Sea World's Killer Whale Kills His Female Trainer In Front Of A Mortified Audience!

Dawn Brancheau is the 40 yr. old female trainer whose life ended when she was attacked by the killer whale she had trained at SeaWorld.Her unfortunate demise was witnessed by mortified spectators at the Shamu Stadium in Orlando,Florida.And since this isn't the first time the massive killer whale named Tilikum has killed,there is a debate raging over the safety of these theme park shows.

I do not believe that they are safe.This is the third time that this particular whale has killed a person.I say that enough is enough.Leave the killer whales alone & let them continue to reside in their natural habitat.Obviously,they are not show ponies.

My condolences go out to the friends & family of Dawn Brancheau.Her death was both horrific & unnecessary.Here's more from The Palm Beach Post:

"Three years ago, Russ Rector, a Fort Lauderdale dolphin trainer turned marine mammal activist, said he wrote SeaWorld a letter warning it was pushing its show mammals too hard to wow audiences, thereby inviting attacks on trainers.

On Wednesday, a killer whale named Tilikum implicated in two previous fatalities attacked a trainer during a show at the Orlando theme park, dragging her around like a toy and drowning her in front of horrified visitors.

``I warned them this was going to happen,' Rector said. ``Happy animals don't kill their trainers.''

There were conflicting reports of the circumstances that led to the death of Dawn Brancheau, but the accident seemed certain to rekindle debate over turning marine mammals, considered deeply intelligent and highly social by many scientists, into captive circus performers.

The attack on Brancheau, one of the park's most experienced trainers, was the latest in a string of violent incidents -- at least a handful of them fatal -- involving killer whales at SeaWorld and other marine theme parks around the world.

Tilikum, a 23-foot, 6-ton male that ranks among the largest orcas in captivity, had been linked to two of those deaths.

In 1991, the killer whale grabbed and drowned part-time trainer Keltie Byrne, who fell into its pool during a show at Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia, Canada. It was later shipped to SeaWorld in Orlando where, in July 1999, security guards found a naked dead man draped across the orca's back one morning. The man had apparently slipped into the tank after hours, and though an autopsy showed he died of hypothermia, his body was also scratched and bruised.

Witnesses gave differing accounts to Orlando reporters about what happened during the noon show on Wednesday. Eldon Skaggs, 72, of Michigan told The Associated Press that Brancheau, 40, was on a platform with the killer whale and was massaging it when the creature suddenly ``pulled her under and started swimming around with her.'

``We were just a little bit stunned,' said Skaggs' wife, Sue Nichols, 67.

Another person in the audience told a local TV station that the orca jetted across the tank and shot into the air to grab Brancheau, thrashing so violently that the trainer's shoe shot off. But, according to the AP, Jim Solomons of the Orange County Sheriff's Office said Brancheau slipped or fell into the tank.

In a brief statement posted on the company website, Jim Atchison, president of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, said the company was investigating the incident and would review its operating standards.

``Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees, guests and the animals entrusted to our care,' he said."(END OF EXCERPT)Read more here.