Whale Kills SeaWorld Trainer as Guests Watch
 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_re_...seaworld_death

ORLANDO, Fla. – A killer whale killed a SeaWorld Orlando trainer who slipped or fell in its tank Wednesday, drowning her in front of a horrified audience.

Dan Brown, president of the Orlando park, said the trainer was one of the park's most experienced.

He would not answer questions about whether it happened during a performance, but an audience member said a show was just starting.




:eek:

I don't think I need to post any more...you can click on the link if you want details. But I feel a new whale phobia coming on. That has got to be one HORRIFYING vacation.

OMG how scary!! Dan Brown used to be my regional supervisor when I worked at Busch Gardens and he really cared about his employees..my thoughts will be with her friends, family and coworkers :(

I have ALWAYS had a whale phobia. Always.

I loved Tom Hank's "Castaway," but was terrified at the scene with the whale's eye by his raft.

So, this Seaworld killer whale has now been involved in 3 human deaths. I know you don't necessarily put down an animal for doing what it naturally and instinctively does, but damn. Trainers weren't supposed to go in the water with him (and we now see why) so they clearly have changed their behavior for this deadly creature.

ETA: 12,000 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek: :eek:

well when you take something from the ocean and stick him in a pool, he is bound to be a bit salty.

tangent

Why can't people get their facts right? Orca are NOT whales.

/tangent

You should watch Whale Wars and root for the Japanese whalers like I do.


Not trying to be snarky at all.... but really, what's the damn difference? They're big gross sea mammals. And KILLERS. Should've never let them out the whale ghetto.

Thru.

With.

You.

SMH at both of you.

the Japs were right all along! Fuck you rale! Fuck you doll feen!


link

<------ To. The. Corner.

I really don't like Senusret and DaemonSeid. Can't take ya'll nowhere even during Black History Month!!!!

I love his voice. Now it's time for a song.

Orca, whale...oh what the hell...
Orca, whale...oh what the hell...
They both shall kill you if you sail...
Orca, whale...oh what the hell...

R.I.P. Don...

They are called "killer whales" because they kill whales. But really, it doesn't matter all that much.

Noooo why? What did the whales ever do to you? Not.A.Fan. :(

What did Japanese Whalers ever do to me?

effn died. lol.

Yeah, lets not blame the Orca here. He's just doin what he gotta do to keep his sea cred up. If you mess with fire you might get burned. If you mess with killer whales that are overworked and underpaid you might get killed. Sad for the lady to die like that though.
I wonder if she got yolked like Samuel L. Jackson in Deep Blue Sea. It was funny in the movie. Probably not so much in real life.
I like Manatee (sp?) much better than whales. They look like big potatoes. lol.

So shouldn't that be "whale killers?"

No, that was the Japanese from the previous example

Killer whales are exploited labor and they are finally giving it to THE MAN. This whale in particular was just a brutha trynna make it. Gimme 5 on the black fin side.

Give me freeeeeeeeee

I. hate. you. both.

For rilz.

It's hard out here for a whale.

Trying to remind y'all not to be fooled by the pool and the shows and the little kids. He ain't afraid to go back to the streetz on these people.

I thought KSU was gonna sing "it's hard out here for a whale (pimp)."

i hate most of you on this page. LMAO

*sings*
"You know Its hard out here for a whale
when he Tryna get this money for that kale
Stupid People got him out here doin tricks
Keep huggin him; and dangling them fish

You know Its hard out here for a whale
when he Tryna get this money for that kale
Stupid People got him out here doin tricks
Gon have them pissed when he eat another chick"

<------Corner. NOW.

Lol I'm rotflmao at what this thread has turned into.

*Pouts*...but its Dr.Phil's fault. *kicks rocks*
:cool:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/seaworld-t...ory?id=9952102



A mistake by trainer Dawn Brancheau prompted a killer whale to drag her into the water to her death, a former mentor of Brancheau's said today.

"Dawn, if she was standing here with me, would tell you that it was her mistake that it happened," Thad Lacinak, former head trainer at SeaWorld and Brancheau's teacher, told "Good Morning America." "Dawn was one of the best killer whale trainers I've ever worked with. ... It looks like she made the mistake."

Lacinak said Brancheau was apparently lying down in a 4-inch "slide out" that trainers are meant to stand on while interacting with the whale when her ponytail drifted toward the mouth of the 12,000-pound animal.

"He pulled her in by the ponytail," Lacinak said. "I'm pretty sure it was her breaking protocol. ... Sometimes we get too comfortable working with these animals. Sometimes we forget what they are."

Brancheau, 40, an experienced trainer, was snatched by the whale in front of a stadium of horrified onlookers, thrashed and ultimately held under water to drown Wednesday.

Yipe. If it was well known that this one one of the things that made whales wacky, even I would cut my hair off.

I hate to say it, but I have to: She was an idiot. May she rest in peace.

Are they related to the Hartford Whalers? Dang I miss them!

De-Lurk from my TwitterAddiction...

So, the Vet hub said that they aren't getting rid of that whale because he actually is a babymaker and if they freed him the Great White Sharks Po-Po would take a bite outta him because he'd be chum...

He did something to a trainer in Pac NW--where he's from--Killed her...

So Nut Job jumped into the Orlando pen & the whales played soccer with him.

Then now, this woman...

IDK 6 tons...

/restart Twitteraddiction & lurk

I just wonder how those people felt who actually saw it happen. I can't imagine seeing something like that. :eek: I'm afraid of whales too.

Just a couple of tidbits:

The trainer was growing her hair for Locks of Love. The whale grabbed her by her ponytail and dragged her under water.

She was an ADPi from USC (S. Carolina).

Orcas are beautiful. We have lots of them out here in the Pac NW, and if anything they're too friendly with the boats of tourists...they are curious about the boats, sometimes get too close and get hurt by the propellers.

They are huge, wild animals and do not belong in large swimming pools.

And it's true that Orcas are not whales. They're actually the largest members of the dolphin family.

Soooo....if they cut it off and give it to Locks of Love, is that considered an organ donation?

Yeah even Wikipedia can tell people they are a type of dolphin. They also look more like a type of dolphin than whale. I'm still scared of whales and all large sea mammals--dolphins included. I don't want one near me if it isn't in a pool or a cage.

Sea World is doing damage control going on shows and showcasing their well behaved Orcas. I apologize for calling this deceased lady an idiot. She violated her training and wasn't too smart.

There's been extensive explanations in many articles about why they are called "killer whales."

I don't know if it is true or not, but many people in that industry have speculated that he was playing with her, but he was just playing too rough. I don't think anyone is saying that orcas aren't friendly in general.


http://www.rr.com/news/topic/article...ainer_killed/1

It appears that they have resumed their orca shows. That's great. But I must admit that while I don't think he should be put down, they really need to start reconsidering whether it is a good thing to keep these kinds of animals in captivity. Realistically I know that money is usually the bottom line in everything, but in reading this article I get a sense that no one really cares about that. They just want to keep him because he's a moneymaker.