Killer Whale Kills SeaWorld Trainer
This is so unfortunate, especially because despite their name, they're generally not a threat to humans.
A trainer at the SeaWorld in Orlando, FL was killed by an Orca Whale today.
Thankfully, the incident was not during a performance.
Our thoughts are with the friends and family of those involved.
UPDATE: The Los Angeles Times is providing more details about the incident, including eye witness accounts from park guests. Apparently, the accident DID happen in front of an audience.
According to the source, an unidentified female employee was grabbed by one of the whales at the start of a show.
Theme park guest Victoria Biniak said the whale came up from the water and grabbed the woman and began "thrashing her around pretty good."
She described the scene as terribly "violent" as the whale "took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off."
That was when the audience was immediately evacuated and the rest of the show was cancelled.
The poor woman! Such a terrible tragedy!
Speedy Gonzales Is The Latest Cartoon Remake Flop!!!
That is what people get when working with wild animals. WHALES SHOULD NOT BE CAPTIVE!
Re: jham – The whale should not be put to sleep it belongs in the ocean. Those people killed asked for it by getting in the water with a wild animal.
It isn't humane to cage up an animal that is designed by God to swim free amoung the hundreds/thousands of miles of oceans, purely for human entertainment.
An animals life is just as important as a humans life so all of you people saying otherwise need to get your egos checked…didn't we all evolve from Gorillas.
The trainers know the risk of their jobs and continue to work there. You can't blame the Orcas for anything.
Re: CinderALLIE – Well put!! Sad we're so FAR from understanding this but it takes one to start changing the tide and you're definitely not alone in that belief! Sad that just because we hold all the power, biggest brains plus opposable thumbs (the special combination needed)…that we exploit every other creature on the planet simply because 1.) we CAN and 2.) we don't understand their language.
oh yah what a terrible whale
lashing out because it is held captive and is forced to put on a show day in and day out.
Tragic for sure. Poor girl. Horrible!
Not the animal's fault. I hope they don't KILL him! I hope they send him HOME.
I don't know under what circumstances these animals are kept in a pool. Why not releasable?
They belong in the ocean!
How many times do these accidents have to happen? Wild animals are not props for amusement nor are they pets.
It's not a whale it's a dolphin folks… well, it's in the dalphin family.
This is a tradgey for both Dawn and her family. Do you people understand that a life was lost? She was a daughter, sister, cousin and a friend to many. She did not go out and physically take this orca out of the ocean, she took great care of the animals and learned to love them. Maybe you should rethink your horrible words and understand a human life was lost…..your ignorant and heartless. I hope they dont put the animal down becuase I agree it was a freak accident but come on saying she had it coming and all the trainers deserve to die is cruel
Re: juicy411 – I understand, she probably loved that whale the most out of anyone, and brainwashed herself into thinking she was "kind" to him…BUT…if she truly loved it, she would have realized what she was doing was adding to the exploitation AND buying into the Sea World philosophy. We haven't heard anything about this trainer going behind the scenes trying to petition to free her friend, so I can understand how this intelligent creature turned on her, she was a wheel in the process of it's exploitation. The whale knew she wasn't really his "friend." Just like the people who actually got some food in the concentration camps, whatever little SOME of them were given, didn't think that person was their "FRIEND." She took a risk in a job that was exploiting a highly intelligent animal in a HIGHLY contriversial form of entertainment. If you watch the movie "The Cove" it will show you… It's sad YES, sad for her mother, her family, totally sad especially since they had no say in the profession she chose! She put herself in harms way, just like scuba divers in great white shark infested waters, or people who jump from airplanes and their parachute doesn't open.
Re: Jaxy – he wasn't killed by crocodiles. But if he had been, it wouldn't have been a surprise. Anyone who works with wild animals has a death wish.
This is NOT a tragedy, it's as someone else said 'quid pro quo'.
.
Her death came swiftly; his death and that of other sea mamals in zoo's and other insults to nature such as SeaWorld will come slowly stretched over years.
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they need to stay in the ocean and not in parks! That is cruel what they do to those poor whales! THEY ARE FIGHTING BACK!!!
The whale already kill at least one trainner before in Sea World San Diego… Tilikum its the name …. well, whales should not be captive, they belomg on to the sea….but, I read that whales are so smart that can use strategy to attack, maybe this whale planned to take this woman into the water..well actually she did…the photos show that the whale came out out of the water and pull her leg..
No sympathy. They are called KILLER WHALES! And they shouldn't be in captivity either, you assholes!
Very sad. Hopefully this makes people realise that these animals shouldn't be held in captivity. I'm sure Sea World tries to treat their whales humanely, but animals need to be in their natural habitats.
Just like the chimpanzee that attacked the woman who was on Oprah, sometimes even seemingly peaceful animals will act out if they're unhappy. The chimpanzee is a bit different than a killer whale, however, because they are aggressive and often violent in the wild.
Animals should not be treated as circus acts!!
Re: jham – Unfortunately, you can't just release an animal from captivity into the wild. They have no clue how to cope. It's like taking a child and releasing them in the middle of a city, expecting them to cope on their own.
