A few days ago, a trainer at Orlando's Sea World was killed by one of the orcas they use in their Shamu shows. The whale allegedly grabbed the trainer, Dawn Brancheau, by her ponytail and pulled her into the water. It is unclear whether her death was caused by drowning or by the whale's assault. There has been public outcry since the incident, with people calling for the whale's freedom...and the whale's death.
Let's look at some facts here, shall we? Orcas, in their natural habitat, prefer to hunt for their food, not be fed dead fish by human hands. "Killer whales often hunt cooperatively in pods for food. They work together to encircle and herd prey into a small area before attacking." So how fun for them to not be able to do what comes naturally for them. Orcas can also swim up to 100 miles a day. Tilikum, the whale in question, weighs 12,000 lbs and is 22 feet long. His tank is 35 feet deep. Does that sound comfortable to you? "Day-to-day behavior generally divides into four activities: foraging, traveling, resting and socializing." So they pretty much get to do one of those every day - resting.
Listen, I'm all for entertainment. I love animals, love going to the zoo and the aquarium. But when people start blaming wild animals for attacks on humans, it's going too far. Tilikum was only doing what came naturally to him. It's possible that he thought the ponytail floating in the water was a fish. It's possible he was playing with the trainer and his strength overpowered her. Or, it's possible that Tilikum was simply having a bad day and was fed up and anxious because of his surroundings. That's why they're called wild animals, people. That's why you're not allowed to have tigers or bears as pets - no matter what, you can't take away their animalistic urges.
Look at Sigfried and Roy. We all saw what happened there. Those men had raised those tigers from cubs, yet Roy was still attacked. Do I think the animal wanted to cause him harm? Probably not - but his instincts still kicked in.
Look at "Rocky the Bear," a 700 pound grizzly who has been trained to appear in films. He killed his trainer a few years back. Now, the habitat which houses Rocky is "trying to decide his fate." So because they decided to pull this bear out of his home and force him, for 5 years, to train and act, he finally lashes out and now may be killed for it?
And how about that genius, Timothy Treadwell? For 13 years, he spent the warm months in Katmai National Park in Alaska. Armed with the bare essentials, plus a video camera, Treadwell would follow and even interact with the wild grizzly bears that roam the area. He even named a few of them. The night before he was to board a helicopter out of the park at the end of his 13th season with the bears, he and his girlfriend were attacked and eaten by the very bears he called by name. What happened to the bears? Killed, immediately. Why? Because the bears were fed up with this dude following them around for 13 years?! Because they're predatory animals by nature and if you mess with their territory, they're probably going to attack you?
Please don't misunderstand me - I am not saying that any of the people I mentioned above deserved what they got. But it shouldn't be such a shock to people when these things happen. Remember Steve Irwin? His death was a tragedy, but did you see a public outcry for the execution of the sting ray that killed him? No, because Steve was in unpredictable, dangerous water at the time of his death, and knew he was putting himself at risk. He was always very realistic about how dangerous his job was - he was under no false assumptions that these animals trusted him.
That being said, I certainly don't think wild animals should go around killing off every human who mistakenly (or purposefully) stumbles upon them. But do I think the animals should be killed so that humans can go camping safely? Or so humans can watch a movie with a cute bear in it? Or so we can see a good show at an amusement park? Absolutely not.
This is interesting: I did a little research, and could not come up with any stories about killer whales in the wild being involved in human deaths. Not one. In fact, I came up with this quote instead: "There have been very few confirmed attacks on humans by wild killer whales, none of which has been fatal." So what does that tell you? That tells you that Tilikum was agitated and pushed to the breaking point. That means that, no matter how much these trainers think they have control, or have bonded with these animals, there's no telling what could happen. I say we go Free Willy on Tilikum's ass. Who's with me?
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