sea world trainer killed

[uhuru]

A veteran sea world trainer was killed by a killer whale today.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busin...,6076530.story

[robs.mark]

horrible story. I wonder what will happen to the whale..

[BoDiddley]

Its very sad but it proves that they are wild animals and yes they are trained but still you must respect the fact they are wild. I dont doubt that Dawn Brancheau had enormous respect for the whales. It is very sad.

[Hands_in_pocket]

Originally Posted by robs.mark

horrible story. I wonder what will happen to the whale..

hopefully nothing this is a wild predator, she should have know the risks involved with training it.

[slojmn]

Totally sad, I read about the incident, two stories emerging depending on who is speaking. The Park says something different happened than what witnesses are reporting, Hmmmm, I wonder who is more accurate. I also read that the killer whale involved was implicated in two other deaths, one of a marine biology student/trainer and some guy that hid in the park and may have tried to swim with the whales. Whatever the details, these animals are wild no matter how much training they go through. Prayers are with her family.

[ReefTECK]

removed by poster

[shermdawg]

How tragic. My prayers are with the family.

[lordofthereef]

Originally Posted by Hands_in_pocket

hopefully nothing this is a wild predator, she should have know the risks involved with training it.

I agree, however that is often not how we deal with animals that kill humans, sadly.

[eggerstout]

so sad

[jcolletteiii]

Killer whale.

"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself," -J. A. Froude. In the case of animals with more advanced brains, and who obviously have consciousness, you have to wonder though.

[mcoomer]

Having read that the animal was involved in other fatalities it seems that the failure here is with the keepers and not the animal. It seems pretty obvious that this whales personality is a bit different. It shouldn't have been used for demonstrations with trainers. If they want to keep it in a display that's fine but it's seems pretty obvious that it doesn't interact well with people. I know that the success rate for returning these animals to their pods is pretty poor but if ever there was an animal that needed to go home this is one that does. I feel terrible for the woman's family but the animal was doing what it does. Ever see the videos of seal pups getting cast about in the water. They call them killer whales for a reason. They kill, they eat.

Mike

[Holyreefer]

yeah i read the article yesterday myself.
It is very sad. But i agree maybe that whale shouldn't be doing anymore trainer performace.He has had a couple of incidents.

[stanlalee]

terrible stuff. one thing that stood out to me was where it said this particular whale had been involved in two previous deaths so the known risk is definately there. I guess its no different than the elephant or lion trainers you here about periodically getting killed or injured doing what they love. wonder if the show just goes on from that or do they make any significant changes.

[Laggy]

Originally Posted by jcolletteiii

Killer whale.

"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself," -J. A. Froude. In the case of animals with more advanced brains, and who obviously have consciousness, you have to wonder though.

Actually killer whales are seen in the wild doing just that killing just for sport. They have been seen regularly playing with dead seals and end up just leaving them after there finished playing with them.

[stunreefer]

So sad... this was my friends wife's cousin

[CorkPullerPHL]

I'm no PETA nut, but these animals do not belong in captivity.

It's worse than keeping a Tang in a Nano....

[lostintheocean]

guess he is lettign them know he wants to go back to the ocean and do what he does not entertain a bunch of stupid humans

[Sardaukar]

Originally Posted by mcoomer

Having read that the animal was involved in other fatalities it seems that the failure here is with the keepers and not the animal. It seems pretty obvious that this whales personality is a bit different. It shouldn't have been used for demonstrations with trainers. If they want to keep it in a display that's fine but it's seems pretty obvious that it doesn't interact well with people. I know that the success rate for returning these animals to their pods is pretty poor but if ever there was an animal that needed to go home this is one that does. I feel terrible for the woman's family but the animal was doing what it does. Ever see the videos of seal pups getting cast about in the water. They call them killer whales for a reason. They kill, they eat.

Mike

Just to be clear, unless I'm sorely mistaken, I don't believe the bodies were actually eaten. Orca have to be trained how to play more gently with humans and it sounds like this orca had difficulty making that adaption. We don't know what was going on in the animals brain obviously, but it doesn't look like this or the other cases were any kind of feeding attempt.

