25Feb/10Off
SeaWorld Trainer Killed by Killer Whale
My condolences to Dawn Brancheau’s family and friends. She didn’t deserve to die, doing her job. But I have to say it rankles me to read articles wondering if her death was “an accident.” Um, it is a KILLER WHALE. Held in captivity and made to do tricks in a tank that is way too small. A killer whale with a history of violence. Why do we act so shocked and surprised and vow to “ensure this doesn’t happen again?” Last weekend in Atlanta, there was a fricking ZEBRA running on the highway because it escaped from the circus.
I mean, really. Animals aren’t for us to dress up and force to do tricks. Duh, they’re for EATING.
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February 25th, 2010 - 10:30
Being on top of the food chain will never be enough as long as humans forget that we were not meand to interact with species from the wild. It reminds me of the recent death of Steve Irwin, playing around with a sea ray, perhaps playing with it, that brought on his demise.
I am very sorry for the trainor and her family, but was this an accident in the making?
February 25th, 2010 - 10:35
Well, that was kind of my point. Yes.
February 25th, 2010 - 12:00
The whole thing makes me very sad; for the woman who was killed, her family, the people who witnessed it and most of all, the lonely whales. I feel so torn over the idea of zoos; I love visiting them because I get to see beautiful, amazing animals up close I would probably never see otherwise, but I know that they are not where they should be if this was a better world. I go with the hope that the animals are at least treated incredibly well but of course nothing comes close to an animal being happy and free.
In this case, who knows what happened – it could be that the killer whale was just playing around and it resulted in the woman’s death. Or, he was acting out because of his daily confinements/routine. Whatever the case, it was neither the woman’s fault nor that of the animal :(
February 25th, 2010 - 12:16
Agreed.
February 25th, 2010 - 12:59
I know this is a serious issue and I agree with what is expressed above, but I just have to say that the “Duh, they’re for EATING” ending totally cracked me up.
February 25th, 2010 - 15:55
Mmmmmmm, killer whale.
February 26th, 2010 - 11:44
Totally inappropriate, but at our gym the kids get stickers as they check out of child care—Barbie, Dora, Care Bears, etc…
Yesterday Echo’s little buddy Josie got a sticker of two killer whales leaping out of the water. Her mother and I couldn’t help ourselves to a slew of fantasies about taking Echo’s Barbie sticker and putting it in the whale’s mouth. Drop one on our bad karma bucket.
February 26th, 2010 - 12:12
Drop one in mine, too, because I laughed.
February 26th, 2010 - 14:24
So sad. What a tragic accident. Should wild animals be in captivity for entertainment/ educational purposes? No wonder this horrific story is a Trending Topic for so many days http://bit.ly/cpLQRI
February 26th, 2010 - 15:25
Every time some charismatic megafauna goes berserk and kills the humans making it perform tricks, I frankly cheer a little inside (tragedy about Dawn, agreed). I’d say it isn’t that we weren’t meant to interact with wild animals, but that we consistently see ourselves as separate from the natural world–those rules don’t apply to us, we’re at the top of the food chain, we’re civilized, we’re “smarter,” and so forth. Hazardous thought process… Tillikulum, or whatever name we gave the whale (I’ve been trying to riff on great insurrectionists for a new name, but am apparently not creative at all. Best I came up with was Narwhal Turner? I suck, but that’s another story) , was striking a blow for whale power–seems to me he was rejecting imprisonment and torture–good for him, even if he didn’t link that resistance (as far as we know) to some loftier goal (Pan-Whalism?). Is there a finned version of the black power raised fist? Oh, yes, grabbing and shaking the captor violently… Killer whales in the wild speak over distances up to ten miles, and they course over vast swaths of ocean, and they live in rather complex social groups. We keep them in a fish tank and expect them not to suffer? I hate these Sea World-type places… not really about conservation or education, unless the lesson is “these whales are here for our entertainment and amusement.” That said, I bet they taste delicious.
February 26th, 2010 - 15:47
Love ya, Kirt.
March 2nd, 2010 - 11:36
Hey, sorry to abuse your site–just had to rant about one of my cranky pet peeves that I usually silently endure or mutter about while doing yardwork–at least I wasn’t going on for hours and hours about the misuse and abuse of the term “hero.”
March 2nd, 2010 - 12:14
:))