[excel excel]

According to Yahoo news..

Quote

A SeaWorld employee died this afternoon during an incident at SeaWorld's Shamu Stadium, an Orange County Sheriff's Office official confirmed. SeaWorld, rescue personnel and the Sheriff's Office are not revealing the identity of the victim, although a local TV station is reporting that it was a female employee who was killed after she was grabbed by one of the theme park's whales at the start of a public show. Park guest Victoria Biniak told Local 6 that the trainer was a veteran of SeaWorld and had just finished explaining to the audience what they would see during the performance. At that point, Biniak said, the whale came up from the water and grabbed the woman. "He was thrashing her around pretty good. It was violent,'" Biniak told Local 6. The whale "took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off."

Im sorry this happened but there is a reason these animals are called "KILLER WHALES." not Cuddle Whales. Some are calling for him to be freed or destroyed. I dont know if you can set him. I think the animal has been domesticated to a point where he cant be released to the ocean to defend himself. And why destroy him? This was the animal's natural defense. Im not going PETA on here but you gotta use logic here. KILLER WHALE. There was even a article headlined "Why Did Killer Whale Attack Trainer?"

::headdesk::

[Matt PNiewski]

For every whale we have in captivity, we can conceivably be saving so much more. That's one thing people forget. Sea World Raises awareness, promotes conservation, and teaches people about the place of these creatures in the world.

I remember, a month ago (two months, actually) I was at Sea World. The first thing they said was 'These creatures are dangerous." Yeah. Top predator of the sea.

And they aren't prone to attacking humans. It's called a Killer Whale because it is a predator, not because it's a man eater. You have to ask why, because that will actually help prevent attacks in the future. This happens once every few years. Most people say it was playing with her hair. I also read she pissed it off. Fact is, they already don't allow trainers to swim with this particular whale. Fact is, accidents happen. And we all know she knew the risks.

[Voxx]

People blow this wayyy out of proportion. Everyone that gets into the water with an Orca KNOWS the dangers and have dedicated their life to the study of those creatures so if they make a mistake, its not the Orca's fault. This is like what happened with the White Tiger in Vegas at the Siegfried and Roy magic show. When Roy was bitten he even stated that he didnt want the cat shot. They also study these animals and know what they are capable of. The whale shouldnt be killed and people need to stop freaking out about it. Yes it is sad that the trainer was killed, but they fully knew what they were getting into.

[Neko_master_Luna]

There are good & bad points to Sea World. Yes they help people become aware of the deep sea creatures(a little too much now), help them breed, even help injured ones & so on, but they should be only viewed, not performing. The problem is when you have a creature that big, like a cat they do what comes natural, eat, defend & yes some times hormones comes into play, was this a female in heat, was this a male near a female in heat. Honestly I'm surprised they don't have this situation more often. I'm not blaming the whale for doing what comes natural to it or the trainer who was allowed work with it. I blame the officials who stand to gain a profit from turning wild sea creatures into performing arts with out a thought to safety.

[Dark Stranger]

Reminds me of the time when the some drunk broke into a tiger cage at a zoo and got eaten and people were wondering "why did the tigers attack him"? *facepalm* Maybe the fact that it's a *#)@ing tiger that is territorial and the guy was in there territory. I know it's a little different since they put the orcas in shows at Sea World it's still a wild animal, and until we can talk to animals we aren't going to know why it attacked people.

[Matt PNiewski]

Dark Stranger, on Mar 3 2010, 11:48 AM, said:

Reminds me of the time when the some drunk broke into a tiger cage at a zoo and got eaten and people were wondering "why did the tigers attack him"? *facepalm* Maybe the fact that it's a *#)@ing tiger that is territorial and the guy was in there territory. I know it's a little different since they put the orcas in shows at Sea World it's still a wild animal, and until we can talk to animals we aren't going to know why it attacked people.

Its different, but essentially yeah. Orcas do have different triggers than a Tiger. Thing is, this would be more comparable to the Siegfried and Roy tiger attack. I.E. animal on trainer, not an animal on some idiot who jumps into an animal cage.

When an animal attacks a trainer, it's either an accident, or we got something we should probably figure out. When somebody dives in to the whale tank, its "Well, at least he won't be doing that again any time soon"

[Krystal]

It probabley wasn't even hostile, considering humans are the size of whale toys. The whale got too excited, maybe?

[wrexness]

Neko_master_Luna, on Mar 3 2010, 10:50 AM, said:

There are good & bad points to Sea World. Yes they help people become aware of the deep sea creatures(a little too much now), help them breed, even help injured ones & so on, but they should be only viewed, not performing. The problem is when you have a creature that big, like a cat they do what comes natural, eat, defend & yes some times hormones comes into play, was this a female in heat, was this a male near a female in heat. Honestly I'm surprised they don't have this situation more often. I'm not blaming the whale for doing what comes natural to it or the trainer who was allowed work with it. I blame the officials who stand to gain a profit from turning wild sea creatures into performing arts with out a thought to safety.

I think I'd trust people who spent their entire lives working with these animals that they know what's best for the animals more than you or I do. Sea World San Diego opened in 1964. Sea World Orlando opened in 1973. Sea World San Antonio opened in 1988. How often has a trainer lost their lives? According to this article: once. In 105 combined years of operation between the parks, one death. Considering you are, in fact, dealing with wild animals, that's a damn good ratio.

Now, this particular whale has had previous issues. It seems as though he had some history of aggressive behavior before, so honestly this particular whale probably should've been released. But to claim that one incident in that much time, out of that many man-hours that have been spent with these animals, means that the whole system is flawed is jumping the gun. You might as well ban all outdoor exercise just because someone got attacked by a mugger while running one day.

