Shamu trainer killed

[Symphony]

Am a bit freaked out.

Dawn Brancheau was an orca trainer at Seaworld Florida for 16 years, and today, whilst doing a 'Believe' show with one of the whales, she was pulled into the tank, and thrashed about by the whale - and ultimately died.

Why am I freaked? Aside from it being the tragedy it is, I watched this woman do the show just over a week ago. Scary to think about.

RIP Dawn Brancheau.

[Lesley Bee]

I just saw this on the news, very sad indeed

[DinerLandlord]

The clue is in the name - Killer whale. They shouldn't be kept captive and forced to perform. I feel bad for her family, but I'm not surprised the poor whale went nuts and killed her.

[-Kevin-]

Wow, that is shocking!!

But then again not so shocking, like DinerLandLord said whales weren't intended to be treated like this , they belong living in the wild where they shouldn't have to come into human contact. Maybe people might learn a lesson for this - NO animal is completely safe!!! I would not ever trust any animal, because they can snap and attack you at any second.

I bet the poor woman didn't even see it coming because I would think she has every faith in the whales she works with and would leave her life in their hands after 16 years of experience!

and yes DinerLandLord Killer whales are killer whales and that should not be forgotten! Sadly though I think they will continue to treat these whales like friendly show animals but at the end of the day they are capable of anything - just like humans.

[Barbara]

I've read that that same whale had already been responsible for the deaths of two other people. Why on earth would they still let people work with it so closely and in front of an audience? I'm sure having an audience has to be stressful for those animals or any other animals for that matter. Imagine how the children in the audience must feel/have felt.

My prayers go to her family and friends.

[I love music]

I've read that that same whale had already been responsible for the deaths of two other people. Why on earth would they still let people work with it so closely and in front of an audience? I'm sure having an audience has to be stressful for those animals or any other animals for that matter. Imagine how the children in the audience must feel/have felt.

My prayers go to her family and friends.

That's what I thought. Why couldn't they have just put it back in the ocean after the first death?

[Mez83]

I've read that that same whale had already been responsible for the deaths of two other people. Why on earth would they still let people work with it so closely and in front of an audience? I'm sure having an audience has to be stressful for those animals or any other animals for that matter. Imagine how the children in the audience must feel/have felt.

My prayers go to her family and friends.

That's what I thought. Why couldn't they have just put it back in the ocean after the first death?

If something has been raised in captivity, which I believe this one has been, it's not quite that simple. It would almost be like putting a human child out in the open and saying "There you go. You know the basics, fend for yourself"

I believe the people who work with these animals should be aware of the risks involve and they most probably know there is a chance they could be injured/killed.

[HAA Girl 08]

Poor girl. It's freaky how an animal who she has been working with for a long time can just turn on her.

[Symphony]

She was indeed aware of the risks; in fact I saw an interview where her sister said something to the tune of [not a direct quote] "Dawn loved those whales; they were like her children. She died doing something she absolutely loved; it was her life - and not many people can say that."

They're actually called killer whales because they're at the top of the food chain in the ocean not because they eat humans or anything, and, as results are now showing, Dawn was actually apparently in the middle of a session involving toys and treats with him - and he caught her pigtail, thinking it was for him, and that was how she was pulled into the water.

I didn't mean for this thread to become an attack on whales, or Sea World for that matter, and I'm a little saddened that people are jumping to conclusions and assuming that whales are dangerous / shouldn't be kept in captivity / it's their own faults etc etc etc.

Anyone who has seen Believe, or any of the other Orca shows would, I have no doubt, agree with me that the show is something magical and special; and that the whales & trainers do indeed seem to have very special relationships.

Also this whale in particular, yes, back in 1991 was responsible for <b>one</b> other death. Not two The second was the fault of the ridiculous human who stayed in Sea World, hidden and then climbed into the whale tank after hours - as you do.

I was expecting people to respond with empathy rather than anger and judgement

[-Kevin-]

She was indeed aware of the risks; in fact I saw an interview where her sister said something to the tune of [not a direct quote] "Dawn loved those whales; they were like her children. She died doing something she absolutely loved; it was her life - and not many people can say that."

They're actually called killer whales because they're at the top of the food chain in the ocean not because they eat humans or anything, and, as results are now showing, Dawn was actually apparently in the middle of a session involving toys and treats with him - and he caught her pigtail, thinking it was for him, and that was how she was pulled into the water.

I didn't mean for this thread to become an attack on whales, or Sea World for that matter, and I'm a little saddened that people are jumping to conclusions and assuming that whales are dangerous / shouldn't be kept in captivity / it's their own faults etc etc etc.

Anyone who has seen Believe, or any of the other Orca shows would, I have no doubt, agree with me that the show is something magical and special; and that the whales & trainers do indeed seem to have very special relationships.

Also this whale in particular, yes, back in 1991 was responsible for <b>one</b> other death. Not two The second was the fault of the ridiculous human who stayed in Sea World, hidden and then climbed into the whale tank after hours - as you do.

I was expecting people to respond with empathy rather than anger and judgement

I was only saying that whales , like most other animals in the world cant be trusted!

Any animal can snap and kill a person , just as easy as a human being can kill another.

If whales were intended to be show animals/money schemes then I'm sure they would have been born/created in water tanks and not in the sea where thet belong.

and I am sure that Dawn knew the dangers of her job/pastime but clearly she became a victim of her own hobby which was responsible for her death.