Tilikum the estimated 36-year-old Orca, died early Friday morning. Most Killer Whales live 50-80 years in the wild! Tilikum was suffering from serious health issues, including a rare resistant strain of a bacterial lung infection. In March of 2016, SeaWorld announced that Tilly’s health was deteriorating, but then in May he was said to be doing much better. A specific cause of death is still unknown at this time.
Tilikum was born off of the coast Iceland, after the capture of this beautiful creature, he was taken to Sealand of the Pacific, in Canada. In 1991, Tilikum killed his first victim, one of three. A Marine Biology student by the name Keltie Byrne at Sealand slipped into the pool, where Tilikum and two other female Orcas were being held… Together all three of them killed that trainer by submerging her under the water. Later the next year, Sealand closed its doors, and sold its remaining Orcas to SeaWorld Orlando. Sealand of the Pacific held 11 Orcas total in their time being opened, most of them have died or been shipped to another Seaworld. Tilly’s next victim was a man who was trespassing on SeaWorld property in 1999.
His name was Daniel P. Dukes. Dukes had fallen into the breeding tank where Tilly was kept, the next morning they found the man draped over Tilikum with contusions and lacerations all over his body. His last victim was Dawn Brancheau, a well-known trainer at Seaworld Orlando. In 2010 I took a trip to see Dawn and Tilikum perform together… I was 12 years old at the time and had no real opinion on how wrong it was that they kept these massive animals in captivity. I was there, a week before Tilikum killed Dawn. While in front of a live audience at Shamu Stadium, Tilikum mangled Dawn, he broke her jaw, fractured her vertebrae, and dislocated one of her knees, and an elbow. It was said that part of her scalp was torn off of her head. Having a past like Tilikum, wouldn’t you think that there would be more precautions around this animal? After all, they are called Killer Whales for a reason... After the death of Brancheau, they took Tilikum out of shows and now one was allowed to do “water work” with him. SeaWorld has said that the trainers use a method called “Positive Reinforcement”... “meaning that a good behavior is rewarded with fish, rubdowns (massages), attention, toys, ice, or even jello…”
These wild animals are used to being in the wide open ocean not being held in tanks, having to hunt for their food for their survival… not go splash the crowd and come back and you can have a fish. At SeaWorld Orlando, where Tilly was held for most of his life, the current “show pool” is 36 feet deep, 190 feet long and 90 feet wide. There are two tanks behind the “show pool” that are both 70 feet in length and 25 feet deep. There is also a “shading tank” that is 20 feet deep and 100 feet in length. The “medical tank” is 20 feet deep. There is also a “close up tank” that has an underwater viewing area that is 36 feet deep, 220 feet long and 70 feet wide. Tilikum weighed a whopping 12,500 pounds, he himself was 22.5 feet long… Do you think that the size of those tanks is fitting for an animal that should be swimming in the open ocean? I sure don’t because when these whales are in the wild the swim up to 100 miles at a time.
Tilikum was being held in a tank Tilikum sired 21 calves, and only 10 are still alive today. It is said that a female Orca will bear a calf every 5 years, yes I know Tilikum is a male, but more than half of his babies are dead and quite a few of them were stillborn… most likely due to over breeding. Another issue that has come to surface is Killer Whales' Dorsal Fins. If you look at what they are supposed to look like… i.e. standing straight up, and then you look at the whales who have been held in captivity, i.e. collapsed and flopped over to one side… You have to know that something isn’t right!
Tilikum was the whale that was featured in the film "Blackfish." Blackfish is a very accurate and true representation that these whales should not be living in captivity. If you would like more information on the treatment of these magnificent creatures, and how they are being treated I recommend that you watch the film. There is so much information out there, and these places are still open to the public and people are still buying tickets. Help make more people aware of all of these negative things that are going wrong around SeaWorld! Help shut SeaWorld down!! I’ve linked petitions you can sign, you can protest, there are so many options to help your voice be heard! May Tilikum rest in peace and be swimming free in the open ocean again!
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/petition-to-close...
