Dawn Brancheau (shown in the picture), a whale trainer, was killed by a killer whale by the name of Tilikum at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday February 24th 2010. She died from "multiple traumatic injuries and drowning after one of the park's killer whales pulled her into a pool." The whale has a history of being involved with deaths. In 1991 in British Columbia a trainer was killed by Tilikum after falling into the tank and being dragged down. Also in 1999 a man was found in the whale's tank said to have been killed by the whale's "horseplay." Because of his history and the whale's enormous size, the trainers did not get in the water with this whale. Brancheau was said to be in knee-deep water when Tilikum came up and gabbed her by her ponytail and pulled her underwater. Because of Tilikum's behavior at the time, others had to coax him into a different tank before Brancheau could be reached. This incident has been labeled as a tragic accident. Researchers do not believe that Tilikum tried to kill the trainer, they say he was probably just trying to play with her as they behave that way in nature as well. This incident has been raising a lot of questions regarding the captivity of animals, including issues about space, tricks and situations they are put in.This truly is a tragic incident. I agree with a lot that has been brought up in this article and with what has been brought up because of this incident. I do believe that the whale did not try to kill Brancheau. From what I have heard, she had been training this whale for a long time and loved it. Just like the article said, he was probably just trying to play... it's just like a little kid, he didn't know any better. No matter what kind of animal it is, if it's in captivity, the wild, or even if it's a family pet, there have been stories of them all acting out at one point or another. It's just the way they are, the way they were made. It's the way the world is and how it works. We have to remember that all animals are exactly that, they are animals they are living creatures, just like us. People act out all the time, just look at all of the crime we have in the world. Humans are animals too, so why do we expect them to be perfect even though we know that we are far from perfect? I also have to agree with what was said about animals in captivity in this article. Everyone loves zoos, and I think it's cool how we have made them available for people to see wild animals up close. However, if we are going to have animals in captivity, we need to think of them first. We need to make sure that they have enough space and have everything that they would have if they were living in the wild. Also we should not be making them do silly little tricks. After all, the animals are wild animals, so it is our job to keep them wild. Isn't it enough to get the chance to see these wild animals? Like I said earlier, animals are just like us, humans are animals too, we don't like to be forced things, so do you think they like to be forced to do things? Think about it.
This is really sad. She loved the whales so much and then she was killed by one. I hope that her family is doing well. I think that keeping the whale in captivity is a good idea and letting be with the other whales is a good idea too because this whale isn't fit to be out in the wild and he needs to learn to be around other whales and people too. I think that it is safe for everyone if they hold off on having him be in orca shows for a while because some people may be scared to come see the shows because of his behavior and they may think that his behavior could have rubbed off on the other whales. I agree with Krista in the fact that we need to think of the whales and animals first when they are in captivity. Most animals aren't meant to be in captivity but some can't handle what awaits them in the wild. So sometimes captivity is what is best for them.
ReplyDelete