Tilikum swallowed Ms. Brancheau’s arm during
the incident. This is false. This fact was readily available to the
filmmaker in the documentation she obtained from the Secretary of Labor,
yet was not included.
This is not altogether incorrect, the part about him swallowing an arm may be incorrect, but that is the EMT technicians view, maybe he didn't know where the arm was. In Dawn's autopsy report you can see on page 6, ''the left upper extremity is completely avulsed'' The definition of avulsed is In medicine, an avulsion is an injury in which a body structure is forcibly detached from its normal point of insertion by either trauma or surgery (from the Latin avellere, meaning "to tear off"). So this part was not purely for shock value the upper arm was torn off by Tilikum, who is to say that the EMT technician at the time knew where that piece of arm was?? I would dare say that due to the injuries she did sustain he would also have been incredibly shocked too. Witness statement also said he would not let them have Dawn back and his mouth had to be pried open
The film falsely suggests that
SeaWorld “blamed” Ms. Brancheau for her death. We have never done that.
She was our colleague and we mourn her loss to this day. The film,
however, does blame Ms. Brancheau, and it accomplishes this through
former trainers with little or no relevant experience. These trainers
were not present on the day she died, and callously presume to critique
her interaction with Tilikum.
Dawn is blamed 3 times in this video clip. Chuck Tompkins, Sea World corporate curator for zoological operations,
testified that there are no specific steps for trainers to follow to
respond to a life-threatening situation in the water and that their
lives are ultimately up to their own “best judgment call.” Tompkins
admitted that the park does not even re-evaluate its protocols after an
injury or death because it deems the injuries “a result of human error”
and insisted that revising safety protocols is unnecessary. He also
claimed that SeaWorld has “gotten a whole lot better” with the training
process over time, despite, as government attorneys noted, the killing
of two trainers in a two-month span.
Who gave the Orange County Sheriff this information?? SW convinced the Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) to report that a
trainer had “slipped or fell” into the pool and died of drowning.
Although witnesses did not indicate that she slipped or fell, OCSO
Spokesman Jim Solomon s emerged from a meeting with SW officials and made
that proclamation before a global audience.
With this, the fabrications and deceptions began. Not only did OCSO make
a major faux pas by making this announcement (which was subsequently
withdrawn as the public came forward) but SeaWorld President Dan Brown
also started the web of deceit. He expressed “we have never, in the
history of our parks had an incident like this”. While partially true,
he failed to mention that just eight weeks earlier Keto, a
SeaWorld orca on loan to Loro Parque brutally killed trainer Alexis Martinez in a similar fashion. His death in the Canary Islands was also portrayed merely as an accidental drowning.
The film blatantly mischaracterizes
the events that led to the death of trainer Keltie Byrne at SeaLand of
the Pacific, a park that was never owned or operated by SeaWorld.
Tilikum was one of three whales in the sea pen at the time Ms. Byrne
drowned, and the jury in the Coroner’s Inquest (the Canadian
investigation of the incident), which considered the testimony of 19
witnesses, did not identify any one of the three whales as the leader in the incident.
Nevertheless, the film claims that Tilikum was the instigator, relying
upon an interview given by two local residents. Another key fact never
disclosed in the film: David Duffus, who is featured in the film
numerous times as an “expert”, was the foreman of this very same
Coroner’s Jury that investigated the Sea-Land incident. Mr. Duffus
testified that it was inconclusive that Tilikum was primarily
responsible for the death of Ms. Byrne.
