Witness: 'Whales Were Not Cooperating'

[@lindavirgilio8464]

Tillikum was a complex creature with a tragic life and history. I believe Dawn thought she had a ‘relationship’ with Tillikum. He was always a wild creature. She underestimated him.

[@tessdurberville711]

We believe that about human beings, that we think that we know too, and then we find out that we were wrong.

[@missJolie85]

They probably DID have a relationship. Orcas are highly intelligent. Orca and human brains have similar features that give them high-functioning abilities like empathy. Orcas also have very wrinkly brains, which enables them to think and process information quickly. They also exhibit complex social structures, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities. He certainly knew who she was and orcas can and do build 1:1 relationships with humans. With that said, they also can snap As you wrote, he had a very tragic life and history. I mean even a human being could have snapped with trauma like that. Others trainers have said that Tillkum when he finally calmed down after the incident, didn't move for hours and was in daze. Probably wondering what just happened.

[@MissJersey19]

Why is everyone always surprised when a wild animal acts wild... I feel bad horrible for what happened to Dawn but they don't call it a Killer whale for nothing. Put them back in the ocean where they are supposed to be. Them pools are just a bathtub to them. I would go crazy too.

[@margui6224]

These whales belong in their habitat: the ocean. Not in concrete tanks. It was horrific was happened to that girl, but I won't blame Tilly for what he did. He died last week and he is free from all that suffering.

[@willianramos5650]

YES YES

[@Danishplayer2023]

Margui622 i agree.👌👍

[@aal161]

Yhu Betta have dat same energy for Zoos!!!

[@laprincessa328]

"whales are not cooperating" hmmm reallly "not cooperating" not surprised this happened at all ...sad for the trainer but come on really .... let a wild animal be just that , "WILD "

[@horse-lover68]

👍👍 Thank you!!! People saw this and are still going to Seaworld. Thats insane. With you Paying fot the cards, you Help them and this will Happen again. Let These whales free

[@valmacclinchy]

@@horse-lover68 I recently watched the documentary Blackfish, and it was so eye-opening. SeaWorld is responsible for Dawn's death. Whales belong in the wild, not cement tanks.. RIP Dawn and Tilly

[@JohnJones-cg2xm]

A lot of people say these whales wouldn't survive in the wild. I'm not so sure of that. If they were captured from the wild, I'm sure they would remember how to hunt and eat. They are some of the smartest predators in the wild. Even if they did die in the wild, better to die in the wild than to live a shitty life coupled up in tiny little tanks, playing around with idiot "trainers" I'm an animal lover too, but not stupid enough to think I can tame a dangerous animal like a whale.

[@xyzsame4081]

Actually the orcas that were kept captive for so long couldn't survive in the wild. They improved the conditions for the orca that starred in Free Willy. He was kept by a park in water that was too warm, the basin of course way too small, etc.. A charity moved him, he got a basin alone (so no orca company not sure if he would have been social enough for that),. It was in another region the water was cold enough (I think it was connected to the ocean, he had fresh ocean water) and he had more space. Not nearly enough of course, but it was better. He started eating a lot and gained weight and grew into his natural size, and showed some playful behavior. So he obviously did better. Sadly he got an infection and died of it a few years later. They do not know to hunt (they take almost as long as human kids to grow up, they learn a lot from their INTACT family). And they are more vulnerable to infections and diseases. Some may come from the bad conditions of captivity, or they miss out on immunity boosts when growing up naturally. I could imagine that they try to fence off a bay and create a sanctuary for retired orcas (one that is shallow that they cannot escape by diving deep. They needed to get food. And then there is the problem of traumatized animals that never learned proper social behavior and may not get along well. Tilikum was kidnapped at age 2. (I think some members of his pod were killed when they captured him, they could sell the calves at a good price so there was an incentive to do that). As toddler he had the company of two females, who did not accept him (not a family member) and were also traumatized and highly frustrated by their imprisonment. So they mobbed him. Tilikum might not have been safe to be around for other whales: males which he might have considered competition or weaker females or calves.

[@JohnJones-cg2xm]

They need to close the whale show down. One death is too many. They are wild animals.

