Sea World tragedy

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And we are the intelligent species in the wild kingdom!

We as humans knowing right from wrong, can control ourselves and still do wrong upon others. Many unpunished!

How dare we demande that of wild or domestic animal at that.

These stories always break my heart, for these animals (wild/domestic) don't deserve to be punished or thrown away on a day that things went wrong for god knows why.

We humains have taken them out of their natural envoironment for entertainment, distractions or personnal pleasures.

I do sincerely feel for the young lady's family, but I do believe she would not punish him. :(
 
Tilly was pulled out of the wild off of Iceland around age 3. He and TWO other whales were involved in a trainers death not that long after.

The 2nd incident that involved Tilly should not be blamed on him at all. A transient (probably a mentally ill one) hid and waited until the park was closed and somehow ended up in the whales tank. Official cause of death was hypothermia. Tilly was probably playing with him. If you ever watch nature shows on tv, whales play with seals all the time. It is hard to watch, but this is what they do.

Sorry...but just like the dingdong that went in with the polar bears recently, I think they kind of deserve what they get. I am sorry if they are mentally ill but the animals fault? No way.

The only way that Tilly could survive if put back in the wild is if they can find his family pod. I think if he could find his pod, he won't be a blood thirsty human killer. I think he would be a normal whale doing normal stuff.

However, as with Keiko we saw this was no easy feat. It's a hard decision. Jack Hannah revealed in an interview that 27 million was spent to free Keiko.

I think we need to all think about whether it is worth it to keep these extremely large animals... in basically bathtubs... considering in the wild it is not unusual for them to travel a 100 miles a day. I know that human education if VERY important but at what cost?
 
I feel for the trainers family but I hope they understand it isn't the fault of the whale. This isn't the whales first "attack" and this isn't the only whale that has "attacked" a human/trainer. Its a shame the trainer died but I think the trainer knew the hazards and consequences of working with an orca.

Her sister immediately made a statement asking Sea World not to harm the whale. She said that her sister loved him completely, and was well aware of the risks involved in working with these awesome creatures.
 
For anyone who is blaming the whale (and I'm not saying anyone here is), think about this:

Let's say a guy likes to sit around all day lighting matches and dropping them on the floor. One day his house catches on fire as a result of this. Do we find fault with the matches, or do we find fault with the man who was dropping them? The trainer worked with wild animals. She knew there was danger, and thankfully her family understands that the whale is not at fault here. I'm not saying the trainer is, but like the man playing with matches, she was taking a big risk every time she got in the water with the whale.

Wild animals are WILD. If the chimpanzee mauling case from last year taught us anything, it's that no matter how much you love them, no matter how long you've raised them, they can always turn on you. Some animals just don't belong with human beings - there is too much risk for both parties involved.
 
I was watching Insider earlier and this is what I learned.

The trainer died, and the whale was linked to 2 other deaths. One was of a man (who was naked, I believe) who snuck in after hours and was found dead of the whales back.

*My opinion is they had NO proof the whale killed that man. He could have fell in and drowned. Also in my opinion, this whale shouldnt be put to sleep. He's a wild animal just because they put him/her in a pool or whatever and taught him some tricks, doesn't make him/her as tame as they thought. It's still in his nature to kill.
Just my opinion though
 
It's very sad indeed. I feel sorry for the trainer who was killed and her family. But my sadness goes even further for the killer whale that was involved. Many people do not understand that killer whales, dolphins, or even other wild animals that are forced to perform in circuses or at other shows like Sea World is not natural for them and they will react from going insane with being captive. We don't know what it's like to be an animal and forced to perform every day for humans entertainment. The loud clapping, cheering, yelling etc. would make anyone go crazy at some point. I really really hope that they let the killer whale go to a sancturary where they can try to rehabilitate him back into the ocean. I have been to Sea World many times as a child, but after I learned how they get their animals and what the animals endure, I will never go back and I hope someday soon it will close it's doors forever. If you have not seen this documentary yet, I really recommend it. It's called "The Cove." Has anyone seen this? For those that have not seen is, here is a little info on it.

"The Oscar-nominated The Cove not only takes us to Taiji to witness for ourselves the cruelty of the annual dolphin slaughter, and expose us to the dangers of eating toxic dolphin meat, it also warns us that dolphins behave erratically when they're in captivity. Dolphins are whales. They're the diminutive cousins of Orcas.

In The Cove, Richard O'Barry, the famously repentant trainer of Flipper, the world's most famous and favorite dolphin, clearly states that conditions in any and all holding tanks are likely to drive any dolphin batty. For one thing, dolphins' extraordinarily sensitive hearing -- it enables them to locate and communicate with each other over miles and miles of open ocean -- can't process the sonar assault caused by their confinement tanks' bare and un-baffled walls. And, O'Barry points out that dolphins/whales are among the few wild species held in captivity that are forced to perform for their keep.

