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SeaWorld
Family of Slain Whale Trainer Defers to SeaWorld
By Lisa Flam - AOL NewsThey lost their loved one to a killer whale, but relatives of trainer Dawn Brancheau have no unkind words for SeaWorld's decision to return Tilikum to performing at the popular tourist attraction in Florida last week. Brancheau, a 40-year-old trainer at SeaWorld Orlando, was killed Feb. 24, 2010, when the 6-ton whale dragged her into the water by her ponytail, tossed her violently and drowned her before a horrified crowd. Her siblings today recalled her love for the whale and said they know she'd want what's best for Tilikum, whom SeaWorld says is performing once again. Visit ...
For Tilikum, the Whale Who Killed His Trainer, the Show Goes On
By Mara Gay - AOL NewsSeaWorld Orlando put Tilikum, the killer whale who drowned a trainer last year in front of horrified crowds, back on the job today for the first time since the death. The orca, which at 6 tons is one of the largest in captivity, appeared in a performance of the park's show, "Believe," this morning. In February 2010, the whale dragged his trainer, 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau, into the water, tossed her violently in his tank and drowned her. SeaWorld Orlando said performing is an important part of the 30-year-old whale's "physical, social and mental enrichment," and it outlined a series of ...
Tilikum, the SeaWorld Killer Whale Who Killed His Trainer: Where Is He Now?
By Harry Bradford - AOL NewsTilikum momentarily grabbed the spotlight in 2010 and dominated a news cycle or two while getting 15 minutes of fame. In this series, AOL News is checking in on 25 such newsmakers and giving them a 16th minute. Matt Stroshane, Getty Images SeaWorld no longer allows its trainers to swim with killer whales. Tilikum Made News in 2010 When He: Fatally attacked animal trainer Dawn Brancheau at SeaWorld Orlando. The Full Story: On Feb. 24, an orca known as Tilikum pulled 40-year-old trainer Dawn Brancheau into his tank while she was patting him and feeding him fish. Tilikum grabbed ...
Father and Daughter Meet Mother Nature in Antarctica
By Chris Epting - AOL News
(Dec. 10) -- "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." So goes one of my favorite Mark Twain quotes, and one my 14-year-old daughter, Claire, and I applied full force recently. In August, Claire, who for two years has been a student journalist for Time for Kids magazine, heard about an essay contest. Quark Expeditions, a leading polar expedition company, had teamed up with SeaWorld to offer the ...
SeaWorld to Contest $75,000 Fine for Orca Trainer's Death
By David Knowles - AOL News(Aug. 23) -- When it comes housing killer whales in captivity, the word "safety" may be a relative term. On Monday, six months after trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by a 12,000-pound orca whale during an exhibition at SeaWorld's Orlando, Fla., theme park, officials at the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that SeaWorld was being fined $75,000 for what it called the theme park's "plain indifference" to the safety of its employees. Brancheau died after the whale, named Tilikum, grabbed her by her ponytail and pulled her underwater. OSHA ...
Kill Tilly? For the Bible Tells Us So . . .
By David Gibson - Politics DailyReactions to the tragic death of SeaWorld orca trainer Dawn Bracheau by a killer whale named Tillikum have ranged from anger at aquariums for keeping "Tilly" penned up to blaming Bracheau for wearing a pony tail that the whale mistook for a toy or food. Now a top official of the American Family Association has weighed in, arguing that according to the Bible, Tilly should have been killed the first time he was involved in the death of a human back in 1991 -- and that Scripture mandates the 12,000-pound orca must be put to death now. ...
Is Captivity for Whales and Dolphins Ethical?
By Ria Misra - Politics DailyI'm afraid my trip to SeaWorld was much less stirring than my colleague Donna Trussell's -- my most salient memory being that I thought the killer whale's flopped-over dorsal fin was creepy. Of course, I was also seven at the time, and deeply disappointed that the whale in the tank didn't look like whales in pictures. Now I know that many scientists attribute the wonky-looking fins of killer whales in captivity to the same problem Donna identified: big animal, small tank. But, beyond physical challenges, orcas in captivity can have mental and emotional ones as well. The name 'killer whale' ...
A Death at Sea World, and What It Means
By Donna Trussell - Politics DailyI remember Sea World trainer Dawn Brancheau. Years ago I saw her perform with the killer whales she loved. On Wednesday one of them, a large male named Tilikum, killed her. A seven-minute tourist video shows Brancheau interacting with the whale up until just seconds before the attack. An autopsy revealed Brancheau died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning. When I heard the trainer had wanted to work with Shamu since her first trip to Sea World at the age of 9, I realized I'd heard that story before. Brancheau was the woman I'd made my way downstage to see after the show. ...
SeaWorld's Killer Whale Shows Will Go On
By Carl Franzen - AOL News(Feb. 26)--SeaWorld will resume its public killer whale performances on Saturday, just three days after they were suspended due to a fatal whale attack on a trainer in front of a live audience at the Orlando park. But the company will not be allowing trainers at any of its three U.S. locations into the water with those animals, pending the results of multiple investigations into Wednesday's deadly incident, SeaWorld President Jim Atchison announced. "We will only resume in-water interactions with our killer whales after the review is complete and we have implemented any changes in procedure ...
Opinion: SeaWorld Death Sparks Orca-Sized Debate
By not in system - AOL News(Feb. 25) -- The death of a SeaWorld trainer by a killer whale has sparked a debate not only about what do with Tilikum, but about captive whales generally -- with most weighing in in favor of freedom. A BBC dispatch, for example, quotes two experts arguing for freedom: "They are highly social animals that tend to live in cohesive groups, so it's quite an artificial environment to capture them and put them in a small area," says Dr. Andrew Foote, an expert on wild orcas from the University of Aberdeen, U.K. "The tragic events are a reminder that orcas are wild, strong and often ...
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