Trainer Killed at Seaworld Orlando

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

It's hard to believe I was just there last Saturday and saw this show. One of the trainers was killed by a killer whale. Unclear if she fell into the tank or was pulled in by the whale. Very sad. shaggy

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Strange previous issues with the same Orca . . . two previous deaths.

Strange history of other episodes.

Seaworld had been warned that this was inevitable.

Sad that they ignored the warnings.

[kapish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close kapish]

Sad...

It's being reported that the trainer had finished explaining to the audience what they were about to see when the whale swam up out of the water, grabbed her and whipped her around in the way the whales normally use to kill prey, like seals.

SeaWorld Whale Kills Trainer During Show - The Two-Way - Breaking News, Analysis Blog : NPR

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

Saw the Shamu show last July. It's so sad for the trainer's family, the rest of the trainers and all the people who saw it happen. It's more of a shame given the past history of this whale and the fact that no trainers were allowed in the water. Whales are beautiful animals, but no matter how much we try to domesticate them, they are still wild and will follow their instincts. Other animals have also attacked their trainers without any apparent provoking. My thoughts and prayers will be with the trainer's family. I am sure she was doing a job that she loved.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

This is the 3rd time this whale has killed, Why did they not either release him or make Sushi out of him after the the first kill. If a dog kills a person they kill the dog because they say he will attack again, Same here no?

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

This is the 3rd time this whale has killed, Why did they not either release him or make Sushi out of him after the the first kill. If a dog kills a person they kill the dog because they say he will attack again, Same here no?

Respectfully, disagree. They know that this type of whale, "killer whale", does exactly that at times. Sad all around.

They must've/should've anticipated this: Killer Whale Testosterone Surges Documented by SeaWorld : Discovery News Excellent article, good read.

So they capture him, put him alone and in an unnatural envirornment and went he goes off the "deep end" (pun) why then is there a call to euthanize him ? Animals as entertainment is something that I have a hard time with.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Respectfully, disagree. They know that this type of whale, "killer whale", does exactly that at times. Sad all around.

They must've/should've anticipated this: Killer Whale Testosterone Surges Documented by SeaWorld : Discovery News

If they know then why put a persons life on the line, That whale should have been sent free

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

If they know then why put a persons life on the line, That whale should have been sent free

Bingo !

No fault of the whale.

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

If they know then why put a persons life on the line, That whale should have been sent free

It's more likely a case of corporate greed. They'd have to spend money to take the whale somewhere, then pay to get a replacement and spend time and money training the new whale.

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

If a dog kills a person they kill the dog because they say he will attack again, Same here no?

That isn't really true of dogs, either. Dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, but can still respond instinctively to some situations and kill a human (usually a child), or be conditioned to kill. That doesn't mean they are evil and "should" be killed (although obviously measures need to be taken to make sure they don't have the opportunity to kill again). It means that animals are primarily guided by instinct and conditioning. While I think it can be argued that execution is a rational response when one human murders another (although personally I'm opposed to it on religious grounds), it's irrational to punish an animal for killing.

Animals as entertainment is something that I have a hard time with.

Even if it's a dog doing tricks who clearly takes great joy in his job? I have problems with the way some animals are trained or treated (cock fighting may be allowing the animal to indulge his instincts, but it's not treating the animal well), but I don't have a problem with people finding animals entertaining per se.

I don't like that dolphins and orcas are confined to small tanks, but I do see the trainer's logic in working with them. Humans have a long history of demonizing other predators and, historically speaking, one of the most effective ways of convincing most people to take pity on a predator animal is convincing them the animal is appealing in some way. It was harder to argue that bears were all killers who must be killed on sight once there were dancing bears around. That doesn't justify the torments the trainers in the Middle Ages put the bears through to train them, any more than the fact that early zoos maintained some species that have been reintroduced to the wild justifies keeping animals in cages that are far too small. But there is reason to argue in favor of using animals for entertainment, in that it has historically had positive benefits for some species as a whole.

So I do think that the orca trainers who argue they are helping the orcas in the wild have some grounds for their position. Not sure I agree with them, but I can see why they feel they're doing the right thing.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

Having been involved with rescuing Greyhounds from the track, before they're inhumanely or humanely, killed is the basis of my opinion.

Cute dog tricks are one thing, but let's not confuse tricks with exploitation and it's not what I was referring to. Neither is cock or dog fighting.

Dancing and chained (up at the throat) bears, elephants in the circus, greyhound racing, fox hunting, etc. are what I have been working against for a good deal of my life. We finally got rid of this "sport" in Massachusetts (greyhound racing).

"Make A Fast Friend. Adopt a Greyound" www.greyhound.org

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

Cute dog tricks are one thing, but let's not confuse tricks with exploitation

Well, yes, that was my point. The fact that something is entertaining does not mean it's exploitative. Greyhound racing is undeniably exploitative, but it's exploitative because the dogs are treated as a disposable commodity, not because some people find the racing entertaining.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

Huh ?

Even if it's a dog doing tricks who clearly takes great joy in his job? - [COLOR="Red"]Depends. Define "tricks" and "enjoys" - balancing a biscuit on its nose or jumping through a burning hoop ?[/COLOR]

Middle Ages ? Try right now, this current year for chained bears.

Helping Orcas in the wild ? How about just leaving them there instead of capturing them for our amusement ?

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

The Orca is obviously very angry at being held in captivity by these tweeny little weaklings who make it perform tricks to get fed. No wonder it kills when it can.
Let it go morons.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

He wants to do what comes naturally................

Killer Whale Testosterone Surges Documented by SeaWorld : Discovery News