Orca kills trainer at SeaWorld Orlando

Well, "killer whale" is rather a misnomer, since they're actually dolphins, not whales.

And just like every other animal of every single species (including, unfortunately, the human species), they kill, albeit for food only.

No, let's not exploit ANY sentient beings. Why "replace" dolphins with sharks?! It's the same thing, really.

*I'm not just saying that because my name is Cove*

I don't believe that.

???????????????
What, why not?

See the movie, then you'll understand. It's very powerful.

Yeah, his comments to the media have been crazy. Last night on CNN he stressed that most of the orcas at seaworld are captive bred. An interesting point to make when the orca involved was captured from the wild off the coast of Iceland.

orcas are dolphins, not 'whales'.

Whoops. Many thanks for the clarification!

you know they usually switch out the whales ???

I second that!!

and again!

this orca is not one of the performing orcas and trainers generally do not go in the water with him. They use him for breeding. He has fathered the vast majority of their captivity bred orcas and I read that he is currently their only breeding male.

NO! It shows that they should be locked up! This is first-degree murder. Lock em up and throw away the key!

ha, doesn't look like anyone agrees with you.

apparently the size of the whales enclosure is equivalent to that of a bathtub compared to their habitat in the wild, its not wonder the whale gets angry at being locked up in isolation.

Voted up!

They keep him because he is invaluable to Seaworld. He is the father of most of SW's captive-born orcas.

So Humans are expendable compared to an Orca stud. Glad Sea World has their priorities in order.

You want to set a serial-killer free? Freakin' libs!! Someone doesn't even need to slap a dread-lock wig on a orca: you leftists are ready to liberate murderers...

No, this killa should be tried before a jury of his peers, I say. Justice needs to be served/

As far as a motive, one of the visitors to Sea World said the orca emitted a high-pitched shriek right before it attacked his trainer; apparently it sounded eerily similar to the word, "IRS"....

That's right... humans are expendable...

Uh, how do you know this, exactly? That's a heavy dose of anthropomorphism you've delivered there....

That has done more than one youg lady in. I had to get my dog fixed because when My wife started her cycle he would just sit in front of her an drool. I did not want to have to fight a sixty pound Pit-Bull every time I go to bed.

that's pretty sick..humans have the ill capacity to be sexually attracted to animals, and animals to humans.....

Thank You:-} But even a couple of trainers and two other breeders told me the same thing. Dogs and OTHER animals will pick up the scent AND hormones of a woman that are starting their menstrual cycle deer have been known to attack women that were on their menstrual cycle. But don't take my word for it you are more than welcome to Google it yourself

This is simply not true. Herbivores are repelled by blood, including deer. This includes but is not limited to menstrual blood -- meaning blood from a male is just as repugnant.

Not during the rut.

What are you talking about?

Studies have shown that deer are repelled by blood, be it menses or other.

your children will go far.

Kind of a catch-22, as they and marine mammals were verging on extinction before people started becoming educated about them and their plight (even that video below shows how the young lady was first exposed to orcas at Sea World). These animals serve as ambassadors, serving an opportunity for your dunder-headed neighbors to learn of them (and no, they're not pets). Most people are NOT book-learners, and need to see it for themselves: this is another aspect of the general dummying down of America.

Fact is, peepol (sic) are dangerous idiots: their brains can only handle so much hard info about the truths and ugly reality of life in the seas as a wild animal, and possess the attention span of gnats: hence the environmental message has to be watered down.

But the fact is, our species presents a more serious threat to their species than they do to us: we can easily wipe out orcas without even intending to do so, by unintentionally destroying their eco-systems (incl. food-chain).

But the fact is, animals don't play by OUR rules, and will always retain their basic instincts, no matter how many cute tricks they learn: they don't call them "killer" whales for nothing... KILLA!

The thing is, this women who died was an experienced trainer (no doubt a marine biologist), and knew the risks of this outcome full well. In fact, I dare say she would've done exactly the same thing she did, as she knew risks and respected the animals enough to want to be close. Sad in a way, as even trainers get seduced on some level of believing they're building a relationship with the animals they respect.

IMO, there's nothing wrong with dying while doing what you love doing. Some people live their entire lives, and never finding anything that fuels their passions or floats their boat....

I wonder what Orca taste like?

I swear to you, your responses (everywhere) are oftentimes so schizophrenic. Once in a while, I get so pleased at what I think is your thoughtfulness, your seeming kindness,.and then you write sadistic crap such as this. Why do you behave this way? I've so often given you the benefit of the doubt, but when you deliberately try to antagonize someone.... well, I may or may not change my opinions (hopes) of you.

How do you think I feel ? I have to live with myself.

Yep thats what I'm thinking. maybe with some teriyaki sause.

