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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.'"
Willy eat me.
I just want to point out that though these killings continue today, they were started while George Bush Sr. was in office.
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."
homo human being + Latin: caedere to cut, kill
this use is entirely appropriate. the 'homo' in homocide is an objective use rather than a subjective one. it means that a human is being killed, rather than that a human is doing the killing.
I know an ex Sea World Orca trainer. She never had anything bad to say about the program. The killer Tilikum has been used for breeding more than any other male Orca though. I wouldn't think that was a good idea. Why not try to breed the aggression out of them?
He killed his perceived capturer. If you capture and lock up an animal, you shouldn't expect anything else.
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BTW in most barbershops in the USA they have a jar of disinfectant where they soak the combs, brushes and clippers, brandname "Barbicide". Shhh, don't tell them it is a liquid that kills barbers.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
"Contrary to popular belief, the most dangerous animal is not the lion or tiger or even the elephant. The most dangerous animal is a shark riding on an elephant, just trampling and eating everything they see." -- Jack Handy clearly, he never saw an ORCA riding on an elephant.
That would actually be a liquid that kills beards. Still not accurate.
Homicide, however, fits perfectly in this case. Would-be pedants take note, m-w are idiots and always have been. If you cant find several places where they are wrong and you know they are wrong, you are not qualified to engage in pedantry.
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Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
was found dead and nude, draped over Tilikum's back with his genitals bitten off
He was just trying to demonstration his new high-fashion concept of a Eunuch Tunic.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Tilikum is a "Serial Killer Whale". Also, that's why they are called "Killer Whales" and not "Ocean Ponies."
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
(not suprising since that's what they eat).
If that were true in all cases we'd taste like Cheetos.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
1) Killer whale teeth.
2) Killer whale skull.
The killer whale can weigh up to 22,000 lbs for males and 16,000 lbs for females, and be up to 32 feet and 28 feet long respectively. A great white shark can reach up to 5,000 lbs and 20 feet long.
I saw a PBS video showing great whites feeding on seals at a beach. Suddenly the great whites fled and shortly thereafter, orcas showed up to begin feeding. The narrator noted that orcas can kill great whites.
The male killer whales at Seaworld weigh 5-6 tons. It's quite remarkable that these orcas have not killed more trainers.
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.
whomever he pleases
Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.
Sled dogs bark. Like seals. They never followed through all the way to actually attacking one of the animals either, perhaps indicating that they stopped once they identified that the dogs weren't the prey they were looking for.
Hey, whales are people too... unless you want to use a literal definition of the root for homicidal:
homicide
Noun
The deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another; murder.
Because then we would be talking about whale on whale crime... I don't care about that... "Whale on Whale Action" might get me to click... sorry, just morbid curiosity...
You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
Do they? Because the last time I checked, SeaWorld was still claiming that Tilikum was not actually trying to kill Dawn Brancheau when it grabed her by the arm, crushed her, dismembered her, and then ate her arm. They also claim the other two deaths were not deliberate (or that they don't know) when a review of the facts definitely indicates that Tilikum killed these people. I can't imagine anyone in their right mind working with this animal if they were in full possession of the facts. This is a safety issue, but SeaWorld is also deliberately downplaying that risk.
Users have the ability to mod and tag the submitted stories. You could have modded this submission down and tagged it "spam" before it hit the front page. You didn't. You have no one to blame but yourself.
http://slashdot.org/recent is what you are looking for.
Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
*waves hand*
These aren't the prey you're looking for.
Move along.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork