the serial killer whale

[BOWSER11788]

wow, did anybody see this yet, a woman killed by a trained whale, come to find out the whale is responsible to 2 more events, kinda spooky the friendly whales, oh well the HSUS is acting like there damn whale humitary expets as well, i guess sea world will be the newest crusade now. any imput??

[Jay_Bunny]

Well as much as I loved the show at Seaworld and as much as I'd love to work at a place like that I can't help but wonder....

Orcas are animals that travel long distances. I can't say I'm surprised at the animal's behavior. You see the size of those orcas and the size of their tanks and it suddenly seems very small to me. They said the orcas were acting strangely and so they left them alone. Zooming around the tank sounds like the orcas were stressed out about something. For all we know, they are stressed with the size of their enclosure, the hundreds of people that watch them everyday, diet, etc.

[blackcrystal22]

I think the whole thing reminds me of hypes when people get killed by snakes.

It only happens once in a great while, and on the other hand dogs kill people about once a week. (I do have that statistic if anyone wants it).

But it was unintelligent move on the trainer and the park owners; since this animal has been involved in multiple deaths of other people, it should not be used to show, at all.

P.S. They're wild animals just like lions, tigers, and large constrictors, and should be treated as such and with the same respect. That's an important understanding of all keepers and trainers.

P.S.S. Orcas are not whales. Kinda bugs me. It's like calling a boa a python. Orcas are the largest species of the dolphin family.

[Jay_Bunny]

I think the whole thing reminds me of hypes when people get killed by snakes.

It only happens once in a great while, and on the other hand dogs kill people about once a week. (I do have that statistic if anyone wants it).

But it was unintelligent move on the trainer and the park owners; since this animal has been involved in multiple deaths of other people, it should not be used to show, at all.

P.S. They're wild animals just like lions, tigers, and large constrictors, and should be treated as such and with the same respect. That's an important understanding of all keepers and trainers.

P.S.S. Orcas are not whales. Kinda bugs me. It's like calling a boa a python. Orcas are the largest species of the dolphin family.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Orcas are dolphins, not whales! Orcas were my favorite animal as a child. I used to want to be a trainer, but then developed a fear of deep water.

One of the deaths associated with this animal is not necessarily the whale's fault. A homeless man was in the park after hours and may have simply drowned in the tank.

I am in agreement that this orca should not be used for show, especially since the trainers knew there was something wrong. I'm sorry but an animal that is acting stressed out, not responding to commands, etc should not be put in the show. Maybe the animal was just having an off day. The trainers should have recognized the animal's behavior as abnormal and left him/her alone. Its kind of like looking at a lion that's acting weird and saying "Looks like something is wrong with Leo. Oh well, lets make him do tricks anyway." and then the lion turns around and mauls the trainer. Simple animal behavior logic.

[Jay_Bunny]

What also drives me nuts is people look at orcas and dolphins and all they see is Willy (from Free Willy) and Flipper who are fun-loving, affectionate, and tame as puppies. In reality these animals are wild predators. There are instances of dolphins killing porpoises and leaving the bodies and killing baby dolphins as well. There are videos of this and it shows you just how powerful and aggressive (even deadly) these animals CAN be. They are not puppies and kitties. They are large, wild, predators. This is to be expected and respected, yet people are so shocked when something like this happens.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Orcas are undoubtedly on the short list of sentient species on the planet, and it certainly isn't any surprise to ME that they can calculate violence, plan for the future, and seek revenge. It's been documented often enough now.

Orcas don't eat humans. They break their backs, or simply drown them. It's not predatory behavior, it's homicide. I don't blame them, of course, certainly humans, chimps, gorillas, and other sentient beings may do the same.

I recollect a pair of orcas that had a calf--the calf fell ill, and was removed for treatment, but it died. The orcas vocalized in ways that had not been recorded previously, until one day, they cooperated to break their trainer's back. The trainer lived, but of course did not return.

The odd vocalizations stopped, and the orcas returned to their normal behavior. The incident was labeled an accident, but really? One orca carried the trainer on his back, and the other breached over him, smashing the trainer into the water, but barely brushing the other orca's back. That's a precision move, and it was a very coordinated one, too.

Who can blame them? Their calf was taken away by humans, and they never saw it again. Very nice work, though, to not only exact revenge, but to make it look like an accident. If people are going to work with a creature that weighs over 10,000 pounds and has the mental capacity of, at minimum, a 5 year old human, one has to expect such things.

[j_h_smith]

Anyone up for Orca Burgers? No, I'm sorry, just kidding. It is a shame the trainer was killed.

Jim Smith

[unspecified42]

It is a very sad story. Yet another good reason why orcas shouldn't be kept in captivity!

[BPelizabeth]

I say this everytime....If you are going to work with ANY type of animal...especially wild animals....there is a chance that it can bite. EVERYTHING has the opportunity to bite or inflict harm. It is their only self defense in many cases. This includes us as well. This includes something as small as a flea or a cricket.

You have to look for signs and you have to have the ability to properly take care of them. But then again you all know this.

I hate when any animal, reptile, bug...etc gets a bad rap for protecting themselves the only way they know how. Or does something that should was out of the ordinary when their keeper should of recognized the signs.

[West Coast Jungle]

This is a very sad story and my heart goes out to the trainers family and friends.

Their is a reason they are called Killer whales. If you have ever seen footage of them in the wild they can be extremely aggressive. I have seen footage of then bashing and throwing seals around like a cat pouncing and torturing a mouse for long periods before actually eating them. Seeing them perform at Sea World it is easy to forget they are predators and smart ones at that. I enjoy Sea World and the animal shows and all that but at the end of the day they are massive predators that come with potential dangers. Like lions and tigers you can train them to do shows but they are not domestic animals and something could trigger their predatory behaviors. From what I read no one was allowed in the water with this guy because of his past aggressive behavior. Unfortunately I dont think anyone expected he would leap out of the water and grab someone but thats actually what they do to seals and thus earning them their name as killer.