Tillikum the Killer Whale Had Violent Past Before Deadly Attack on SeaWorld Trainer

By: Kevin Hayes
Topics: Daily Blotter

(CBS)

ORLANDO (CBS/AP) The killer whale that attacked and killed a female trainer at SeaWorld Orlando Wednesday afternoon has been involved in the deaths of two other people, CBS Newspath reports.

Photo: Whale at SeaWorld Today

PICTURES: Dawn Brancheau SeaWorld Trainer Killed

The first death occurred at Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia. A trainer drowned while in the tank with Tillikum.

After the whale was sold to SeaWorld Orlando, the body of a naked man was found scratched, bruised and draped over Tillikum in July 1999. Daniel Dukes, 27, reportedly made his way past security at SeaWorld, remaining in the park after it had closed. Wearing only his underwear, Dukes either jumped, fell, or was pulled into the frigid water of Tilikum's tank. In 1999, a park official said of Tillikum, "He's not an aggressive animal. He's good with the trainers. He has a good relationship with a lot of the trainers. He understands people."

According to The Orlando Sentinel, however, a former contractor with SeaWorld said that trainers were not allowed to get in the water with Tillikum because of these incidents.

A witness to today's death, Victoria Biniak, said that "Tilly [Tillikum] took off really fast in the tank and he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing [her] around." Emergency personnel were called to the park after 2 p.m. where they found a worker who could not be revived.

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PICTURES: Dawn Brancheau SeaWorld Trainer Killed

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
February 25, 2010 - Dawn Brancheau Pictures: SeaWorld Trainer Loved Whale That Killed Her
February 24, 2010 - Tillikum the Killer Whale Had Violent Past Before Deadly Attack on SeaWorld Trainer
February 24, 2010 - SeaWorld Trainer Killed by Tillikum the Whale

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by TF413 March 3, 2010 9:35 AM EST: The whale is a wild animal. The trainer's ponytail was similar in color and size to the fish. Given the vision of the whale, don't you think it is possible that the whale thought her ponytail was simply another fish? Would this explain the whale's perceived distraught after the incident?; Reply to this comment


by gorays February 28, 2010 10:05 AM EST: This article is highly misleading, typically shallow, and much more needs to be said. About the death of Keltie Byrne in 1991 particularly.

I've ended up responding a great deal here http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=13315956&blogId=530005462, and a bit here http://twitter.com/raysondetre.; Reply to this comment


by algalvan1 February 25, 2010 12:26 AM EST: This is a wild animal... ANYONE (man or woman) who is working with an Orca should know the risks involved in the job. There is no reason at all to put a wild animal "down" after attacks like this. Obviously he should have been released back into the wild after the first incident happened.; Reply to this comment


by RL_Cudd February 24, 2010 8:53 PM EST: After watching bullfights in Spain in the 90s, it is good to sometimes see the animals win.

It isn't humane to cage up an animal that is designed by God to swim free amoung the hundreds/thousands of miles of oceans, purely for human entertainment.

People don't like being caged, why should we expect an animal to like being caged either. The killer whale did, what killer whales do.; Reply to this comment

by marine1957 February 24, 2010 8:21 PM EST

Other animals are put down for killing a human. Why has this Tillikum not been put down yet after killing THREE humans???

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by BlondieCg February 24, 2010 9:59 PM EST: On February 20, 1991, University of Victoria marine biology student and part-time trainer Keltie Byrne, 20, slipped and fell into the orca pool at Sealand of the Pacific. She had just finished a show with the three orcas. Since Sealand trainers stay out of the water, she was not wearing a wetsuit. One whale took her in its mouth and began dragging her around the pool, mostly underwater. A champion swimmer who had competed at the international level, she was no match for the THREE huge orcas determined to keep her in the pool. (NOT just Tillikum).

The second incident involved a man who stayed in the Park (uninvited) and put his swim trunks on and got in the pool with Tillikum. Not the orca's fault.

This animal was ABDUCTED by humans from his family and Mom at the age of 2. This is just ONE MORE REASON why these animals need to STATY in the wild where they belong, and not kept in captivity for HUMAN ENTERTAINMENT!!! Period.


by waterEmm February 25, 2010 9:13 AM EST: killer whale..? why are you so suprised its killed someone and why should the whale be punished further more (after being taken from the wild) for doing what comes naturally to it? there shouldnt have even been the chance for the whale to kill anyone because they shouldnt be kept in captivity in the first place and used for human entertainment.

oh and its not a question of women being naive, she wasnt even in the water with it, she'd been doing the job for 12 years, and she was clearly aware of the risk... i really dont think she was looking at it asif it was a goldfish was she. point being no one should be doing this job and all 47 captive killer whales worldwide should be put back in the wild where they belong.

by acepublic February 24, 2010 7:26 PM EST

Tillikum: Born 1981 WILD into an Icelandic Pod. Brain size 4.3 times larger than a human. Spent 2 years with his mother and her family. Kidnapped in 1983. Later sold into the Seaworld/Anheuser-Busch/Blackstone "Circus." Is Tillikum angry about being ripped from his family or does he just not understand that people are not whales, that they can't hold their breath and that they break when you play too hard with them. Sad for both the large brain and small brain mammals involved.

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