It's very sad indeed. I feel sorry for the trainer who was killed and her family. But my sadness goes even further for the killer whale that was involved. Many people do not understand that killer whales, dolphins, or even other wild animals that are forced to perform in circuses or at other shows like Sea World is not natural for them and they will react from going insane with being captive. We don't know what it's like to be an animal and forced to perform every day for humans entertainment. The loud clapping, cheering, yelling etc. would make anyone go crazy at some point. I really really hope that they let the killer whale go to a sancturary where they can try to rehabilitate him back into the ocean. I have been to Sea World many times as a child, but after I learned how they get their animals and what the animals endure, I will never go back and I hope someday soon it will close it's doors forever. If you have not seen this documentary yet, I really recommend it. It's called "The Cove." Has anyone seen this? For those that have not seen is, here is a little info on it.
"The Oscar-nominated The Cove not only takes us to Taiji to witness for ourselves the cruelty of the annual dolphin slaughter, and expose us to the dangers of eating toxic dolphin meat, it also warns us that dolphins behave erratically when they're in captivity. Dolphins are whales. They're the diminutive cousins of Orcas.
In The Cove, Richard O'Barry, the famously repentant trainer of Flipper, the world's most famous and favorite dolphin, clearly states that conditions in any and all holding tanks are likely to drive any dolphin batty. For one thing, dolphins' extraordinarily sensitive hearing -- it enables them to locate and communicate with each other over miles and miles of open ocean -- can't process the sonar assault caused by their confinement tanks' bare and un-baffled walls. And, O'Barry points out that dolphins/whales are among the few wild species held in captivity that are forced to perform for their keep.
O'Barry tells of one dolphin who became deeply depressed and actually deliberately stopped breathing (a voluntary function for dolphins), commiting suicide in O'Barry's arms. O'Barry advocates emphatically that marine mammal displays and performances at theme parks be stopped. Knowing that's unlikely because the shows are too lucrative, he asks caring people to boycott the parks.
What does this have to do with SeaWorld?
Well, the death of veteran SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, caused by Tilikum, the captive 12,300-lb. male Orca killer whale "a type of dolphin" brings to mind O'Barry's talking points and policy position. Neither O'Barry nor The Cove's producers have commented on Brancheau's untimely death or Tilikum's questionable future, but the tragic event at SeaWorld underscores the documentary's relevance. If you haven't yet seen this remarkable film, you really must. The Cove is currently available on DVD."
