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The Case of the Orca That Killed Its Trainer
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "There's an interesting read at National Geographic by Kenneth Brower that probes the case of Tilikum, the homicidal killer whale, who killed his first trainer, 20-year-old Keltie Byrne in 1991. Then in July 6, 1999, a 27-year-old man who stayed after the park closed and evaded security to enter the orca tank was found dead and nude, draped over Tilikum's back with his genitals bitten off. Tilikum's most recent victim was Dawn Brancheau, the SeaWorld trainer he crushed, dismembered, and partially swallowed in 2010. 'Almost all students of orca believe that they are deranged by captivity, some more than others. Tilikum's record puts him at one end of a continuum. There have been dozens of attacks on trainers by an assortment of orcas in the marine parks around the world. [The movie] "Blackfish" shows video from several of these episodes at SeaWorld,' writes Brower. 'What is remarkable about Orcinus orca in marine parks is not these rare episodes. What is remarkable is their monumental forbearance.' For its part SeaWorld is attempting to cast the filmmakers as the true villains, characterizing them as anti-captivity zealots. The company says '"Blackfish" is inaccurate and misleading and, regrettably, exploits a tragedy that remains a source of deep pain for Dawn Brancheau's family, friends and colleagues.'"
First, I do believe it is entirely plausible that captivity is a negative thing for sea mammals.
However, statements like "almost all students of orca believe" are not helping make their point. I assume they found all the "students of orca" (what does that even mean? Do you sit in a classroom with an orca at the board?) and polled them at a scientific level? Even if they did, what does "almost all" mean?'
Let's have numbers here. Opinions of experts. Show your work. Until or unless you do, I'm going to dismiss that statement as really meaning "I believe this and some other people I know also do," which isn't close to a consensus.
There is way too much crap like this in "journalism" these days, and I'm calling it out when I see it.
The name says it all, really. Orca are carnivores, their natural prey includes seals - which are of comparable size and, for all I know, tastiness to a human.
The way the species has been rebranded as a "dolphin" is one of the triumphs of marketing over reality. They're whales, and they're killers. Get in a tank with one at your own risk.
You take a highly intelligent creature, put it in captivity and then get in its enclosure. What the heck do you think is going to happen? It's amazing more people are not killed and a testament to the tolerance of the orcas.
We are locking up intelligent animals for our amusement. Animals much bigger and stronger than humans. Of course some of them are going to kill us. That's what we get.
Why do the editors continue to approve submissions by " Hugh Pickens DOT Com"? It's clearly spam/advertisement for some crappy movie, but I've seen it a few times in submitted stories. C'mon now.
These Orca things are dangerous! to stop people voluntarily getting into the tanks with them I suggest a name that's also a warning. Maybe 'Killer aquatic mammal'.
Yes...orcas are killers. Seen the wild they will use a baby seal like a volley ball. Torturing it for quite some time before it dies. They are 6-ton predators who rule the waters. Evolved natural killing machines. It is a risk to swim with them of course.
But for the most part they don't kill humans. In fact some of the deaths have been result of the orcas playing too hard and not fully understanding that their human companions are land based creatures not capable of being underwater too long. Some, I guess I'll call them 'water show entertainment' deaths, were because the whales kept a trainer in their mouths for fun but ended up swimming beneath the surface for two or three minutes. Drowning their human trainer.
But the safety records are fine. If the Animal Right's Groups are saying that the wild animals should not be kept captive because they are dangerous to humans it is a terrible argument. The overwhelming majority of captive animals don't kill or harm humans. If these groups were against animal captivity they need to argue about the exploitation of animals and effectively animal slavery for corporate profits. Instead they are wasting time exploiting deaths, many accidental, many not even of actual trainers but of idiots who jumped over the fence to play with killer whales, giant monkeys, and fully grown lions.
This is the same alarmist response the news media does whenever a shark attack kills someone. "Oh my god it was 20 feet long...fin those sharks....for the children". Sharks kill a few people a year and there are millions of sharks and millions of humans who swim in the ocean. No need to sensationalize.
Personally I don't think that most zoo animals enjoy captivity. But most zoo animals are smart enough to know that they are at the mercy of their human masters. The humans provide them clean living conditions, food, and water. They can get a whale to swim ten laps and fly out of the water for a fish treat. But sometimes a killer whale remembers that animal instinct and forgets his training. The trainers know the risks. It's not like these whales are flying out of the stands like a NASCAR crash gone wrong and killing people in the crowd.
I've always been fascinated by people who keep dangerous pets or work with them. They often seem to hold the belief that their relationship with these creatures transcends their instinctive nature to kill. And for a time it seems that they are right. But you only have to piss off a grizzly bear one time, and all of a sudden you're on the latest episode of "People Who Domesticated Animals Which Shouldn't Have Been Domesticated."
From TFA:-
I don't think free publicity was what SeaWorld had in mind. I have not even heard of this movie before this, now I have to admit I'm curious.