O'Barry tells of one dolphin who became deeply depressed and actually deliberately stopped breathing (a voluntary function for dolphins), commiting suicide in O'Barry's arms. O'Barry advocates emphatically that marine mammal displays and performances at theme parks be stopped. Knowing that's unlikely because the shows are too lucrative, he asks caring people to boycott the parks.

What does this have to do with SeaWorld?

Well, the death of veteran SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, caused by Tilikum, the captive 12,300-lb. male Orca killer whale "a type of dolphin" brings to mind O'Barry's talking points and policy position. Neither O'Barry nor The Cove's producers have commented on Brancheau's untimely death or Tilikum's questionable future, but the tragic event at SeaWorld underscores the documentary's relevance. If you haven't yet seen this remarkable film, you really must. The Cove is currently available on DVD."
 
If I have learned anything from my classes and first had experience in an Animal Hospital, it's that you never let your guard down at anytime with any animal. Even dogs follow their instincts and can be highly dangerous. As said, even if you are 100% familiar with the animal you are working with, they can change in a second.

It's horrible that this happened, but I'm afraid we will never know what really happened as the trainer isn't here to speak for herself and the whale surely can't talk.

As Jack Hanna said in another video: "The reason we have whales in captivity is to learn from them. They make great ambassadors for their species."

Having said that, if this whale came from the wild when he was 2 years old, there is no doubt that he is 100% wild and will always be wild. Nothing you can do about it.

They should have made him a no swimmer from the get go. Even being on the platform with 4" of water isn't safe. There are videos of killer whales beaching themselves to get a seal. They even perform that routine in their shows.

Just wasn't a safe little mixture there.
 
ClaireD, thank you for the video.

Very interesting that the health of the animals are not always disclosed to the people that are working with them. I wonder who should be punished here!
 
I'm afraid we will never know what really happened as the trainer isn't here to speak for herself and the whale surely can't talk
We cannot know what was going through the whale's mind but we do know what happened since there were plenty of witnesses, unfortunately.

Sea World execs said today that Tilikum will continue to be an important part of the Sea World "Family" and will not be punished for this accident. They will review their policies and procedures to see if/how they can be improved. Nothing is going to change, wild animals will still be made to perform for eager people and trainers will continue to endanger their lives for the crowds...
 
whalecage.jpg


That poor whale looks like it barely has room to turn around.


RIP Dawn.
 
As Jack Hanna said in another video: "The reason we have whales in captivity is to learn from them. They make great ambassadors for their species."

Wow! If this is so great--CAPTIVITY so you can be an ambassador I wonder why so many people are terrified of alien abduction????

Everyone who would love to be a CAPTIVE please raise your hand!
 
Everyone who would love to be a CAPTIVE please raise your hand!

In the interests of not taking this thread off track, I'm gonna keep my mouth shut on this one.

I do want to say though, I don't need a whale to be an ambassador. I'm just as happy to watch nature shows, and hopefully someday, get to go out into the ocean and see them first hand -- not through a 6 foot thick piece of green tinted glass.
 
Peggy I am SO there with you and know exactly what you mean. Do I want to be a captive to a cowboy MASTER--yes someday I surely do. Do I want to be a captive, held in captivity, forced to perform in front on an alien species---- no I do not.

BTW any cowboy MASTERS out there, be sure to look me up.
 
I think everyone is being a little too harsh on Sea World. These animals aren't being forced to do anything. If a 6 ton whale doesn't want to touch a target, it's not going to. It's not like they go without dinner or are prodded with electric cattle prods when they don't.
 
I'm dont think I'm being harsh toward Sea World, I just don't think the whale should be put to sleep.
If they thought he was dangerous the first time it happened, then maybe should have released him back into the wild where he belongs. Again with the second time, if he that "dangerous", release him back where he belongs.
I feel the same way about this time, if they think he is to dangerous to be in Sea World, then release him back in the ocean where he belongs. He's a wild animal and that will always be with him no matter how any tricks they teach him to do.
Just my opinion.
 
I think everyone is being a little too harsh on Sea World. These animals aren't being forced to do anything.
They are forced to live in enclosures that are much too small for them. Put on public display, subjected to unnatural surroundings and noises (every night during the summer, Sea World San Diego has a huge fireworks display that I can hear and I live 10 miles away). What about this scenario is not forcing them to do anything? It's not like they have free will and can swim off into the ocean and return of their own volition to perform because they enjoy it so much. They are held captive and forced to learn tricks and entertain humans.
 
This will probably hack off a few people but it's 4:06 am and I don't rightly care at the moment. I just wanted to point out when you sleep--humans and animals alike your heart continues to beat, you breathe and you live. Calling it "put to sleep" of PTS is just ridiculously childish. Whenever you end the life of an animal by giving it drugs to stop it from living you are killing it. That's just the plain and simple truth. I know we call it put to sleep to ease our conscience--but come up let's man up and grow some balls about the phrase. Ending the life of anything is not "putting it to sleep"
 
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