[@valmacclinchy]

There were other deaths before Dawn, but SeaWorld didn't tell Dawn about them. Whales belong in the wild. RIP Dawn and Tilly

[@Brucev7]

Not the 1st one

[@Buba417]

I can’t imagine myself having “fun” watching those magnificent wild and powerful creatures performing tricks to “entertain” the viewers. That’s simply not right.

[@fionafinch348]

And whales have sensitive hearing & they blast music & the PA system during these shows.

[@jabbarmuhammad7243]

That's reason why orcas should never be in captivity

[@SherrySaundersNC]

Yea...They punish Tilikum..for 13 months, and not let him back into a show - so kept him back in a smaller pool -- boy I am sure that really helped him alot.

[@phibiepop6228]

Sherry, you're Wright, I'm shocked about the woman who seems to be not very sad, for dawn and POOR TILI too, he had a really poor misery life, boycott SeaWorld

[@adri2889]

Of course its sad Dawn's dead but you have to admit if places like Sea World didnt exist this accidents wouldnt happened... Is not fault of the whale but ours for put in a tiny pool these beatiful animals

[@tlk2348]

I hope this lady takes her kids somewhere else. Seaworld is not a friend to these animals. It's all about the almighty dollar. These wild animals deserve so much better. Whales should be in the wild with their families, not splashing for people's entertainment.

[@xyzsame4081]

"We are regular visitors of Sea World in Orlando where we have a family home" - in other words ENABLERS of cruelty against animals which resulted in the death of humans (Tilikum killed a student in 1991 with 2 other whales after she had fallen into the basin, killed a homeless man that likely tried to interact with the orca in the night, and he attacked Dawn Brancheau in 2010. I they had a home in Vermont and could fly down to florida they are doing well, so maybe these affluent citizens could find other activities for their children. I am sure they would love to interact with goats, or volunteer at a dog shelter or whatever. Dawn may have been under the illusion that she "loved" the whale. Well, he for sure did not love the accomplice of his solitary confinement and enslavement back. Yes, it is sad that Dawn died (and she might have become a wonderful horse or dog trainer). But she (and those visitors) had a choice, the orcas and dolphins in the show do not have a choice.

[@tessdurberville711]

A dog or a horse trainer? How is that different from being an orca trainer?

[@tessdurberville711]

@Fortescue I have witnessed (and reported) far more upsetting conditions for animals in so-called "rescues" and "sanctuaries" than I ever have at aquariums and racetracks.

[@blancosfamilyfarm1798]

First thing i thought to when I heard regular visitors to SeaWorld was " a full supporter of this ridiculousness"

[@chairde]

We really should close down these water circuses. It doesn't matter if they use whales, dolphins or seals.

[@thisIsFun123-f3c]

Listen carefully to what she said at 1:55: "he just took off really fast, came back around, bobbed up in the water, AND THEN had somebody in his mouth." That means he didn't attack Dawn until a few moments after she was in the water with him. So there was a delay. Dawn was not attacked when she was on the slide out. In Blackfish, they said he grabbed her arm while she was on the slide out, and took her down, implying she was attacked right then. Blackfish is wrong. This was not aggression because of captivity. He accidentally had her ponytail tangled in his teeth and unintentionally pulled it along with her in the water, then had momentarily let the pony tail go. Once he realized she was in the water with him, that's when the "attack" (although it was actually 'play') started because he was not trained to have people in the water with him.

[@Leon612]

I'm never sad when animals like this attack and kill. They should be living in gods blue oceans, not some over sized swimming pool!

[@entonybyrd6863]

You are ridiculous.

[@jimmart32]

SEA WORLD loves your dollars too!

[@susansmith4784]

This woman maintains that she attended the '12.30 show' and that this show was cut short as the orcas 'werent cooperating', Tillikum not being part of that show at all. CBS news reports that Dawn was attacked by Tillikum at 2pm that day, one and a half hours after this woman saw the earlier 12.30 show. So how did this woman supposedly 'see' anything IN the water of that pool? She would have left the pool area after the earlier 12.30 show and be completely outside the pool area at 2pm wouldn't she? CBS News also reported that there were 100 diners watching Dawn with Tillikum at the time she was attacked and a video shows that they were arranging to leave the pool at 2pm when Dawn was attacked. So how did this woman, or her kids, see anything???

