SeaWorld killer whale linked to two more deaths

Tragedy: Dawn Brancheau was one of the park's most experienced trainers
Paul Thompson12 April 2012

The killer whale that shook its trainer to death has been linked with two other deaths, it emerged today.

Dawn Brancheau, 40, was grabbed by the five-ton male Orca called Tilly as she stood over his pool at the SeaWorld theme park in Orlando, Florida.

Tourists watched as she was dragged under water and violently shaken while gripped by her arm.

As SeaWorld officials decided Tilly's fate, questions were asked over two previous deaths, including a trainer in 1991 when the Orca was at Sealand in British Columbia, Canada.



In 1999 a homeless man who had sneaked into SeaWorld was found lying across his back. He is thought to have drowned but was covered with bite marks from Tilly.

There were conflicting reports as to how Ms Brancheau, who was married with no children, ended up in the 35ft tank with the whale.

A park spokesman insisted she had slipped and drowned, a claim backed up local police. But Brazilian tourist Joao Lucio DeCosta Sobrinho, 28, and girlfriend Talita Oliveira, 20, saw the whale with someone in its mouth.

"It was terrible. It's very difficult to see the image," Mr Sobrinho said. He added that Ms Brancheau was bleeding from the face as the whale turned her over and over.

Eldon Skaggs, 72, said Ms Brancheau was massaging Tilly. Then, he said, the whale "pulled her under and started swimming around with her".

Former staff said Tilly's unpredictable temperament meant that trainers did not go in the water with him.

Steve McCulloch, of the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program at Florida Atlantic University, said the whale may have been playing when it grabbed Ms Brancheau but it was too early to tell.

"These are very large powerful marine mammals," he said. They exhibit this type of behaviour in the wild. Nobody cares more about the animal than the trainer. It's just hard to fathom that this has happened."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in