FL - Dawn Brancheau, Female Trainer Killed at Shamu Stadium

1 killed in whale attack at SeaWorld Orlando’s Shamu Stadium.

SeaWorld, rescue personnel and the Sheriff's Office are not revealing the identity of the victim, although a local TV station is reporting that it was a female employee who was killed after she was grabbed by one of the theme park's whales at the start of a public show.

Park guest Victoria Biniak told Local 6 that the trainer was a veteran of SeaWorld and had just finished explaining to the audience what they would see during the performance.

At that point, Biniak said, the whale came up from the water and grabbed the woman.

"He was thrashing her around pretty good. It was violent,'" Biniak told Local 6.

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."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...-orlando-shamu-injury-20100224,0,942688.story
 
This whale has been associated with 2 other deaths.
Per HLN on right now and interview with WDBO.
 
I hate to take away from the tragedy here but come on 1st of all thay are called KILLER WHALES for a reason..2nd this whale weather its shamou or mobey dick has a history of killing 2 people allready this makes three there is no one to blame here but sea world it self i dont care how nice you make a tank cause thats what it is its not right to keep a whale in a tank .This is by no means blaming the victom here god bless her and her familly im just saying this is sea worlds fault the name of these creatures should have been a tip off hundreds of years ago Its a KILLER WHALE..
 
This whale has been associated with 2 other deaths.
Per HLN on right now and interview with WDBO.

The trainers were not supposed to be in the water with Tilly due to the past incidents. If she fell in, as some witnesses said, then it is just an unfortunate accident. If Tilly grabbed her and pulled her in, as other witnesses said, then Tilly needs to be retired. But I really don't think we can blame a wild, captured creature for being wild....

Wild creatures remain wild, even if they are "trained." They may enjoy working with humans or not, but they were never meant to be kept in such conditions. I hate the thought of wild animals being caged-----especially ones that have brains that seem to rival humans.

I feel badly for the woman and her family, and I pray God's love will surround them all.
 
I hate to take away from the tragedy here but come on 1st of all thay are called KILLER WHALES for a reason..2nd this whale weather its shamou or mobey dick has a history of killing 2 people allready this makes three there is no one to blame here but sea world it self i dont care how nice you make a tank cause thats what it is its not right to keep a whale in a tank .This is by no means blaming the victom here god bless her and her familly im just saying this is sea worlds fault the name of these creatures should have been a tip off hundreds of years ago Its a KILLER WHALE..

Just a little caveat: the whale was not implicated in the death of the man who stayed after the gates were closed. It is speculated that the man died of hypothermia, not whale attack.

And I completely and totally agree with your stance on whales being kept in a tank!
 
The trainers were not supposed to be in the water with Tilly due to the past incidents. If she fell in, as some witnesses said, then it is just an unfortunate accident. If Tilly grabbed her and pulled her in, as other witnesses said, then Tilly needs to be retired. But I really don't think we can blame a wild, captured creature for being wild....

Wild creatures remain wild, even if they are "trained." They may enjoy working with humans or not, but they were never meant to be kept in such conditions. I hate the thought of wild animals being caged-----especially ones that have brains that seem to rival humans.

I feel badly for the woman and her family, and I pray God's love will surround them all.
If Tilly was involved in the drowning of a trainer the first time, she should have been retired years back.. Obviously Tilly was a danger and was not in a proper environment. Orcas are not vaudeville robot performers...they're whales. She wasn't retired by Seaworld because she made the almighty dollar. I feel sorry for the woman and her family too and Seaworld should be held responsible.
 
I hate to take away from the tragedy here but come on 1st of all thay are called KILLER WHALES for a reason..2nd this whale weather its shamou or mobey dick has a history of killing 2 people allready this makes three there is no one to blame here but sea world it self i dont care how nice you make a tank cause thats what it is its not right to keep a whale in a tank .This is by no means blaming the victom here god bless her and her familly im just saying this is sea worlds fault the name of these creatures should have been a tip off hundreds of years ago Its a KILLER WHALE..

I feel bad for the family and friends of this woman but I feel just as badly for these poor creatures forced to perform in circus atmospheres. These animals were not created for the amusement of humans, they live miserable and unnatural lives in captivity.
I really wish there were some strict laws forbidding the capture, and entrapment of all animals especially elephants and whales.
 
If Tilly was involved in the drowning of a trainer the first time, she should have been retired years back.. Obviously Tilly was a danger and was not in a proper environment. Orcas are not vaudeville robot performers...they're whales. She wasn't retired by Seaworld because she made the almighty dollar. I feel sorry for the woman and her family too and Seaworld should be held responsible.

I don't think Seaworld should be held accountable. This woman CHOSE this line of work and she CHOSE to work there. Seaworld didn't force her. She had to know the dangers of working with WILD animals. I feel bad for her and it's a very sad situation.

The only thing Seaworld is at fault for is keeping wild animals in captivity. But again, this woman chose her occupation. There is a danger there and the risks are obvious.

It's always bothered me to see wild animals performing. It goes so far against nature and it's ludicrous, IMO.
 