They use this as their reference. this shows the recommendations and as far as I can see the only time Mr Duffus is mentioned in this report is that he is a juror. It does not show any testimony from him. As in the previous article regarding the experts credentials, sea-world once again mislead the public by stating that Judge Welch had this to say about Mr Duffus. This is not true, the document is Seaworld's appeal document, what the Judge actually said about Mr Duffus in point 6 is 'he considered Mr Duffus a credible, informative witness whose opinions assisted the court. The part regarding Tilikum is true however, none of the 3 orca were named specifically as the one that grabbed Keltie Byrne, yet the witness's on the Blackfish movie stated it was the one with the bent over fin which would have been Tilikum. Tilikums Seaworld animal Profile also states ''Please be advised this whale was involved in an accidental drowning of a trainer at Sealand of the Pacific in 1991. Why would the fact that Mr Duffus was the foreman of the Coroner's Jury that investigated the Sealand incident be on any relevance what so ever? The only way Blackfish mischaracterizes the incident with Keltie Byrne is to call those witness's liars, which they did not do. Those witness's stated they had never been called at the time of Keltie's death and they saw the whale with the bent over fin grab her. Why would they lie? At the time the other thing noted about Tilikum was that if anything went into the pool, he would not give it back, yet Seaworld state this is irrelevant to the case of Dawn Brancheau
The film similarly trades in
fictional theories about the circumstances surrounding the death of
Daniel Dukes, an intruder who broke into the back area of Shamu Stadium
after hours and jumped into Tilikum’s pool. The film claims there was a
“public relations version” of the death and that Mr. Dukes’ death was
somehow caused by an act of aggression by Tilikum. A review of the
official Sherriff’s report reveals that virtually nothing said in the
film about our conduct that day is true. In fact, Naomi Rose, PhD.D., an
outspoken critic of SeaWorld who actually appears in the credits to
Blackfish, was quoted after the incident as saying “since
the body was found on Tilikum’s back, it’s unlikely the whale was
behaving aggressively……The whale was probably playing with the man and
continued to play with the body after the man died.”
Once again Seaworlds own profile for Tilikum states He was involved in an incident in July 1999 which resulted in the drowning of a guest in his pool, his participation was not known. Seaworld have repeatedly set the picture of Daniel P Dukes as some strange homeless person, probably under the influence of drugs who died from hypothermia.
Early newspaper reports showed he was neither, he was listed as living at the Hare Krishna temple in Miami, not as homeless, and once again the Orange County Sheriff's department gave a statement saying there was no foul play on his(Tilikum) part. An Autopsy was expected to show he had drowned as his body was not harmed. Bear in mind Seaworld would have removed the body to assess it was not harmed! The medical examiners report shows quite a different story Before you read through it note the medical examiner reports both pre and post mortem injuries, showing Tilikum attacked the body before Daniel Dukes died and continued afterwards. Once again the word 'avulsion' came up as it did in dawn Brancheau's autopsy which means ripped off, this time it was Daniel Dukes, scrotal sac and testis that had been avulsed. Also note there were no drugs or alcohol in his system. As you can see the body was most definitely harmed in numerous places. The public relations version of this incident is, he was a strange drifter, who died of hypothermia and was found draped across Tilikum's back. Not anywhere have Seaworld mentioned what the results of the medical examiners report were, not even in his own Animal Profile which would have been available to trainers.
What
clearly is supported by the facts is that prior to Ms. Brancheau’s
accident in 2010, Tilikum had engaged in numerous interactions with
trainers and veterinarians safely and without incident over a period of
18 years. Tilikum remains at SeaWorld, where he cooperates with
trainers, socializes with other killer whales and our guests.
This statement is also not true. His animal profile states Tilikum finds aversive - repetition during learning with repetitive incorrect responses prolonged social access to other whales prolonged separation without visual access to other whales, esp Taima birds stealing his fish too much change Tilikums training history has been inconsistent for the most part. During times of frustration due to social stress in the environment, Tilikum has exhibited aggressive behavior by mouthing the stage, vocalization, tightening body posture, banging gates, a deep fast swim and sometimes lunging towards control trainer. It is important to remember his previous history and potential. Occasionally he has displayed possessive behavior with objects and other whales in his environment. Tilikums very first incident was whilst he was still at Hafnarfjordur Aquarium, Iceland in 1984 - 3-year-old male Tilikum attacked his trainer when he was trying to get
him to move from between pools at the Sædýrasafninu sea animal park,
biting a good bit out of his wetsuit and dragging him down. Of course it would have been very irresponsible of Sea World to breed an orca with a bad reputation. As in dog breeding if you have an attack dog, the dog is usually not allowed to breed and is consequently put to sleep. So it would be in Seaworld's interests to not have any involvement or the nature of involvement in the incidents known to the public or the trainers.
