Here’s a list of other animal trainer deaths and incidents that have happened at SEA WORLDs.
Random Seaworld Orlando show image
Killer whales: Other SeaWorld attacks
www.orlandosentinel.com | Feb. 25, 2010
Nov. 29, 2006: Kenneth Peters, SeaWorld San Diego’s most experienced trainer, was dragged to the bottom of a 36-foot-deep pool by a 7,000-pound killer whale named Kasatka during a show at Shamu Stadium. Peters escaped with puncture wounds and a broken foot after he calmed the whale by stroking it.
July 27, 2004: Ky, a killer whale at SeaWorld San Antonio, repeatedly slammed trainer Steve Aibel underwater during a show. Aibel, who was uninjured, had trained Ky for 10 years.
June 12, 1999: Kasatka, a dominant female whale, began acting strangely during a show, grabbed Peters’ leg and attempted to throw him out of the pool at SeaWorld San Diego. Peters was able to get out of the pool.
Nov. 21, 1987: John Sillick fractured his vertebrae, femur and pelvis while riding Corky the whale at SeaWorld San Diego when he was crushed between two whales during a show.
Sept. 30, 1987: Chris Barlow of SeaWorld San Diego was rammed in the stomach by a whale during a show. He was hospitalized but survived.
– Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, Sentinel research
Dawn Brancheau was very good at her job and enjoyed it very much.
Dawn Brancheau 40, was killed after the 30-year-old, 12,300-pound bull orca named Tilikum, jumped out of a tank, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her underwater. Ms. Brancheau was one of the most experienced trainers on staff and one of the few allowed to work with the powerful and dangerous animal. According to her sister, Ms. Brancheau was fulfilled and happy in her job.
People who have seen the 70’s movie, ORCA would not be surprised by these actions. The shocking thing is that this is the THIRD death caused by Tilikum. In 1991 Tilly along with 3 other whales killed a trainer who accidentally slipped and fell into the tank. In 1999 Tilly killed a man who sneaked into the park after hours.
Tillikum performing in a file photo.
Investigation Into SeaWorld Trainer’s Death Begins
Tilikum Blamed For Two Previous Deaths
WESH.com | February 25, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. — Investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be at SeaWorld on Thursday working to determine what led to the death of a trainer who was pulled into the water by a killer whale.
Officials with SeaWorld and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office will also participate in the investigation.
A park official confirmed Wednesday that the whale involved in the trainer’s death at the Orlando park actually pulled the victim into a tank.
I think they should allow the sacrifice or slaughter. If you’re gonna be tolerant of another’s culture don’t puss out when it makes ya squeamish. C’mon it ain’t like cows don’t get slaughtered already.
Animal slaughter for the World Cup?
Reporting by Alison Raymond, editing by Justin Palmer | Reuters | Oct 23, 2009
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African traditional leaders plan to perform ritual animal slaughters to bless stadiums for the 2010 World Cup tournament ahead of the start of the showcase event next June, they said on Friday.
Zolani Mkiva, chairman of the Makhonya Royal Trust, a grouping responsible for co-ordinating cultural activities, said the tournament, the first to be held in Africa, needed to be blessed in true “African style.”
“We must have a cultural ceremony of some sort, where we are going to slaughter a beast (cow),” said Mkiva.
Spoiler alert “no it did not drink any beer.” Thanks to CC for this story.
Bear chilled in Wisconsin beer cooler
www.digitaljournal.com | October 21, 2009 | By Stephanie Dearing.
This ’shopper’ is getting nods of approval from beer-lovers for choosing to spend time in a beer cooler. A Marketplace Foods grocery store in Hayward Wisconsin hosted the unexpected guest last week.
That is one spunky 73 year old lady. Glad to hear this is an “alls well that ends well” story.
Woman injured in cow rollover
LEONIE JOHNSON | www.townsvillebulletin.com.au | July 9th, 2009
An elderly woman was crushed beneath a labouring cow that rolled on her while she helped it give birth at a Giru farm.
The 73-year-old woman had a compound fracture to her ankle and a broken sternum after the freak accident at a property near the Bruce Highway about 6pm Tuesday.
With her bone sticking through her skin, she managed to drag herself from under the heifer and struggled back to the farm house to call for help.
Giru Ambulance Station officer-in-charge Liam Steger said the woman’s efforts to reach the house were valiant.
”There was a cow having a baby and the thing rolled on her somehow,” he said.
”She managed to get out of the pen and back to the house to phone for help which was a feat in itself.
”She had a badly fractured right ankle and I transported her to Townsville Hospital.”
The woman has undergone surgery to her ankle and was listed in a stable condition yesterday.
Despite her injuries, the woman’s help assisted the cow in a safe delivery.
The mother and calf were understood to be healthy and well.
The back story is that petite 16 year old Cammie was part of a 5 person team. If a Nantucket Sleigh Ride was what you took after you harpooned a whale that towed your tiny boat thru the water, I guess Cammie and company took a Sparkleberry Swamp Sleigh Ride.
Many people think hunting is unethical. However, rampant development nationwide has offset nature’s delicate balance and depending on where you live, coyotes, bears, deers or alligators may show up in your yard about the time Fluffy disappears.
White Knoll cheerleader bags ‘gator
JOHN MONK – jmonk@thestate.com | www.thestate.com | Thursday, Sep. 17, 2009
Cammie Colin is a typical high school student in many ways – cheerleader, softball player, enjoys algebra, loves to dance, likes singers Freddie Gomez and Lil Wayne.
Oh, and the White Knoll High 10th grader hunts alligators, too.
With a crossbow.
