Killer whale attack at SeaWorld
A veteran SeaWorld trainer in Florida was attacked and killed by a whale Wednesday afternoon in front of dozens of horrified onlookers -- and the same whale is linked to another death in B.C.
There were conflicting stories Wednesday evening about what exactly happened to trainer Dawn Brancheau at the park's Shamu Stadium. Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jim Solomons said it appears the 40-year-old fell into a whale holding area, while witnesses said the whale grabbed her from a platform and pulled her into the water.
SeaWorld spokesperson Fred Jacobs identified the whale as Tilikum, or "Tilly," a whale with a violent past.
In 1991, Tilikum and two female whales drowned their trainer during a performance at Sealand of the Pacific, in Victoria, B.C. Part-time trainer Keltie Byrne died when she slipped and fell into the water and the whales would not let her get out.
SeaWorld Orlando President Dan Brown told reporters in a prepared statement Wednesday that Brancheau was one of the park's "most experienced" trainers.
Brown said the park has initiated an investigation into the incident and would make the findings of that probe known "in due course."
"I must emphasize that this is an extraordinarily difficult time for the SeaWorld parks and our team members," Brown said. "Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees, guests and of the animals entrusted to our care. We have never in the history of our parks experienced an incident like this, and all of our standard operating procedures will come under review as part of this investigation."
According to Solomons, emergency services personnel responded to a call from Shamu Stadium around 2 p.m., and found Brancheau fatally injured.
Solomons said it appears the trainer was in a whale holding area when she slipped or fell into the tank and was attacked by the whale.
However, local news reports say the trainer had just told the audience what they were about to see at the whale show when one of the whales leapt out of the water, grabbed her by the waist and thrashed her around in the water.
Victoria Biniak told Orlando's WKMG Local 6 news that she witnessed the attack, which she described as "violent," from the stadium's viewing area.
"The trainer was explaining different things about the whale and then the trainer that was down there walked away from the window," Biniak said. "Then (the whale) took off really fast in the tank and he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing (her) around."
Biniak said the trainer was shaken so violently that one of her shoes flew off during the incident.
According to Biniak, sirens immediately started sounding at the stadium and spectators were quickly evacuated. The whale show was cancelled, but the Orlando Sentinel reported that the park was not immediately closed.
Solomons said an official death investigation is underway by the sheriff's office.
A spokesperson for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Atlanta said one of the agency's investigators from Tampa is also headed to the park.
Park whale has violent history
After the deadly incident at Sealand of the Pacific, the park closed its whale exhibit and sold Tilikum to SeaWorld in 1992. In 1999, SeaWorld employees found him swimming in his pen with the body of a naked man on his back.
Officials suspected Daniel Dukes snuck into the park after it closed and drowned after developing hypothermia in the cold water, but he did have bite marks and his swim shorts appeared to have been torn off. SeaWorld employees speculated the whale could have been trying to play with the man before or after he died.
A former contractor at SeaWorld told the Sentinel that Tilikum is often kept away from other killer whales because of his violent past.
Previous attacks on trainers
This is not the first time a whale has attacked a trainer at a SeaWorld park.
In November 2006, a 3,175-kilogram killer whale attacked trainer Kenneth Peters during a show at SeaWorld's San Diego park.
In that attack, the whale bit and held Peters underwater several times. Peters suffered a broken foot in that incident.
The same whale, a five metre-long female orca, had attacked Peters in 1993 and 1999.
In 2004, a whale tried to hit and bite a trainer at a SeaWorld park in San Antonio, Texas.
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