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On July 5, 1999, at SeaWorld Orlando Florida, a South Carolina man by the name of Daniel Dukes was found dead in one of the orca tanks, nude and draped across the back of the park's largest male orca, Tilikum. An autopsy revealed that the man died of drowning.
Tilikum was the largest orca in captivity. [8] He measured 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in length and weighed about 12,500 pounds (5,700 kg). [9] His pectoral fins were 7 feet (2.1 m) long, his fluke curled under, and his 6.5-foot-tall (2.0 m) dorsal fin was collapsed completely to his left side.
Blackfish is a 2013 American documentary film directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite.It concerns Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld and the controversy over captive orcas.The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2013, and was picked up by Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films for wider release.
SeaWorld officials report that the infamous whale Tilikum, that dragged a trained underwater to her death in 2010, is in deteriorating health.
Dawn Therese Brancheau (née LoVerde, April 16, 1969 – February 24, 2010) was an American animal trainer at SeaWorld. [3] [4] She worked with orcas at SeaWorld Orlando for fifteen years, including a leading role in revamping the Shamu show, [3] [5] and was SeaWorld's poster girl.
Tilikum was a bull killer whale (Orcinus orca) bought by the SeaWorld marine park in Orlando, Florida in 1992 to be part of the park's orca exhibit. [2] He was the largest orca in captivity. The other whales named as plaintiffs in the suit are Katina, who is also kept in Orlando, and Corky, Kasatka, and Ulises who are kept in SeaWorld San Diego .
This made her one of the largest female orcas in captivity. Lolita lived in the Miami Seaquarium's Whale and Dolphin Stadium, where she performed one to two shows daily, and shared her tank with four Pacific White-Sided dolphins. Despite her size, her tank was the smallest orca habitat in the United States, measuring 35 feet wide and 80 feet long.
On February 24, 2010, toward the end of a "Dine with Shamu" show at SeaWorld Orlando, the orca "Tilikum" pulled down an experienced trainer. [ 14 ] [ 15 ] Dawn Brancheau , a 40-year-old with extensive training experience, drowned as at least two dozen tourists looked on from above a whale tank and from an underwater viewing area.