SeaWorld: Tilikum, Orca That Killed Trainer, Has Died
Tilikum, the killer whale featured in the documentary "Blackfish" that made the case against keeping orcas in captivity died on Jan. 6. (Reuters)
Tilikum, the most famous killer whale in the United States, died Friday after a year-long illness andquarter century of performancesstreaked withviolence.
The many-tonnedorca believed to be 36 years old and linked to the deaths of three peoplein that time likely succumbed to a lung infection early in the morning, according to a statement released bySeaWorld.
The whalediedat the Orlando marine park where he spent most of his life,surrounded by the trainers, care staff and veterinarians that provided him around-the-clock world-class care, the statement reads.
Tilikum had been sick since last spring, when a SeaWorld veterinarian, voice cracking, warned that the whales bacterial infectionwas chronic and progressive.
SeaWorld eulogized a long and enriching life that inspired millions of people. Others noted adark current inthe whales biography.
[Will SeaWorld survive without orca shows?]
From the moment he was taken from his ocean family, his life was tragic and filled with pain, reads a statement from PETA, one of many groups that Tilikum inspired to fight againstwhale captivity.
Tilikum has shouldereda fraught history, emerging as the symbol of both orcas eleganceand their capacity for violence,The Washington Posts Yanan w**g wrote in a profile of the whale lastMarch.
Born wild in the icywatersof west Iceland, w**g wrote, hewas firstnettedin 1983 in an era when killer whales were coveted by marine parksand adored by crowds.
Tilikum was taken from the ocean toa concrete tank, w**g wrote, held there for a year before being shippedto British Columbia to perform at Sealand of the Pacific.
A trainer told CNN that Tilikum was the easiest to work with in Sealands stable.He was virile, too, siring many calves before 1991, when a part-time trainer slipped into theorcatank.
A whale grabbed 20-year-old Keltie Byrnes foot andpulled her underwater, w**g wrote. The whalesthrashed her around the tank. She screamed until she drowned.
[SeaWorld fined $75,000 in death of trainer]
Sealand never recovered. They closed in 1992, a year after selling their killer whales to SeaWorld, which reportedly wanted Tilikum for breeding at its state-of-the-art theme park, w**g wrote.
Tilikum spent seven years in Orlando before another body turned up in histank.
In 1999, 27-year-old Daniel Dukes was released from a county jail and apparently snuck into the park at night.Hewas found drowned and draped across Tilikums back, w**g reported.
Still, the whale drewcrowds, even after February 2010, when SeaWorlds startrainer and spokesmodel Dawn Brancheau leaned over Tilikumstank and was grabbed in his jaws by her hair.
She was thrashed in the water, like Byrnesbefore her. Like the others, she died.
Yettheshow went on. Tilikum returnedto public performancesafter a year-long hiatus, w**g reported.
His public image did not begin to change and SeaWorldswith it until the documentary Blackfish was releasedin 2013.
Largely centered around Tilikum and his body count, the film portrayedthe whale as a victim of captivity made psychotic, as one researcher put it.
SeaWorld called the movie propaganda. But within a year, a backlash against the park had caused SeaWorlds attendance to falland its stock prices to dive.
Southwest Airlines ended a 26-year-old partnership with the marine park. The companys chief executive resigned. Animal rights groups called for Tilikums freedom, while lawmakers talked of banning captive whale breeding.
In 2014, SeaWorld announced that it would the stop the practice voluntarily.
Society is changing, the organization said.Tilikums will be the last generation of orcas at SeaWorld.
[SeaWorld ends captive breeding program, says current batch of killer whales will be the last]
The whalehad not performedsince his illness was announced last year, though the park posted regular reportson his health for his fans.
tilikum has some good days and some not so good days, reads an update from June.
Tilikum died much older than most captive orcas, SeaWorld said Friday. The Posthas noted that wild whaleslive much longer.
Hesired at least 21 calves before his death, 14of them at SeaWorld.
The companystill owns 28 orcas, among its parks in Orlando, San Antonio, Spain and San Diego.The San Diego parkwill holdits last killer whaleshow this weekend.
More reading:
Tilikum, the SeaWorld killer whale at the center of Blackfish, is slowly dying
Three whales have died at SeaWorld San Antonio in the last six months
Beleaguered SeaWorld admits employees spied on animal rights activists
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNGxB42M-kQH0h5N0LwPOnuKYpz-9Q&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52779335466044&ei=SkdwWLDhBNHI3QGGw6PoCw&url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/01/06/tilikum-the-killer-whale-linked-to-three-human-deaths-has-died/