SeaWorld was aware of Keltie Byrne’s death when it acquired Tilikum. We adopted special precautionary protocols
regarding work with Tilikum, including prohibition of performance
in-water work. These protocols were impressed upon all trainers who
worked with Tilikum, yet the film falsely implies that important safety
information about Tilikum and his background were withheld. This is
untrue. Nothing was ever concealed from Tilikum’s trainers. During the
OSHA trial surrounding Ms. Brancheau’s accident, SeaWorld provided more
than 35 hours of testimony concerning our killer whale program and
topics such as our detailed safety protocols and how they are
communicated to our trainers. All of this testimony was in the
possession of the filmmakers, but ignored by the film.
No where in the protocols does it state anything regarding the deaths of Keltie Byrne or Daniel P Dukes. The protocols are purely how people deal with Tilikum now. In the case of Keltie Byrne, neither the training protocols nor his animal profile state anything other than please be aware Tilikum was involved in an incident, in relation to Daniel P Dukes it also clearly states his involvement is unknown. After the autopsy was concluded the autopsy report proved Tilikum's involvement but no where is this information revealed to trainers, so the statement made that safety information about Tilikum and his background being with held is TRUE. It makes no difference that they made 35 hours of statements on their safety protocols as they do not reveal the autopsy report information on either previous killing. Saying that the filmakers ignored it is a bit like pot calling kettle as the information regarding the injuries these people received is also available but ignored by Seaworld too.
The
film misrepresents, through the use of footage four decades old, that
SeaWorld takes a cavalier approach to safety and qualifications of its
trainers. This is completely untrue. The path to becoming a killer
whale trainer is rigorous and lengthy: It takes years to be qualified to
work with killer whales The film ignores all the steps and protocols trainers must take in order to be promoted through the ranks.
In addition to our written safety protocols and extensive training processes,
we have invested tens of millions of dollars in state-of-the art
improvements, including lifting floors, underwater cameras, and other
both passive and active devices, all of which are tied together in our
Emergency Response Program.
Making and training people how to perform an emergency response indicates that an emergency response will be needed again in the future which is the whole point OSHA have been trying to make. The steps checklist also broken into week one and post week one which does not show it takes years to be a qualified killer whale trainer. Maybe it does but the examples given on the Seaworld website do not back that up. With regards to 4 decades old footage - this is the footage I have found and comments seaworld made regarding each incident. I deliberately chose recent clips so it doesn't fall into the 4 decades category. 2009 - no where near 4 decades old - Keto. To prove the cavalier attitude in this case you need look no further than the court room. Flaherty Clark testified under oath that SeaWorld was not associated with Loro Parque. OSHA's report argued differently:
Sea World Parks & Entertainment sent several of its personnel,
including SeaWorld of California's supervisor of animal training, Brian
Rokeach, to Loro Parque to demonstrate its use of operant conditioning
and to help implement its training program.
This is a blatant lie under oath by Kelly Flaherty Clark, as this is the original set up for Seaworld orca's at Loro parque along with photographs of staff there.
Even though Brian Rokeach and experienced Seaworld trainer was present at the incident, Kelly Flaherty Clark blamed the inexperienced trainer and how Mr Rokeach dealt with the situation stating it wouldn't have happened in her park. 2 months later Tilikum killed Dawn in her park!
The arrangement and statements from Fred Jacobs and Brad Andrews can be seen here The parks have enough that they can safely
share four with the Loro Parque zoological park at Tenerife, said Fred
Jacobs, spokesman for Busch Entertainment Corp., parent of the SeaWorld
parks.
"We've known them for a long time, and
they do an excellent job," Jacobs said of Loro Parque, a privately owned
facility that features sea lions, dolphins, alligators, parrots and
land animals but no killer whales.
Jacobs said Loro Parque trainers have been at
SeaWorld in San Antonio for about the past year, learning to care for
and train the big black-and-white sea mammals. A 7 million-gallon pool
is under construction at Loro Parque to house the animals.
Two juvenile killer whales from Orlando and two
from San Antonio will be shipped to the park as soon as the work is
complete, possibly in early February, Jacobs said.
The killer whales are not being sold outright,
but SeaWorld does have a "financial arrangement" with Loro Parque in the
venture, Jacobs said. He would not provide details of the agreement.
Brad Andrews, director of zoological operations
for Busch Entertainment, said Wednesday that the SeaWorld parks have
been working closely with Loro Parque to make sure it has adequate room
and proper training to handle the big animals, which have on rare
occasions injured or killed humans.
Andrews said he just returned from a trip to Loro Parque and saw that the massive pool is coming along nicely.
