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Tilikum (c. December 1981 [1] – 6 January 2017), nicknamed Tilly, [2] was a captive male orca who spent most of his life at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.He was captured in Iceland in 1983; about a year later, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. [3]
SeaWorld officials report that the infamous whale Tilikum, that dragged a trained underwater to her death in 2010, is in deteriorating health.
On the morning of July 7, 1999, the body of trespasser Daniel P. Dukes was found draped on Tillikum's back, as the orca swam around keeping the body above the water's surface. The medical examiner found that his death was by drowning. [162] On February 24, 2010, Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau after dragging her into the water.
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, Nootka IV, and Haida II dragged and repeatedly submerged her until she drowned, despite other trainers' efforts to rescue her. The poor relations between the whales, unfamiliarity with trainers in the water, and the pregnancy of at least one of the females (Haida II) were cited as possible causes. [6] [7] [8] [9]
Tilikum watches as SeaWorld Orlando trainers take a break during a training session. Blackfish was a groundbreaking 2013 documentary that, on the surface, was about the orca Tilikum who killed ...
An autopsy revealed that the man died of drowning. Dukes was covered in bruises, abrasions, bite marks consistent with orca bites, and his genitals had been bitten off and eaten by Tilikum, [64] indicating that Tilikum had clearly had contact with the victim, but whether or not Tilikum actually caused the man's death was not determined. [65]
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