[Tomaric]

Indeed sad but as a hunter and parent I always tell my kids and wife, Never play with wild animals that are bigger then you they might try to eat you. Like watching AFV when the folks try to "pet" an aligator.

[kenjr]

That is a horrible thing. I will pray for the family.

[Salty Prata]

Why doesn't the goverment regulate this problem like they regulate everything else. It should be illegal to keep animals such as Lions, Tigers, Bears, Killer Whales, Chimpanzee. I guess the only thing that matters is how much money is spent on owning such wild animals. When will we learn? Now Shamu has to take a trip to the slaughter house.My reguards go out to the family of the trainer:as well as; the family of the whale.

[Wannabe29]

What I would like to know is, why was this animal still working with humans after it killed the first person? Killer whales are extremely smart. If it learned to kill a person once, there's a really good possiblity that it could kill again. Why? I don't know. They seem to have their own motives. It's just something that they do.....reapeat learned behavior, that is. Why do they toss seals around and fling them in the air with their tails and then, as one poster pointed out, leave it there without eating it? Who the heck knows? These are complex animals and ones that are obviously a threat to people shouldn't be working with people.

Which is why I was shocked when I heard that Seaworld was contemplating whether or not to send the animal to another park.....? I don't know if it's possible to release these animals to the wild but, if it is, this one definitely needs to return to its roots.

[Whisperer]

That whale probably just had enough. He is better off in the wild.

[Wannabe29]

Originally Posted by Salty Prata

Why doesn't the goverment regulate this problem like they regulate everything else. It should be illegal to keep animals such as Lions, Tigers, Bears, Killer Whales, Chimpanzee. I guess the only thing that matters is how much money is spent on owning such wild animals. When will we learn? Now Shamu has to take a trip to the slaughter house.My reguards go out to the family of the trainer:as well as; the family of the whale.

I don't really want to get into the ethical part of the argument over whether or not animals should be kept in zoos and aquariums. The reality is, they are in these establishments. Many of them, if not most of them by now, have been bred in the captive system (I'm referring to most of your larger mammals and reptiles, etc.....the critters that bring the people in).

So, if you argue that zoos and aquariums should be shut down, what the heck are you going to do with these animals? They have no learned natural behavior at this point. Most of them are imprinted on humans to the point where they could be more dangerous to humans than a wild animal when released. So, without the ability to train these animals to be wild most, if not all of them, would have to be destroyed upon closing these establishments. So, in a sense, by arguing that zoos and aquariums should be shut down, you're arguing that most of the animals you're trying to "save" should be destroyed.

I find that most people who make the "close the zoos/aquariums" argument are reactionary and are not really thinking about the animals they claim to want to protect. They really just want to get on a soapbox about an issue. (Don't worry..I'll get off my soapbox when I'm done with this post). And that's not to say that I completely disagree with that issue. However, I do feel strongly that shutting down these establishments would do much more harm than good.

Zoos/aquariums are amazing centers of information that serve to engage the public and educate them about our natural world. So they have mostly captive-bred animals...fine. As long as they are treated well I have no problem with them acting as poster animals for a greater cause.

That's the only issue that one should have with regards to captive animals today...treatment. Knowing that it would be next to impossible to release most of them, focus should be placed on making their captive environments more engaging for the mental health and well-being of the animals. Many zoos and aquariums are taking steps to make sure this happens. That's why you see killer whales and dolphins doing "tricks". The excercises they do reenforce natural behaviors and stimulate the animals' minds. Yeah, the aquariums make money off of these shows. However, if they didn't engage the animals the way they do, I can guarantee you'd see some very disturbing behavior from these creatures.

But I wouldn't make the case that these places should be shut down. That's just not practical. They have captive animals. Steps should be taken to make sure that the animals are treated as well as possible.

[seattlerob]

Originally Posted by CorkPullerPHL

It's worse than keeping a Tang in a Nano....

Excellent analogy!