"Killer Whale Kills @ SeaWorld"

A number of SeaWorld spectators got more than they bargained for today after the Dine with Shamu show. Apparently, as the trainer was showing off the whales to onlookers from the side of the tank, one of the 11,000 pound creatures, Tilikum, swam with unusual speed and aggression towards her, jumped into the air, grabbed her by the waist and shook her violently before dragging her down to the bottom of the tank where she eventually drowned.

Obviously onlookers were horrified, as sirens rang and SeaWorld staff rushed to the area to see if they could control the animal. Unfortunately, the 40 year old trainer Dawn Brancheau could not be saved. Though police reported she had fallen into the tank, most of the surfacing eyewitness accounts saw the whale deliberately jumped up and grabbed her.

Strangely, Tilikum has been involved in 2 prior human deaths. One was at a park in Canada (killed its trainer in this case too), and another time at SeaWorld when a man stayed in the park after hours and apparently jumped into the tank. He was found dead and badly scratched draped over Tilikum's body the next morning.

It's obvious killer whales and whales in general like to play rough, but to them it's play. We've all seen the footage of the whales batting around penguins back and forth. In the case of the naked man, Tilikum likely thought it was a toy to play with (reports said he died of hypothermia... could he have been dead before Tilikum started to play? But this case with the trainer might be more about frustration, especially since viewers of the first and second shows that day said the whale was uncooperative, and not responding to many commands.

I think it might be time to retire Tilikum. Obviously unhappy with forced performance and likely also captivity. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Dawn. Also the people who had to witness it. Hopefully parents were able to shield their children's eyes before too much damage was done.