Tilikum was the largest marine mammal living in captivity, and was one of the stars of the SeaWorld Park Show in Orlando, USA.But it’s not the first time I’m sure you’ve heard of this orca, because she was the lead star of the CNN-produced documentary Blackfish.Films, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite.
There have been several accidents over the years that have involved Tilikum, but one of them was so serious that Tilikum ended up killing his coach.
- However.
- Tilikum’s life is not just moments of glory.
- The shows that made him a celebrity or the tragic accident in which he participated.
- If you want to learn more about Tilikum’s life and understand why the killer killed the trainer.
- Read this article that Animal Expert wrote specifically for you.
Before you tell yourself the whole story of Tilikum, it’s important to talk a little bit about these animals, how they are, how they behave, what they eat, etc.Orcas, also known as orcas, are considered one of the largest predators.across the ocean In fact, orca is not a family of whales, but dolphins!
The orca has no natural predators, except humans, it is the group of cetaceans (aquatic mammals) the easiest to identify: they are huge (females reach 8.5 meters and males 9.8 meters), have a typical black and white color, have a conical head, large pectoral fins and a very wide and high dorsal fin.
The food of the orca is very varied. Their large size allows them to weigh up to 9 tons, requiring the ingestion of a large amount of food.These are some of the animals that the killer whale likes to eat the most:
Yes, you’ve read it right, they can even eat whales.By the way, his orca name began as an orca.Orcas generally do not include dolphins, manatees or humans in their diet (to date, there is no evidence of orcas attacks on humans, except in captivity).
Orcas live in very cold waters, such as Alaska, Canada, Antarctica, etc., usually travel long distances, travel more than 2,000 kilometers and live in groups with a large number of members, it is normal to have 40 animals of the same species.in a group.
Tilikum, meaning “friend”, was captured in 1983 off the coast of Iceland, when he was about 2 years old.This orca, along with two other orcas, was immediately sent to a water park in Canada, the Sealand of the Pacific.He became the main star of the park and shared the float with two women, Nootka IV and Haida II.
Although they are very sociable animals, the life of these animals was not always full of harmony, Tilikum was frequently beaten by his companions and eventually moved to an even smaller tank to be separated from the females, despite this, in 1991, he had his first baby with Haida II.
In 1999, tilikum orca began to form artificial insemination and throughout his life, Tilikum fathered 21 young people.
The first accident with Tilikum occurred in 1991.Keltie Byrne was a 20-year-old trainer who slipped and fell into the tank where Tilikum and the other two orcas were. Tilikum caught the coach who dived several times, eventually killing the coach.Coach.
After this accident in 1992, the orcas were moved to SeaWorld in Orlando and the Sealand of the Pacific closed its doors for good.Despite this aggressive behavior, Tilikum continued to train and star the show.
It is already at SeaWorld that another accident has occurred, which to this day remains unexplained: a 27-year-old man, Daniel Dukes, was found dead in the Tilikum Reservoir.As far as we know, Daniel would have entered SeaWorld after the closed park, but no one knows how he got to the tank.He ended up drowning. It had bite marks on the body, which are not yet known if they were performed before or after what happened.
Even after this attack, Tilikum remained one of the park’s main stars.
Tilikum claimed her third and final death, Dawn Brancheau, in February 2010, known as one of SeaWorld’s top orcas coaches, had nearly 20 years of experience. According to witnesses, Tilikum shot the trainer at the bottom of the tank.found dead with multiple cuts, fractures and no arms, which was swallowed by the orca.
This news has been very controversial.Millions of people have defended the Tilikum orca for being victims of the consequences of captivity and living in inappropriate conditions, unfavourable to their species, demanding the release of this poor orca; on the other hand, others discussed their sacrifice.Despite all this controversy, Tilikum continued to participate in several shows (with enhanced security measures).
In 2013 a CNN documentary was released, whose main protagonist was BlackFish, in this documentary, several people, including former trainers, denounced the mistreatment of the killer whales and speculated that the unfortunate deaths were the result.
The way the orcas were captured was also heavily criticized in the documentary: they were kidnapped, still young, from their families by sailors who frightened and cornered the animals.Orcas moms were screaming desperate to bring their little ones back.
In 2017, SeaWorld announced the end of the shows with orcas in the current format, that is, with acrobatics, but would make shows based on the behavior of the orcas themselves and focused on the conservation of the species, however, animal rights activists do not.Fulfill and continue to carry out numerous demonstrations, in order to end forever the shows that involve the orcas.
It was on January 6, 2017 when we learned the sad news of the death of Tilikum, the largest orca that has ever lived died at 36 years, a period that is in the average life expectancy of these animals in captivity. it can live for about 60 years, and it can even reach 90 years.
It was also in 2017 that SeaWorld announced that it would no longer play orcas in its fleet.The orcas generation will probably be the last in the park and will continue to function.
This was the story of Tilikum who, though controversial, is no less sad than that of so many other orcas living in captivity.Despite being one of the best-known orcas, she was not the only one involved in such accidents.records of about 70 incidents with these animals in captivity, some of which unfortunately resulted in deaths.
If you liked this story and would like to have others with animals, read the story of Laika, the first living creature to jump into space, the story of Hachiko, the faithful dog and the super cat that saved a newborn baby in Russia.
If you want to read articles similar to the story of Tilikum, the orca that killed the trainer, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.