In the middle of the night.
Over the weekend, she became perhaps the youngest female ever to bag an alligator in South Carolina.
“Don’t be afraid, and just go at it,” she gave as her advice for young people who might want to hunt alligators or do some other unusual thing.
Colin, 16, said she’s still excited about the hunt, which took place about 3 a.m. Sunday in the dark headwaters of Lake Marion just south of Sparkleberry Swamp.
She is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds. The alligator she shot was 10 feet 5 inches long and weighed 353 pounds.
The quote for today is “We don’t buy sharks off the street.”
Police were yesterday looking for two men who dumped a dead six-foot nurse shark on a street in downtown Miami, Florida. Image www.mirror.co.uk
Image www.myfoxtampabay.com
A 6ft shark carried on to city train and then dumped on a Miami street
By Mail Foreign Service | 23rd July 2009 | www.dailymail.co.uk
A dead shark was left lying in the middle of a Miami street after two men failed to sell it at several fish markets.
The men apparently carried the 6ft fish around on the city’s Metromover train system, prompting calls to police.
News footage showed the dead animal in the street with police officers and squad cars nearby.
Two stations reported that two men had tried to sell the animal to at least three fish markets for around $10.
Rob Orta, an employee at Casablanca Fish Market, told television station WSVN that the men offered him the shark.
‘But we don’t buy sharks off the street,’ Orta told the station.
Wildlife officials later determined the animal was a nurse shark. The case could result in misdemeanor charges of improper killing and disposal of an animal and selling a shark without a license.
One resident of the area where the shark was dumped said he didn’t know what was going on at first.
‘It was a relief that it was a shark,’ said Keith Smith. ‘When I first saw it, I thought it was a body because of all the shootings that have been going on.’
As the newspaper industry changes stories as thoughtfully reported and written as the one below will perhaps fade away. Thanks to JL for this wonderful article.
Rabid cat raises alert
Bloomsburg Press Enterprise | June 4, 2009 | By GARY PANG, Press Enterprise Writer
BLOOMSBURG _ A rabid cat lunged at Margaret Huttenstine while she was gardening outside her house last Friday. The cat also had run-ins with one or two other people near Town Park, and tried to attack police before it was shot to death.
The incident brought state health inspectors to the area Wednesday. They were looking for any other animal that might have been infected by the potentially fatal virus.The inspectors also warned students and teachers at nearby Bloomsburg High to be on the lookout. “It really was frightening,” said Huttenstine, 12 Fort McClure Blvd., of her experience. She wound up with scratches on her legs and ankles. Doctors at Bloomsburg Hospital gave her five rabies shots, and still more are coming.
Moaned loudly
The blond cat was extremely thin and dirty, with black greasy marks on its body, Huttenstine said. When she saw the cat wandering around her house at 6:30 p.m., she thought it was an abandoned kitten. Later, the cat jumped at Huttenstine, again and again. It clawed at her shoes, and tried to crawl up her pant legs. The woman was holding a shovel at the time, and she was tempted to swing it at the cat. Instead, she ran into her house and called 9-1-1. Huttenstine also tried to calm the cat by putting out food. But the cat hid beneath the home’s porch, moaning loudly.
Hit with baton
When police showed up, the feline lunged at one officer. When it got too close again, an officer hit it with a baton, Huttenstine said. Eventually, police had to shoot the cat, but its head was still intact for rabies testing, Huttenstine said. She was glad her grandchildren and her golden retriever, Theo, were not at her home that night. Otherwise, the cat might have attacked them. Huttenstine wanted to thank police for helping her.
Warning flyers
On Tuesday, the state Department of Agriculture confirmed the feline was rabid, a press release states. A rabid cat can infect other animals, so health inspectors canvassed the neighborhood yesterday, said Holli Senior of the state Department of Health. The inspectors also met with Bloomsburg High officials, warning them about the rabid cat, said Principal Dan Bonomo. They even gave Bonomo a flyer with a picture of the cat, plus a phone number for people to report incidents involving the animal. Bonomo posted the flyer at the school office. He also forwarded the information to the elementary school, whose students often play at Town Park.
Tallies vary
Officials had different tallies for the number of victims. Health inspectors reported two people were bitten and one person scratched, Bonomo recalled. Meanwhile, the Department of Health counted only two people “known to be exposed,” said Senior. A press release did not identify the victims.
Being born without the 2 front legs is a common birth defect in inbred Chihuahuas. Thanks to the miracle of the interweb, owners and “mommies” can produce and share videos such as these.
With the current state of the world environment and the dwindling frog populations world wide I’m reminded of the Chris Rock quote, “Grand Opening-Grand Closing.”
Boophis aff elenae. (Credit: Miguel Vences)
About 200 New Species Of Amphibians In Madagascar Discovered
ScienceDaily.com | May 5, 2009
Between 129 and 221 new species of frogs have been identified in Madagascar, practically doubling the currently known amphibian fauna. The finding suggests that the number of amphibian species in Madagascar, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, has been significantly underestimated. According to the researchers, if these results are extrapolated at a global scale, the number of amphibian species worldwide could double.
Their study, conducted with participation of the Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC), is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
As Professor David R. Vieites, CSIC researcher at the Spanish National Natural Sciences Museum in Madrid, states: “the diversity of species in Madagascar is far from being known and there is still a lot of scientific research to be done. Our data suggest that the number of new species of amphibians not only has been underestimated but it is spatially widespread, even in well studied areas. For example, two of the most visited and studied National parks, Ranomafana and Mantadía/Analamazaotra, harbour 31 and 10 new species respectively.”