At least for chimpanzees, it takes year of rehabilitation to get them used to being with other chimpanzees and fending for themselves, after being kept as a pet. It takes even more years, if ever, to get them trained to live in the wild before they can be released.
Re: jham – Well said- all of your posts!
Re: JackWad – Do you really think the creature knew or gave a damn whether she was petitioning behind the scenes or not?! Lol! Alright. But just a little f.y.i: yes, their brains are larger in terms of mass, but no they do not have more lobes. (Humans have 4, not including the insula or the cerebellum, which is also divided into lobes.)
Re: juicy411 – Amen.
I agree with everyone! Whales should not be held captive… it is very tragic that, that happend to her but we bring it on ourselves locked up animals like that.
perez, u say your thoughts are with the family…but how the hell are your THOUGHTS going to help?? well, anyway, my PRAYERS are with the family.
My thoughts and prayers are with the woman and her family. But why the hell did she choose to "train" these creatures in a cramped pool. Not how these orcas must live. Free the whales at once and close down SeaWorld.
I's sad but if you play with fire you are going to get burnt
Re: BooBoo Kitty – "Places like SeaWorld are torture chambers for large marine mammals like whales and dolphins. Frankly, I'm surprised this does not happen most often. These creatures are not meant to be kept in tiny pools to jump around for our amusement.
SeaWorld, and places like this, should be shut down and the whales should be rehabilitated and set free."
You are 1000% correct.
While I am truly sorry for the loved ones of the trainer, and for the people who had to witness the attack - especially the kids - marine mammals have NO place being held in captivity providing "entertainment." I hope this event brings the plight of these animals to the forefront.
Whomever said SeaWorld is evil is SO right. SeaWorld manages to kill more captive (yes, I said KILL) dolphins than any other organization that keeps them in the world. They feed them frozen fish filled with antibiotics to fend off infections from all of the people touching them with their grubby, germy hands.
They keep the whales in tanks that are so small that their dorsal fins collapse from their lack of exercise. It's disgusting…
Nothing would make me happier than to see the EVIL empire of SeaWorld collapse and die.
Aquariums are same as circuses and I think we all are aware of the way circus animals are treated. Does anyone know what criteria has to be met to capture and keep whales? Just humans being piggy I guess.
Migratory birds, raptors for instance are protected by federal law. In order to keep them for educational purposes there has to be something wrong with the birds that deems them unreleasable/unable to survive in the wild. Special purpose permits have to be obtained from US Fish and Wildlife. I don't understand why it is any different for whales! What is wrong with these marine mammals that they cannot be released? If there is no physical or social problem preventing them from surviving in the wild then it is just appalling exploitation.
Everyone feels terrible that someone died but I hope this is a wake up call!
Leave these creatures ALONE!
Re: Opal_Moonfire –
Thanks! Is your avatar a pic of your cat? He/she looks like my cat
Re: pusspuss –
I see your point. I think people become trainers at places like Sea World b/c they really love animals - but they are misguided. But maybe I'm giving humans too much credit - lol
I hope they don't put down the whale, it's really not his fault. I guess if they were going to do that it would have been when he was first attacking though
its sad news but its a whale being held captive until the end of it days the poor thing probably just had enough with performing tricks and living in a shitty tank you can't blame the whale for wanting to be what nature instinctively tells it to be.
Ever think what an intelligent mammal feels like when it is removed from the ocean, forced to work, and live in a tank? It's acting out for a reason.
Human stupidity again!!! no sympathy here!
I hope all those fuckers that gage and drive wild animals crazy should died. Leave the animals alone
Re: Tweetheartkitty22 – I work with many types of animals every single day-some wild. There is no way I would ever put myself in a dangerous situation! No large crocodiles, no big cats, no bears, no venomous snakes and no fucking killer whales! People can work with wild animals if they are not STOOPID!
And just snatching an animal-ANY animal out of the wild is beyond cruel and horrendous! It can't be done with migratory birds, what about migratory marine mammals?
If this is not illegal yet get on it USFW!!!
Re: MyGuiltyPleasure – OF COURSE NOT! That wasn't my point.
I know they don't KNOW that…but my point was she WAS NO FRIEND to the whale. Unless she was acting TRULY on the whale's behalf then she wasn't a "friend"…more like a "friendsy" 
fair weather friend! No, I know animals don't necessarily FEEL there are people doing things to help them but it's the idea behind it, it's DOING WHAT'S RIGHT for them since they're left without understanding what the FUCK we're doing to them! Can you even begin to imagine being TAKEN out of the wild, individually chosen and pulled out of the water in front of your family, put in this freaky tank and forced to entertain your whole life without understanding what the FUCKIN-A is happening to you?!?! It's a bad dream from hell.
haha she really deserved it, sorry to say. people in that business know exactly what they're getting into. i feel more remorse for the whale.
Re: MyGuiltyPleasure – One more thing I failed to mention…animals are supposed to be very psychic, so I do believe they can tell the difference with a sense of who truly empathizes with them and feels bad for them and their situation vs. someone who's coming everyday to TRAIN THEM and get a paycheck out it… Therefore I think that whale didn't think of the trainer as a caring being…they sense.