Hey that looks pretty good. It would look better dipped in a beer batter an deep fried AHA HA HA just kidding. I have yet to eat sushi or sashimi I kind of like my fish cooked some how. I do make a real good ceviche though.

in regards to EV comment about,

Every forum thrives on consensus and conformism. you didn't seriously think that you could have a different opinion and get away with it did you?

regarding brain size and folds and orca's being any where near comparable to human intelligence...
general comments:
(i) if they're in captivity, who is smarter?
(ii) brain size has proven to have nothing to do with intelligence
(iii) only in primates has it been observed that humans share similar locational aspects of the brain (i.e. reading, visualization, face recognition) - what orca brain folds "do" probably have nothing to do with what ours do - the locations and control centers will hugely differ

i'm not against you on a captivity standpoint, but let's be serious about what these things really are: animals not living in their natural environment. that's all it is. to make this argument against orca captivity is to make it too specific and unrealistic. it's either all animals can't be captive or all animals can. there's nothing that separates the orca from the bear from the lion from the giraffe from the turtle from the......

ALL animals CAN'T be held captive.

As an ethical vegan, that's what I believe with all my heart, and that's what I help to practice. I report on the exploitation of ALL living beings.

The article was not written by me, either.

Umm yes ?

Actually, there are some things unique to orcas which make captivity more stressful for and dangerous for them. Their life expectancy in captivity is far shorter.

First, orcas in the wild remain with their mothers for life. Each family can consist of several generations but all organized by matriline. They socialize with other family groups and mate during these interactions, but always return to their matriline group. This is not true in captivity.

Second, each family group has it's own unique dialect of calls to communicate with each other. In fact you can tell how closely some family groups are to each other genetically by how different or similar the dialects. In captivity you have Icelandic orcas, British Columbia orcas, etc all mixed together.

Third, orcas are intelligent. We don't know the full extent, but I'm not talking about brain size. Both orcas and bottlenose dolphins, which are closely related, have features of their brains that are only found in primates.

There are lots of other reasons, but they all come down to the fact that it's impossible to replicate their natural environment or social structure or family bonds in captivity.

The Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society has a great report on this topic. If you google Orca Dying to Entertain You, you'll get the link. Sorry, I don't have it handy and am typing this on my iPhone.

Voted UP!

Voted UP

she called me a bi polar the other day, i just think forum mentality is very funny, especially in political forums. I'm sure you already knew this, i just found the time frame of EV's comments too funny.

Beautifully stated, and thank you for that, Jeff.

I've never before quoted from Wikipedia, but I'm a bit in a hurry to rescue some animals this afternoon, so this may do for now...

"The killer whale (Orcinus orca), commonly referred to as the orca and, less commonly, blackfish, is the largest species of the dolphin family. They are found in all of the world's oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas. Killer whales as a species have a diverse diet, although populations often specialize in particular types of prey. Some feed exclusively on fish, particularly salmon, and other populations hunt marine mammals such as sea lions, seals, walruses and even large whales. Killer whales are regarded as an apex predator as they have no natural predators.

"There are up to five distinct killer whale types distinguished by geographical range, preferred prey items and physical appearance. Some of these may be separate races, subspecies or even species. Killer whales are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups which are the most stable of any animal species.[3] The sophisticated social and vocal behaviour of killer whales have been described as manifestations of culture.

"The IUCN currently assesses the conservation status of the killer whale as data deficient because of the likelihood that one or more killer whale types could actually be a separate species in need of protection. Some local populations are considered threatened or endangered due to depletion of prey species, habitat loss, pollution by PCBs, historic capture for marine mammal parks, and conflicts with fisheries. In late 2005, the killer whales known as the "southern resident killer whales" were placed on the U.S. Endangered Species list.

"Wild killer whales are not considered a threat to humans,[4] although there have been cases of captive killer whales attacking their handlers at marine theme parks. The killer whale features strongly in the mythologies of indigenous cultures. In Western cultures, it has had a reputation for being a fearsome predator, but in recent decades better understanding has led to widespread appreciation of the species."

Do you think that people don't swim with Orca's in the wild may have a little to do with it. I mean even the crazies out in the world stay away from them. I have never seen video of divers swimming with Orca's If you find one please post it I would really like to see it.

This one is really good: http://bit.ly/c1vIZB

I have never seen any thing like it. So people do swim with them thats nice.

both no doubt. trainer had it coming. you don't put your life into the hands of an animal nearly as smart as you and physically capable of so much more XD

Well you can if you don't care about your life. I prefere to see my fish on a plate with a little lemon and peco de gayo

I heard on the news this evening that this is the third fatality from this same Orca... so I would say that its days as a "captivating show act" may well be over.