[@raquelvlogzz1183]

THESE WHALES ARE NOTHING TO BE PLAYING WITH.FREE THEMM!!

[@deepviolet7982]

@2 min. "OK, we're ready to go"...and then he took off. Does this raise any red flags for anyone?

[@bnzimusa]

She doesnt seem sad.

[@HectorJW2007]

Memo from Whale: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

[@ayemaya75]

@falshami I totally agree with migsly : There are other ways that are compassionate, respectful and empathetic to "educate" the public and to raise awareness rather than to teach them to "snatch animals out of the wild and put them in small containers and make them do tricks to entertain people". Let's start teaching these values: compassion, respect and empathy, beginning with our treatment of animals.

[@z018246]

No witness ever details what happened.

[@backward9]

i wish they would release the video. i wanna see that

[@youcouldvebeengettingdownt5620]

Imagine if humans are the ones ‘cooperating,’ the world would be a better place.

[@chessenpender8214]

She shouldn't of been in the water think of the people watching and the kids FREE THE WHALES screw sea world

[@bnzimusa]

Sounds fake the way shes talking about it. Another victim said he pushed her with his nose not in his mouth

[@29tenshi]

Don't buy a ticket

[@FearOfTheFlesh]

"You really are biased towards our species, huh." I have to be...how else can I justify all the animal dissections I did in undergrad, and going to med school where aside from Cadavers, tissue/organs is often harvested from animals for study preliminary study purposes especially for drugs. I'd go crazy otherwise and not be able to function in normal society if I think of animal cruelty, rights, and freedom in my field.

[@HectorJW2007]

Memo from PETA: TRAINER GOT PWNED

[@FearOfTheFlesh]

I am in med school. My point was simple albeit exaggerated by that comment...you obviously have never seen KZbin comments to understand how they work. People dont extenuate their points in KZbin, they dress them up with frills and back them up with ridiculous outlandish points, to bring out the trolls like yourself to ultimately get them banned from this site. You could've been mature and explained what I typed was wrong but you instead took the low-blow approach that I expected.

[@bellathebestautisticgirl247]

Blackfish 😤😤😤😤😤😤

[@mrzlover1]

@FoOLuVaShAwTy34 It is kinda sad when you're trying to stand up for something you believe and you misspell every word. It does not make me want to believe you.

[@ashley-cz1sl]

Totally agree with you the whales will not survive on there own in the wild at least Sea World CEO's and stuff can take a pay cut and enlarge the tanks and allow the animals to have more room and provide them with some stimulation they would get in the wild

[@karenkramer3760]

CEO's have to get their millions. Nevermind the good of anybody else or any animal

[@dollycau9099]

Balene libere nell oceano!!🐳💖

[@thisIsFun123-f3c]

SeaWorld has tried to expand their tanks, but animal rights groups won't let them.

[@warrior4uk]

smarter THAN us if you don't mind spelling correctly :-)

[@ayemaya75]

@migsly I agree with you, Migsly 100%!

[@bonnolog]

whales not cooperating... LOL

[@ayemaya75]

@chairde I TOTALLY AGREE!

[@Azoicum]

@runawaychild66 This mammal listen to fuckin' show music every fuckin' day.

[@kmkfiction2]

@kmkfiction2 If you want to have a substantive debate on Orca sociobiology, on sharks or any other subject, let's match wits instead of dispensing petty insults. If you want to subscribe to psuedo-scientific drivel (e.g., there are "three" species of Orca based on arbitrary dietary distinctions' sharks attack people because of "mistaken identity", Telly thought he was just "playing"), good for you. But beware lest you allow the noble aim of conservation subvert the laws of Science.

[@aal161]

I’m going to SeaWorld next weekend to check it out, I’ll tell them to free the whales

[@mamaveros]

This Lady was not in the Dinning with Shamu Show, was she? From one show to this tank? hmmmm. seems scripted

[@dacheese13]

@MrUSAJAY amen man amen!!! Finally!

[@robertharvey9047]

giants stadium

[@saranyadass16]

She was literally agitated with her moves !!!

