Shamu, the stage/show name for killer whales at Orlando’s SeaWorld killed a trainer today. We started covering the story earlier today, but there have been more developments, read about them after the jump.
The killer whale involved in the killing today is named Tilikum, and this is the third time Tilikum has been involved in a human fatality. In 1991 the whale drowned a young trainer at Sealand of the Pacific in Canada, and then he killed again in 1999 after being shipped to SeaWorld Orlando. The second time involved a park visitor staying after hours and falling into the tank, where Tilikum drowned the man. Tilikum is the father of a killer whale named Ky who is famous for trying to drown his trainer at SeaWorld San Antonio in an incident that was recorded:
Video of killer whale attacking trainer
Dawn Brancheau is the name of the trainer who was killed today. Witnesses say Tilikum pulled Brancheau into the water, and pulled her underwater with his mouth.
Here is video of Tilikum in a stage show where nothing went wrong:
Video of Tilikum the killer whale
Given that this is the third time this has happened, maybe SeaWorld should rethink putting mature adult male killer whales on display?