Re: Chikibum – I bet you're absolutely right!
Re: MyGuiltyPleasure – That's interesting about the 3 vs 4 lobes. I'm sure you've heard of that show "Whale Wars"…well I went to see Captain Watson speak on whales and he's the one that told us that humans are one of the rare creatures that have that 3rd lobe, frontal and that WHALES (which nobody points out on purpose) have a 4th lobe. We haven't even BEGUN to understand how intelligent they are. Like I said, we were lucky in that we have the brain, the mobility and the classic "opposable thumbs" to do what we do best, DESTROY the planet and piss on all of it's other hapless creatures.
Re: BooBoo Kitty – ABSOLUTELY!!! You know, this whale actually attacked and killed two other people before this. Because of it's age and how long it's been in captivity they can't release it back to the wild. It just sickens me. It was captured in 1970 I believe. It was swimming with it's family pod and Sea World spotted the pod by plane. They were ready with nets and explosives. They killed 8 babies and one mother in the process. Apparently even after being years in captivity it still calls for it's family. I will NEVER go to Sea World and enable these jerks. What a tragedy.
Re: jamiexx – It's stress from being held captive. They also harm themselves. It's so sad.
Re: poop coming out is fun – OMG…..horrible.
Re: SammiDe – While I may agree with most of what you said, you need to do a little research yourself before spouting off on others. The fin does not curl over because they are "depressed". It is a side effect of the small tank environment.
I would like to make one comment here that all these angry people seem to be missing. While I am an avid wildlife supporter, and agree that the keeping and exploiting of large wild animals for the viewing of the public in shows is wrong, there is a major issue you all seem to be overlooking. Sea World is also one of the biggest wildlife conservative companies in the US, and possibly abroad (I don't know that part for sure). They do a huge amount of rehabilitation and release of injured and orphaned wild animals. They also do and support a huge amount of education and research into wildlife conservation and Oceanic health. While I would love it if the shows were stopped and the animals released, don't cut off the nose despite the face. Much good is done by the company as well. I only wish there were a better way to fund it.
The unfortunate truth is, while people love to spout off about the evils and mistreatment of animals, they seldom lift a finger, or donate a penny to stop it. They do, however, spend lots of money to go to parks like SeaWorld, and that is how the funds get raised to do the real work. Until people can do the right thing for it's own sake, places like this are a necessary evil. And to all you "she deserved it" haters, I'm sure that this unfortunate trainer was a true lover of animals and did the job she did because she loved the animals she worked with. It was not the trainer who put them there, but it is them who truly bond with the animals and try to give them the best possible treatment they can while they are in their care. In this case, it is a "hate the game, not the player" situation. I feel for them both, animal and human.
It is a shame for the loss of the woman's life, but we should all be saying poor whale! It's terrible to keep them in tanks like that. They go crazy.
Re: Unbelievable! – Thank you for bringing that up! Funding is a huge problem for rehabbers. Even on a small scale wildlife rehabilitation costs way more money than people think. Can't imagine what the cost is to rehab marine mammals!
Still it should be taboo and federally illegal to snatch animals like this from the wild regardless of the outcome.
And there is no amount of respect and caution that is too much to work so closely with potentially dangerous animals.
They ARE wild animals…People forget that
Re: jham – all the more should we put animal life ahead of human life…especially in this situation. If a human is dumb enough to violate nature in this way all for money then by all means should an animal's life be held in higher regard. Humans have free will and choice and this is what they do with it. An animal acts out if instinct or fear or hunger and shouldn't be blamed…anyone who thinks otherwise is a prime example why I will always regard animals over humans…they are smarter!
Re: jham – please! obviously this woman wasn't sensitive to her own life so why should I be? As educated as she was, she knew the dangers of working with animals such as these. She took her life into her own hands and SHE caused the grief her family now suffers. When you take nature for granted, you will pay the price and neither I nor anyone else should feel sorry for her bad decision. These are not pets! and even pets aren't pets sometimes, they are animals who will REACT!
Re: jham – that really is the dumbest argument I've ever heard…stop feeding a human and see what happens (especially when there are only two of you out in the wilderness somewhere)…
Re: poop coming out is fun –
It breaks my heart!
that story made me cry
Re: Unbelievable! – so what if sea world does some research and rehab? that's like saying the tobacco companies do research and rehab so they should be forgiven for poisoning humans - even those that choose not to participate! it's blood money and there are alternatives. and i really don't want to hear again about how innocent this trainer was and how she so loved the animals. that's crap. she should have recognized the cruelty for what is was and not supported it by accepting employment to promote it. let's face it, she thought it was cool to "train" a wild animal. she probably thought she was quite special because she got to interact with an orca everyday. she did not put the animal first and that is what is love is all about.
Re: lillbit – cheers and thank you. i find it interesting people can say all life is sacred and then somehow rationalize the ranking of one over another.
Im studying marine animals in college and places like sea world are only doing shows to get money to help the research it doesnt pay for its self!!! so people stop saying that seaworld is a bad places it was an accident