"It's going to be outstanding," Andrews said.
"We've been providing technical expertise, not only on the habitat
requirements but also on the care and training of killer whales."
He said that once the four juveniles leave the
U.S. parks, Orlando still will have eight (five adults and three
juveniles); San Antonio will have five (two adults and three juveniles);
and San Diego will have seven (four adults and three juveniles.)
Jacobs said the four that will be sent to the Canary Islands are fully weaned and mature enough to be transported.
If this isn't a 'cavalier' attitude then what is?
Wolfgang Keissling and Brad Andrews at Loro Parque taken by Ingrid Visser
Dawn Brancheau training Alexis Martinez at Loro Parque
Kasatka and Ken Peters
Kasatka's animal profile shows numerous incidents in the 2006 incident above Kasatka's profile states - dunked trainer, grabbed knee. There had been 9 recorded incidents with Kasatka before this 2 with Ken Peters again. Ken Peters is an experienced trainer, so if this doesn't show a cavalier attitude as their were 9 prior incidents, then what is it? Kyuquot
Although this video says it is Tilikum it is actually Kyuquot refusing to let Steve Aibel exit the pool. Kyuquot's animal profile says after this incident only the most experienced trainers were allowed to work with him. Yet the same thing happened again the following year. It states that in the years since the incident only limited waterworks have been done with Ky and before any were performed all social interactions were favorable. As he is a large bull orca who has done this twice, if this isn't a cavalier attitude then what is it? Orkid
Orkid's animal profile states they have been out of the water with her since this dunking incident in 2006. Seaworld have listed 12 incidents with Orkid before this one happened yet they were still in the water with her, she also has an incident after this one. Despite all these incidents her profile states 'we have recently started getting into the med pool whilst Orkid is in B/C pools and asking for behaviors through the gates. she is doing well with this approximation back to waterworks. Recently she has been sliding out at various slide out areas which has resulted in possible dangerous scenario's for guests. Despite all these incidents with Orkid, they are trying to get her ready for waterworks once again. Yet they have the nerve to say Blackfish makes out they make a cavalier approach to safety issues. What would you call the above then? One thing that all of the trainers appeared to agree on was that an apex
predator who is also highly intelligent, can form a deadly combination.
John Jett told DJ:
One thing we know is that wild orcas will block exits from their prey
items. Keto and Tilikum and many others seem to demonstrate this when
attacking trainers. They seem to eliminate or reduce escape routes.
These animals have an amazing evolutionary history that isn't removed
from life in captivity. They're wired for this kind of behavior. They
don't make mistakes.
Marine mammal veterinarian Jay
Sweeney: "Aggression expressed by killer whales toward their trainers is a matter
of grave concern. Show situations involving water behaviors with trainers
and orcas have become popular in recent years. Aggressive manifestations
toward trainers have included bumping, biting, grabbing, dunking, and holding
trainers on the bottom of pools preventing their escape. Several situations
have resulted in potentially life-threatening incidents. In a few such cases,
we can attribute this behavior to disease or to the presence of frustrating
or confusing situations, but in other cases, there have been no clear casual
factors."
(in Marine Mammal Behavioral Diagnostics, L. Dierauf (Ed.). 1990. Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine, pp. 53-72.)
OSHA report on the Kasatka incident in November 2006: "The contributing factors to the accident, in the simplest of terms,
is that swimming with captive orcas is inherently dangerous and if
someone hasn't been killed already it is only a matter of time before it
does happen. The trainers recognize this risk and train not for if an attack will happen but when."
(in Occupational Health and Safety report, March 2, 2007)
In addition to our written safety protocols and extensive training processes,
we have invested tens of millions of dollars in state-of-the art
improvements, including lifting floors, underwater cameras, and other
both passive and active devices, all of which are tied together in our
Emergency Response Program.
It doesn't matter how much you spend, Tilikum was brought up on a
raising floor but he still wouldn't let Dawn go. These creatures could
kill a trainer in seconds no matter how much money or improvements
Seaworld make. The attack rates and source of evidence can be seen
here.
