Bill Silver Eagle Thu 25 Feb 2010, 3:05 pm
ORLANDO, Fla. -A veteran SeaWorld trainer was rubbing a killer whale from a poolside platform when the 12,000-pound creature reached up, grabbed her ponytail in its mouth and dragged her underwater. Despite workers rushing to help, the trainer was killed.
Horrified visitors who had stuck around after a noontime show watched the animal charge through the pool with the trainer in its jaws. Workers used nets as an alarm sounded, but it was too late. Dawn Brancheau had drowned. It marked the third time the animal had been involved in a human death.
The whale, named Tilikum, apparently grabbed Brancheau by her long ponytail, according to the head of animal training at all SeaWorld parks, Chuck Tompkins. He told ABC's "Good Morning America" that her ponytail swung out in front of the whale.
"That's when the trainer next to him (Tilikum) said that he grabbed the hair, pulled her under water. And of course, held her under water," Tompkins said.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/article/whale-drags-trainer-off-platform-in/921465/?flv=1I'm sure there will be those around the country that will call for the cessation of Sea World's Orca activities and other parks "wild animal" exhibits, as a result of this accident. There will probably be some anal-retentives in Congress that will think they should regulate this too! The fact of the matter is that regardless how "trained" it appears these animals are, they are still "wild animals" or "non-domesticated animals" would be more correct. Whether it is your horse, your cock-a-poo, your python, or your 4-H Heifer, they are all animals, some a little more domesticated than others, the all have the potential to hurt you.
While it saddens me that this young lady lost her life in this tragedy, we must remember that she did so doing something that she loved. Which while a horrible way to die, in the mouth of an Orca, ... I can't find the words to express what I want to say without it coming out insensitive.
Any one who works with animals, regardless of the type, they know the risks involved. I for one have had the opportunity to stand next to, to pet, and even "communicate" with a Buffalo (American Bison) in a pasture setting, only to have the next day, the same animal grab a woman's arm who was trying to pet the same animal, try and pull her through a barbed-wire fence. Even on our 40 acres, my wife often says I should carry something other than the baseball-bat style walking stick when I go trapsing through the brush, in case of a snake or I get charged by a deer. Why? I'm walking on/in their home, I am the intruder. I guess it's just a mindset some might have.
