Whale trainer killed by whale at Sea World

[icehog3]

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Officials in Florida say a veteran 40-year-old trainer at SeaWorld was fatally injured by a whale when she slipped and fell in its tank.

SeaWorld Orlando President Dan Brown says officials are investigating but it appears to be an accident.

Orange County Fire Rescue spokesman John Mulhall said paramedics were called to the Shamu Stadium at the theme park resort where they found a worker who could not be revived.

Park guest Victoria Biniak told WKMG-TV that the trainer had just finished explaining to the audience the show they were about to see.

The whale "took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off," Biniak told the station.

"He was thrashing her around pretty good," she said. "It was violent."

The guests were asked to leave and the park was closed.

[Mugen910]

ugh..that's horrible!

[longknocker]

So Sorry To Hear This. I Guess We All Have To Realize That Whales are still "Wild Animals".

[hotreds]

http://www.amazon.com/Man-prey-James-Frederick-Clarke/dp/0812812506/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267054119&sr=8-1

[Razorhog]

Wow, what a way to go. Crazy

[14holestogie]

Wow. Saw that show a lot of years ago. Could not imagine the trauma of the people (and kids) watching. So sad.

[cort]

Terrible. We have season passes for Seaworld SD and have seen that show many many times, the death is bad enough but to think that the stadium was full of people who had to witness that is crazy.

[CigarNut]

Wow. Saw that show a lot of years ago. Could not imagine the trauma of the people (and kids) watching. So sad.We were attending a Shamu show at Sea World in San Diego (15 years ago) and our 9 year old son was invited to come down and sit on the whale... We thought it was really cool at the time.

It's amazing how much a little perspective changes things...

[G G]

Sad

[MedicCook]

My condolences to her family. Killer whales are not pets. It is just like the lion tamer who sticks his head in the lions mouth. One day that lion is going to bite.

[tenbaseg]

That's very sad.

[markem]

This is a very sad event. The local news decided that the one witness interview that they would show was a women saying how nice it was that they refunded their full purchase price.

Sometimes the local news just sux. :sad

[smitdavi]

It's hard to believe that this same whale killed someone at another location and they just sold it thinking that all it needed was a bigger tank. Was I correct in reading that it has killed 3 people in the last 20 years or so?

[Jbailey]

It's hard to believe that this same whale killed someone at another location and they just sold it thinking that all it needed was a bigger tank. Was I correct in reading that it has killed 3 people in the last 20 years or so?

I heard the same thing about the three people too.

[VirtualSmitty]

Thats' terrible. What a way to go.

[Mr.Erskine]

Wow! It's been years since I went to a Sea World, and I never would have dreamed anything like that would happen

[St. Lou Stu]

Sad, but still better than being maimed by a gay white tiger while wearing a codpiece.

[floydpink]

I have family in town and am going tommorow. This sad loss will be on my mind. I didn't tell my 5 year old as she wouldn't understand it wasn't her hero Shamu.

[Darrell]

That is really, really sad.

It's a shame to say, stuff like this does not surprise me. Whales are highly intelligent and they are used to swimming thousands of miles in the ocean. They get forced to perform and just like when a person snaps, an animal can as well.

[mosesbotbol]

Working with large animals is inherently dangerous. People are killed in all lines of work.

[akumushi]

I'm surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. Orcas are extremely intelligent predators that eat seals/sea lions, even other whales that we keep up in tiny pens and force to do circus tricks day in day out. They're not dogs, and I think that sometimes the trainers get complacent and forget that they are dealing with extremely dangerous, wild animals that could eat them in one bite. It's a shame that someone died, and certainly terrible that it happened in front of a crowd full of kids, but she ought to have been a little more careful.:2

[Bruins Fan]

What I heard on the radio this whale was not part of the show, he was brought in to breed.
One of his offspring has already killed someone.

[shilala]

This is the third person this whale has killed.
The first person was a three-way kill where three whales ganged up and killed a trainer.
The whale's second kill was a bit bizarro. You might remember hearing about it in the news about ten years ago. Some goof broke into the zoo at night and somehow ended up in the tank with the whale. In the morning the whale was swimming around the tank with the dead guy draped over it's back.
The whale has been a problem since day one. Over the years it's grabbed a lot of trainers and dragged them under and hurt lots of people. He's high strung and tantrum-prone. He shouldn't be there, and I'm hoping some heads roll. It's a senseless, irresponsible death, and she was a good girl.

[icehog3]

sometimes the trainers get complacent and forget that they are dealing with extremely dangerous, wild animals that could eat them in one bite.

Trainers are actually not allowed in the water with this particular killer whale. It actually jumped from the water and dragged the trainer off the platform by her hair, so I don't think it was a case of complacency, Clayton.

[Kreth]

No statement from PETA? I mean, if a trainer killed one whale (let alone 3) they'd be demanding a public execution. :rolleyes:
Posted via Mobile Device

[kiwi michelle]

Sad, but still better than being maimed by a gay white tiger while wearing a codpiece.

LMAO - now thats funny...........or did that actually happen.......and was it to you???:D

This is the third person this whale has killed.
The first person was a three-way kill where three whales ganged up and killed a trainer.
The whale's second kill was a bit bizarro. You might remember hearing about it in the news about ten years ago. Some goof broke into the zoo at night and somehow ended up in the tank with the whale. In the morning the whale was swimming around the tank with the dead guy draped over it's back.
The whale has been a problem since day one. Over the years it's grabbed a lot of trainers and dragged them under and hurt lots of people. He's high strung and tantrum-prone. He shouldn't be there, and I'm hoping some heads roll. It's a senseless, irresponsible death, and she was a good girl.

A whale serial killer!! We just had a Lion kill his trainer in a Lion Park over here last year. Just goes to show no matter what relationship you think you have with a wild animal.....you probably don't.

[ucla695]

My condolences to her family. Killer whales are not pets. It is just like the lion tamer who sticks his head in the lions mouth. One day that lion is going to bite.

:tpd: As unfortunate as it is, these are dangerous animals and it's in their nature to do these types of things.

[floydpink]

No statement from PETA? I mean, if a trainer killed one whale (let alone 3) they'd be demanding a public execution. :rolleyes:
Posted via Mobile Device

Imbev, a Belgian beer company, recently bought Anheiser Busch, and is rumored to be selling off the parks and sticking with what they know; beer. I am wondering how these events are affecting Sea World's parent company and would guess a statement is forthcoming.


There was a wild rumor that PETA would buy and release some animals, including the whales.

This would be a far fetched idea for sure.

My feelings are mixed about captive wild animals, but feel horrible.

In any event, the death is horrible.

[mosesbotbol]

There was a wild rumor that PETA would buy and release some animals, including the whales.

This would be a far fetched idea for sure.

My feelings are mixed about captive wild animals, but feel horrible.

In any event, the death is horrible.

At two million a whale, I do not think so. PETA is a joke and no one takes them serious. If they weren't so over the top, maybe they could have some influence rather than people doing things in spite of PETA.

PETA is like the Klan issuing a statement. Very few if any are going to take action on their words, the rest think it's a joke.