[Matt PNiewski]

wrexness, on Mar 3 2010, 12:38 PM, said:

I think I'd trust people who spent their entire lives working with these animals that they know what's best for the animals more than you or I do. Sea World San Diego opened in 1964. Sea World Orlando opened in 1973. Sea World San Antonio opened in 1988. How often has a trainer lost their lives? According to this article: once. In 105 combined years of operation between the parks, one death. Considering you are, in fact, dealing with wild animals, that's a damn good ratio.

Now, this particular whale has had previous issues. It seems as though he had some history of aggressive behavior before, so honestly this particular whale probably should've been released. But to claim that one incident in that much time, out of that many man-hours that have been spent with these animals, means that the whole system is flawed is jumping the gun. You might as well ban all outdoor exercise just because someone got attacked by a mugger while running one day.

Well, yeah. One man found dead in his pool. Another person died from an attack from him and two other Orca.


Only two trainers have ever died, only a handful of attacks, and only one at a SeaWorld park. Unless I overlooked something. Yet even if I did, there are too few cases to say that this is an actual problem. I'll give Tilly the benefit of the doubt for the man who died in the tank- He probably staid in late to swim with the whales, and he died of hypothermia, not drowning. Not bites.

http://en.wikipedia....tacks_on_humans


My birds at home are very well cared for. Despite that, sometimes they don't want to play, or I take them somewhere they don't want to go (like when I bring them to the other room, where they KNOW I'm going to clip them) they will bite. More than these creatures EVER had.

Difference is, my birds can barely break skin, and when they do bite, the generally don't want to. When you are dealing with an Orca, even just a warning bite will put you in the hospital.

[sentinel28a]

According to AP, the trainer was kind of dangling her head in the water, and the whale thought her ponytail was a toy to play with. So he grabbed her and hauled her into the water. Given the psi of orca jaws, and the fact that it was said she had trauma, it might have been that the force of being pulled into the water snapped her neck or her back, incapacitating her to the point that she drowned.

Ruling: pure, freak accident. The orca wasn't psychotic, pissed off, or horny. He just wanted to play, and both human and orca made the mistake of forgetting that one of them weighs several tons.

I did read another article that dolphins (the animal, not the team) are known to be extremely aggressive and territorial. They've even been known to attempt raping human females who get in the water with them, if the male dolphin is feeling his oats. I guess when you communicate in clicks and chitters, leaping atop the female's back and pushing her into the ocean depths is the best pickup line you can muster.

I wonder, though...are dolphins who try to mate with humans considered weird by other dolphins?

Ben Da Mad Irishman
"Dude, you are such a humie!"

[wrexness]

^I think it'd be more of a positive thing. "Hey man, think you made a mermaid with her? That'd be SO sweet!"

This post has been edited by wrexness: 03 March 2010 - 07:24 PM

[Kii]

excel excel, on Mar 3 2010, 10:39 AM, said:

Im not going PETA on here but you gotta use logic here. KILLER WHALE.

Nobody sits around and says "Oh, I expect Shamu will thrash around and maul a trainer one of these days. It's inevitable".

It wasn't lack of logic, it's just surprising to see an animal made out to be a "gentle giant" destroy a trainer who has probably been working with it for a while.

It's not like the trainer was being completely careless or aggressive towards the whale, or anything. Sentinel and Matt hit it on the head.

Their proper name is "orca whale" anyways.

[Mystline]

I heard that the Killer Whale had been acting strange the morning before the trainer was killed. Apparently, the Orca had killed or injured three other people before this incident, and they're still going to keep it in show!
Goodness, just release the little guy back into the wild, he's doing more harm than good.

This post has been edited by Marikodesu: 03 March 2010 - 10:02 PM

[Kitsu-chan]

Matt PNiewski, on Mar 3 2010, 11:59 AM, said:

Its different, but essentially yeah. Orcas do have different triggers than a Tiger. Thing is, this would be more comparable to the Siegfried and Roy tiger attack. I.E. animal on trainer, not an animal on some idiot who jumps into an animal cage.

When an animal attacks a trainer, it's either an accident, or we got something we should probably figure out. When somebody dives in to the whale tank, its "Well, at least he won't be doing that again any time soon"

Actually in the case of the Siegfried and Roy tiger, it didn't even attack. It sensed that he was having a heart attack or stroke (I forgot which) & grabbed him the way it would it's young. It was honestly trying to get him to safety, atleast somewhere it thought was safe.

[kenkendazo]

Marikodesu, on Mar 3 2010, 10:01 PM, said:

I heard that the Killer Whale had been acting strange the morning before the trainer was killed. Apparently, the Orca had killed or injured three other people before this incident, and they're still going to keep it in show!
Goodness, just release the little guy back into the wild, he's doing more harm than good.

It might be too domesticated to be able to survive in the wild.

[Matt PNiewski]

Suigetsu, on Mar 4 2010, 02:33 PM, said:

It might be too domesticated to be able to survive in the wild.

Which is what happened when they freed the the Keiko, the whale that played Willy.

Some more food for thought:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=VlQ4VrHa7fU

[kenkendazo]

They could always do this... The infamous exploding whale. Warning...true exploding whale so there is content that may be hard to watch...or hilarious to watch

[Femme Fatale]

Suigetsu, on Mar 4 2010, 10:23 PM, said:

They could always do this... The infamous exploding whale. Warning...true exploding whale so there is content that may be hard to watch...or hilarious to watch

Actually saw that clip 'bout 2-3 years ago. Gross as heck but flat out hilarious .