Take a look at pictures 2 and 7 on this slideshow from wftv:

http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/news/22662335/detail.html

That is smaller than a lot of swimming pools I have seen. I am strongly against wild animals being kept in captivity. I would be pretty angry if I were Tilly as well.

My sympathies go out to the trainer's family. She was there for 16 years so she no doubt loved her job.
 
I feel very sorry for the poor lady involved. But, I'm not surprised this happened. Whales, dolphins, etc, that are used as entertainment at places like this, are highly intelligent, emotional, wild animals that are essentially kidnapped from their homes and families, forced into a space equivalent to a bathroom for a human, for life, never to see their loved ones again, never to be able to be free from their imprisonment, and then forced to perform for praise and tricks.
Just imagine. Imagine being ripped from your husband, your kids, your parents, your friends, put into a bathroom-sized area, and never being able to leave it again. Imagine these people telling you, "perform this trick." Then imagine that this is the rest of your life, confined, kidnapped, isolated and forced to perform for others.
People think other animals don't feel, aren't aware, don't feel love, fear, depression, anger, sadness. They are wrong.
This is why animals at the zoo pace their cages in such a frenetic manner. This is why a dog left chained in a back yard becomes vicious and destructive. Literally, like Romanian orphans or prisoners in the Shoe, these animals have lost their minds. So, when they can't stand it any more, they attack who they can.
I feel so sorry for the poor lady who died. I am so sorry for the animals kidnapped and imprisoned for our entertainment. More tragedies like this are to come. It's why I do not support such venues by going to places like Sea World.
 
Take a look at pictures 2 and 7 on this slideshow from wftv:

http://www.wftv.com/slideshow/news/22662335/detail.html

That is smaller than a lot of swimming pools I have seen. I am strongly against wild animals being kept in captivity. I would be pretty angry if I were Tilly as well.

My sympathies go out to the trainer's family. She was there for 16 years so she no doubt loved her job.

I was there when I was a teenager but I don't remember much of it. Those pictures make me very sad. The space these animals are allowed to use are WAY too small. It's inhumane.
 
Whale Expert: SeaWorld Attack Was 'Premeditated'

[video=youtube;zaH4yPMvXbE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaH4yPMvXbE[/video]

Interesting to watch.
 
If Tilly was involved in the drowning of a trainer the first time, she should have been retired years back.. Obviously Tilly was a danger and was not in a proper environment. Orcas are not vaudeville robot performers...they're whales. She wasn't retired by Seaworld because she made the almighty dollar. I feel sorry for the woman and her family too and Seaworld should be held responsible.

I was under the impression that this is a bull Killer Whale, not a female.
 
I was there when I was a teenager but I don't remember much of it. Those pictures make me very sad. The space these animals are allowed to use are WAY too small. It's inhumane.

I think I read that these animals have territories of miles and miles (as do tigers). To imprison them in such a small space is cruel. I think this is why circus elephants go crazy at times and kill their trainers, too. We really need to stop spending money at zoos and parks, but that is not going to happen.

Remember the poem"
T’would ring the bells of heaven
The wildest peel for years,
If the parson lost his senses
And the people came to theirs,
And he and they together
Knelt down with angry prayers,
For tamed and shabby tigers
And dancing dogs and bears,
And wretched blind ponies
And little hunted hares.

Ralph Hodgson
 
I always thought that smaller holding place was like a line up for the next animal to come out, does that make sense. When I saw the show a few years ago, it look to me that they moved them around alot. Now I agree they do need more space, like the ocean.
When I saw this show and I'll probably get slapped down, but it was an awesome show, if i went to seaworld again, I would want to just go and see the show, and skip all the rest.
I'm confused did she fall in, or did he grab her?
 
Watching the video, it kinda reminds me of how some humans kill.... I wonder if the whale was irritated, old, or sick....
 
I feel very sorry for the poor lady involved. But, I'm not surprised this happened. Whales, dolphins, etc, that are used as entertainment at places like this, are highly intelligent, emotional, wild animals that are essentially kidnapped from their homes and families, forced into a space equivalent to a bathroom for a human, for life, never to see their loved ones again, never to be able to be free from their imprisonment, and then forced to perform for praise and tricks.
Just imagine. Imagine being ripped from your husband, your kids, your parents, your friends, put into a bathroom-sized area, and never being able to leave it again. Imagine these people telling you, "perform this trick." Then imagine that this is the rest of your life, confined, kidnapped, isolated and forced to perform for others.
People think other animals don't feel, aren't aware, don't feel love, fear, depression, anger, sadness. They are wrong.
This is why animals at the zoo pace their cages in such a frenetic manner. This is why a dog left chained in a back yard becomes vicious and destructive. Literally, like Romanian orphans or prisoners in the Shoe, these animals have lost their minds. So, when they can't stand it any more, they attack who they can.
I feel so sorry for the poor lady who died. I am so sorry for the animals kidnapped and imprisoned for our entertainment. More tragedies like this are to come. It's why I do not support such venues by going to places like Sea World.

I could not have said this any better myself!!!
 

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