Tilikum

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Blackfish's Tilikum Dies at SeaWorld

36-year-old orca was battling a lung infection

(Newser) - The orca who inspired the documentary Blackfish died Friday at SeaWorld, his home for more than 20 years, reports USA Today . A planned necropsy will give an official cause of death, though Tilikum had been suffering from a bacterial lung infection for some time. SeaWorld says that at an estimated...

SeaWorld: Blackfish Whale Has Potentially Deadly Illness

Tilikum, who's killed 3 people, has a lung infection

(Newser) - Tilikum, the killer whale at the heart of the SeaWorld-damning documentary Blackfish, has a lung infection that could possibly kill him, the Orlando Sentinel reports. SeaWorld announced the 35-year-old whale's illness Tuesday. "I wish I could say I was tremendously optimistic about Tilikum and his future, but he...

PETA's Whale-Slaves Lawsuit Has Its Day in Court

But it's unlikely judge will free Willy from SeaWorld

(Newser) - PETA might think it's on "the next frontier of civil rights" with its lawsuit seeking to emancipate SeaWorld's "whale slaves," but a federal judge presiding over a hearing yesterday was a bit more skeptical, reports the LA Times . The animal-rights group, perhaps better known for...

PETA Sues SeaWorld for Whale 'Slaves'

Says their treatment violates 13th amendment

(Newser) - Never known for half-measures , PETA is suing SeaWorld—for violating the 13th Amendment. You know, the one that outlawed slavery. In a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of killer whales Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka, and Ulises, the animal rights group contends that SeaWorld keeps its orcas in conditions that violate...

Whale That Killed Trainer to Perform Again

SeaWorld putting Tilikum back to work

(Newser) - Tilikum, the killer whale that drowned a trainer last year and has been involved in two other human deaths, is returning to show business. Officials at Orlando's SeaWorld say the 6-ton whale, the largest killer whale in captivity, will take part in shows beginning today. The park has spent millions...

Trainer's Death Was SeaWorld's Fault: Ex-Safety Chief

Accuses park of gross negligence as OSHA levies fine

(Newser) - It's not a good day for SeaWorld Orlando. As the news comes that OSHA has fined SeaWorld $75,000 for three violations that led to the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau, the park's former safety chief claims SeaWorld was grossly negligent in its safety preparation and has filed a federal...

Orca, Owners Shouldn't Be Stoned ... Just Euthanized

Bible-thumping blogger clarifies after firestorm

(Newser) - You might remember the blogger who advocated Bible-based killings of SeaWorld’s deadly orca and its owners; after an Internet firestorm, Bryan Fischer is clarifying. Though he cited Exodus passages about stoning, he was merely calling for Tilikum—and those who kept him in the park’s show after earlier...

Ignoring Bible Led to SeaWorld Death
 Ignoring Bible Led 
 to SeaWorld Death 
OPINION
Mar 3, 2010 7:59 PM CST

Ignoring Bible Led to SeaWorld Death

Owners let killer whale live; now they deserve death, too

(Newser) - The owners of the whale that killed a SeaWorld trainer Feb. 25 could have avoided it all by following the Bible, Bryan Fischer writes , with the Book of Exodus telling us that if “your animal kills somebody, your moral responsibility is to put that animal to death.” Moreover,...

Rescuers Had to Pry Trainer From Orca

Workers also say they had trouble deploying nets

(Newser) - SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau had to be forcibly extracted from the mouth of the orca that killed her, say witness accounts released by police. The accounts rehash much already known information but paint a more complete portrait of the chaotic rescue efforts. After the whale bit down on Brancheau's ponytail,...

Freeing 'Magical' Orcas Easier Said Than Done

Writer notes 'primal connection' with captive whale

(Newser) - Whales like the one that killed a SeaWorld trainer on Wednesday belong in the wild, Susan Orlean writes, and humans should “just take fabulous videos of them and project them on gigantic high-definition screens”—but when you see the creatures up close in captivity, they’re just so...

Celebs Split on Killer-Whale Killing

 Celebs Split on 
 Killer-Whale Killing 
flu is way scarier, says dane
Feb 26, 2010 9:14 AM CST

Celebs Split on Killer-Whale Killing

Khloe Kardashian has whale-phobia; Dane Cook thinks flu is scarier

(Newser) - Celebs are split on which is more outrageous: that the whale that killed a SeaWorld trainer this week is still alive, or that the whale was a captured and trained to perform in the first place. Reactions from Hollywood, as rounded up by E! :
  • Nick Cannon: “People need to
...

SeaWorld Will Keep Killer Whale
 SeaWorld Will Keep Killer Whale 
Feb 25, 2010 9:37 PM CST

SeaWorld Will Keep Killer Whale

Park will change procedure, won't euthanize orca

(Newser) - SeaWorld’s Orlando park said tonight it will keep the whale that killed its trainer yesterday. The 12,000-pound orca, Tilikum, had a history of violence before it grabbed Dawn Brancheau, 40, by her ponytail and dragged her to a death by drowning, and there have been calls for him...

Video Shows Trainer in Water, Playing With Whale

She's seen smiling, in up to her shoulders

(Newser) - A tourist's video shows SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau playing in the water with the whale moments before the fatal attack. In the nearly 7-minute video posted by Orlando station WESH-TV, a smiling Brancheau is seen in the water up to her shoulders, right by the whale, at about the 6:...

SeaWorld: Killer Whale Grabbed Trainer's Ponytail

Dawn Brancheau was 'underwater for an extended period of time'

(Newser) - The SeaWorld trainer slain by a killer whale yesterday was pulled underwater by her ponytail, according to the company, the latest in a variety of explanations as to how she ended up in the water. Because of Tillikum’s size and history, trainers never got into the pool with him....

Trainer Death Sparks New Call to Free Killer Whales

Captivity is cruel, and accidents are unavoidable, activists say

(Newser) - The death of a SeaWorld trainer is being met with the inevitable calls to free Willy, and end orca captivity once and for all. “These behemoths are denied all of their natural, instinctual inclinations,” one tells the Christian Science Monitor . “We humans tend to think, ‘Well,...

Whale in Deadly Attack Has Violent History

40-year-old trainer was fatally injured in front of spectators

(Newser) - The SeaWorld employee killed today by a 12,000-pound whale in front of spectators has been identified as 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau, a trainer with years of experience. About two dozen spectators at the Dine With Shamu show watched in horror as Tilikum, a male killer whale, pulled Brancheau into the...

SeaWorld Whale Kills Trainer
 SeaWorld Whale Kills Trainer 
Feb 24, 2010 3:39 PM CST

SeaWorld Whale Kills Trainer

Attack occurs in front of spectators just before show

(Newser) - A whale at SeaWorld Orlando killed a veteran female trainer today in front of spectators. The male killer whale apparently pulled the trainer into the water. "Telly (the whale) took off really fast in the tank and he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by...

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