Conclusion
All
of the falsehoods and misleading techniques in Blackfish are employed
in the service of the film’s obvious bias, one that is best revealed
near the end of Blackfish by a neuroscientist with no known expertise in
killer whales. She claims that all killer whales in captivity are
“emotionally destroyed,” and “ticking time bombs.” These are not the
words of science, and indeed, there is not a shred of scientific support
for them. Rather, they are the words of animal rights activists whose
agenda the film’s many falsehoods were designed to advance. They reveal
“Blackfish” not as an objective documentary, but as propaganda.
Scientific evidence that Seaworld say does not exist.
In 1995,Small and De Master published a peer-reviewed paper on the survivor-ship rates of
several captive marine mammal species . This paper showed that, through the end of
1992 (the last year for which a complete set of annual data was available) orcas had significantly lower annual survival rates in captivity than in the wild. T heir annual mortality rate
(the inverse of survivor-ship) was more than two and a half times higher in captivity than in the wild. The data source for captive animals was the U.S. Marine Mammal Inventory Report, maintained by the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The data are provided to the agency by marine mammal public display facilities (henceforth called oceanaria) ; therefore, the database was if anything biased in favor of display
Of more than 130 wild-caught orcas held for public display, only 13 survive in oceanaria around
the world. Nine of these are older than the vast majority of captive orcas who have died.
.The remaining 29 living captive orcas are captive-born and therefore younger than 25
(with the death of Kalina, the oldest living captive- born orca is now Orkid, aged 23 years). Indeed,17 of the surviving captive-born orcas are younger than 11 years of age.
Lastly going back to Tilikums profile, Seaworld have always maintained there was nothing going on to make them believe that Tilikum would do what he did that day. His profile however states - during times of frustration during social stress in the environment, Tilikum has exhibited aggressive behavior including a deep fast swim and lunging at trainers. This is the Believe show minutes before Tilikum grabbed Dawn, note the trainers leave the stage as aggression erupts in the tank.
Did Seaworld lie about there being no signs leading up to this tragic event or did they not see this in their own tanks? Although Blackfish used some clips that were not with the script, the storyline remains correct. Tilikum was harassed and mistreated at Sealand of the Pacific. He was often isolated at Seaworld as his profile states. He is bullied by the females and too big to get out of their way, he attacked from the first few days he was caught whilst still in Iceland and has continued to do so throughout his life, as an orca he has no other way to protest, yet despite all these things he is a successful breeder, in fact Tilikum is the most successful sire in captivity, with 21 offspring, 11 of which are still alive.
While living in Sealand, Tilikum sired his first calf Kyuquot, which
was born to Haida II on December 24, 1991. Since his arrival at SeaWorld, Tilikum has sired many calves with different female orcas:
Kyuquot (1991)
SOP-9201 (1992. Died after 36 days, cause unknown)
Nyar (1993–1996)
Taku (1993-2007)
SWF-9401 (1994 Stillbirth)
SWF-9601 (1996 Stillbirth)
Unna (1996)
SWF-9701 (1997 Stillbirth)
Sumar (1998–2010)
Tuar (1999)
Tekoa (2000)
Nakai (2001) †
SWT-0101 (2001 Stillbirth)
Kohana (2002) †
Ikaika (2002)
Skyla (2004)
SWF-0501 (2005 Miscarriage unconfirmed)
Malia (2007)
Sakari (2010)
SWF-1001 (2010 Stillbirth)
Makaio (2010)
In 1999, Tilikum began training for artificial insemination.
In early 2000, Kasatka who resides at SeaWorld San Diego was
artificially inseminated using his sperm. She gave birth to a male calf,
Nakai, on September 1, 2001. On May 3, 2002, another female in San
Diego, named Takara, bore Tilikum's calf through artificial
insemination. The calf was a female, named Kohana. Is this why Seaworld protest so much about Blackfish, who knows, but trying to deflect attention from what has happened in the park onto Blackfish being activist propaganda is not a good idea especially when evidence is out there for everyone to find. As Seaworld's research progressed so did wild research, as it progressed and more was learnt about their family structures and habits, the more apparent it became that these huge beautiful creatures should not be in captivity at all. 50 years is not a long time in the scheme of things, but it has been long enough for people to learn where the mistakes are, the hard part is getting Seaworld to admit that and try to put it right, rather than keep ducking and diving over bits of film, which will then ultimately increase their image and profits.
The bottom line is Tilikum should be like this swimming with his family catching herring under the northern lights and would have been had it not been for the Marine Park Industry.
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