am surprised there is no mention on here of the trainer killed by a killer whale at seaworld.

[wannaBe]

very for her and her family.

But these are wild animals, and in all honesty if we try to keep wild animals with killer instincts in captivity and work closely with them, then there is always a chance that instinct will kick in one day.

The whale was doing what comes naturally - as horrible as that is.

the whale killed her?

i heard radio say she died when she fell in....no details tho?

Was shocked to read that the whale had similar incidents in the past

And was surprised that the killer whale is actually part of the dolphin family?

Problem of course being that Sea World makes so much money from these animals they aren't exactly going to release them back into captivity.

is there a link??

Sea world have now issued a statement saying that the whale did drag her off the platform.

So I met this trainer last time we were there and she was so lovley.

link

yep, I was pleased to see there was no mention of killing the whale (suppose I'm used to reading about killer dogs).

"They are wild animals being driven bonkers in a tiny container and then forced to entertain gawping humans.
And doing what Orca do naturally. Eating smaller weaker prey."

Couldn't agree with you more Riven. This is one of my pet subjects. I am sorry for the poor woman and her family, but I am afraid this kind of thing is inevitable from time to time as other incidents show.

They'd better not kill the whale. It was captive. Same with "killer" elephants who are abused and end up going nuts. Oh lets use it for fun, beat it and then kill it when it finally snaps. Makes me ashamed to be human

I'm very sad for her and her family but I do hope that theme parks like this will now consider just how wrong it is to keep these animals in captivity, give their existing animals better conditions and stop their captive breeding programmes.

well, the whale apparently drowned a trainer in 1991 during a display in Canada.

There was another incident where a naked man was found in its tank draped over its back. But the thought is that he hid in the park and snuck in after dark, in which case I have little sympathy for him tbh.

I too saw that trainer at seaworld although didn't talk to her - she was doing a demonstration with that very whale though.

Am glad there is no mention of destroying the animal.

And tbh it would be impossible to release them back into the wild as all the whales that are there now have been born in captiivity, so they would have no means of fending for themselves.

There have been documented cases of wild-caught orkas, and dolphins, being reintroduced into the wild, but with little success.

junglist, afaik there has been no mention of it, other than by me, sorry.
Just usually when you read about attacking dogs, that comes up. I was pleased to see it wasn't mentioned here/

Not saying it was this trainers fault in any way. She probably loved the whale. It's just the whole system.

Oh OK phew

It has killed before at another sea park apparently.

We need to stop treating animals like these as our own entertainment and realise that they are not pets to train but wild animals with instincts out of their control.

There is a clue in the name surely?

Sad but not exactly a risk free job.

I got taken to a place in Australia once where the top attraction were some tigers. They were amazing, magnificent animals - truly awe-inspiring - until the keepers walked on to their island and started them doing bloody tricks. I felt humiliated having to watch

Initial reports said she slipped into the tank. I did not believe that as these trainers are professional and always mindful of their own safety around these wild animals.

That whale charged her and it did a natural behaviour. That's how they catch seals on the beaches in Patagonia; they are highly intelligent animals who learn quickly from each other.

Wearing a black and white wetsuit too makes the person look like a seal to the whale.

What can you expect when you keep wild creatures penned in and force them to do tricks for the amusement of dumb tourists???

Why anyone would want to be part of this either working there or visiting is beyond me.

thanks bogie.....

sad for the girl.
but it is a wild animal not a toy.

Sad for her family but these animals should be where they belong in the ocean

Very tragic story, but again, to echo other posters, these incredible animals should not be kept in captivity and used for the entertainment of tourists.

I don't know much about the prospects for orcas if released into the wild...doesn't the fact that they're top of the food chain in the ocean give them at least a good chance of being integrated back into the wild ?

"I don't know much about the prospects for orcas if released into the wild...doesn't the fact that they're top of the food chain in the ocean give them
at least a good chance of being integrated back into the wild ?" Not really. Because Orkas are social creatures who are born into and grow up in pods. They hunt in pods (social groups) and they remain a part of their family groups throughout their lives. To release a loan orka who was born in captivity back into the wild would firstly involve having to teach the animal to fend for itself, i.e. to hunt live food, but even if that were achieveable a loan orka out there on its own would almost certainly be attacked by groups of orkas it encountered.

I could find only one documented case of an orka being released into the wild, and that was kako (sp?) the star of "free willy", who was released back into the wild - a process which took over a year to achieve and involved having to find the animal's original family. Sadly the whale did not integrate well back into the wild and saught out human company, and died of pneumonia about a year after its release (will try to find link).