[@markfox1545]

'Literally agitated'? Do you mean agitated? Adding the word literally for emphasis merely emphasises your ignorance and you should be aware that intelligent people are laughing at you when you add the word literally to everything you say.

[@saranyadass16]

@@markfox1545 oo..seriously Mr.Fox ??? Is that's so ! I'm so happy !I like people laughing at me 😊👌

[@kmkfiction2]

@YargDisease You aren't answering me question. Surely you cannot credibly contend that Telly would survive if placed back in the wild? Why would you even intimate that I should trust in your "personal experience" when I already know what happened to Keiko? Both Keiko and Telly have been in captivity far too long to magically transmute into the highly social, group hunters that wild Orca are. That is just the sociobiological reality. If that makes me a genius to you for so stating, so be it.

[@horse-lover68]

Stop going Tiere and supporting them

[@FearOfTheFlesh]

"Whales are SO much higher on an intellectual level than humans are"...yup you trully know what you are talking about and should be heard. Besides its not like humans haven't killed humans...100s of thousands of wales don't even compare to single genocides that humans have done to each other..but you are such a "whale hugger?" that you look past millions of people killing each other, and the millions dying each year...for me that matters way more than if some killer whale gets put down or not.

[@ayemaya75]

@withnielandi They most likely, already are and have been for a long time.

[@mrzlover1]

@QliphothicKommando That is extremely distressful to the trainers at SeaWorld.

[@kmkfiction2]

@YargDisease I don't follow you. Hmm. Maybe you should go down to your local pet store and free all the gerbils?

[@YargDisease]

@kmkfiction2 Ok. So being as I was actually present for a whale Re-introduction into a pod I am supposed to forget what I saw with my own eyes and take the word of some arrogant know it all internet troll? I just laughed at you. Work goes by much faster with a few god laughs. Keep them coming. OOOH tell me you invented the light bulb you super genius!

[@slayer6542007]

@trentspirit1 lol. umad.

[@LoveIsSuicide17]

@tmariebluesky 1. That isn't how killer whales eat. 2. SeaWorld doesn't capture it's marine mammals. Capture of marine mammals has been illegal since 1973. Any mammal owned by SeaWorld (or any marine mammal park, for that matter) has either been bred in captivity or has been rescued and has not been able to return to their natural environment. Check your facts before you post.

[@tlk2348]

Whales should be in the wild - not in captivity. How would you feel being locked in a small area and doing ridiculous shows for people? How would you feel being ripped from you family - watch the movie Blackfish - you need to educate yourself!!!

[@kmkfiction2]

@YargDisease Surely you cannot credibly contend that Telly would survive if placed back in the wild? As for your juvenile banter, it impugns your own credibility.

[@FearOfTheFlesh]

I don't regard humans in the same league as other animals. 1 human life to me is worth more than 1 billion nonhumans so your point is completely invalid from my point of view. But personally animal diversity and what not don't interest me...you can keep your PETA, but I'll have my chicken or beef with peta bread ty.

[@LoveIsSuicide17]

@MaggotLlama SeaWorld captured it's first whale in 1963 and stopped capture after it was made illegal. You can't blame the company for it's behavior in the past, especially when no one knew the ecological effect that capture would have on the environment nor the toll it would take on the animal. What's more, SeaWorld took Tilikum from an aquarium where he was being trained using food deprivation in order to train him with positive reinforcement in addition to providing him excellent care.

[@tlk2348]

excellent care??? OMG - how ignorant you are. of course something like you would stand with the million dollar company against the animals being ripped from their mothers. You ignore what happened in blackfish? The baby being taking from her mother. You could care less. disgusting!

[@falshami]

you have to remember ,while yes they keep a few animals in captivity , but they also educate the public on these animals and help stop poaching , and raise awareness. they are a great group , its just some more precautions should be taken ,poor woman....

[@kmkfiction2]

@Ballpython77 Sorry, but you are flat out wrong here. When people who share your views petitioned to have Keiko the orca "set free", it only led to a huge fiscal waste and the orca starving to death in the wild. Your snake analogy is asinine. We are talking about highly social, higher order mammals. You can't just "set it free" and expect it to survive. This one has murdered people, btw. Duh.

[@kingring57]

@MrUSAJAY It's a dumb animal it doesn't know it's being used.