Dawn Brancheau, 40, was killed yesterday when she slipped and fell into one of the backstage tanks that is home to Tilikum, one of the Killer Whales who performs as Shamu at the Florida park. Having fallen into the tank, Brancheau was fatally injured by the six ton whale as he pulled her under the water.
This is not the first death related the Sea World’s Orca’s - Tilikum in particular has been involved in the death of two other people. This history of aggression, and its tremendous size, has led to the park to ban trainers from going into Tilikum’s tank. Investigators are trying to determine what caused the accident that put Brancheau in the water.
“I must emphasize this is an extremely difficult time for the SeaWorld Parks and our team members. Nothing is more important than the safety of our employees, guests and the animals entrusted in our care,” said SeaWorld Orlando President Dan Brown. “We have never in the history of our park experienced an incident like this, and all of our standard operating procedures will come under review.”
Brancheau worked her way into a leadership position in Shamu Statium after more than a decade working with killer whales. It was a childhood trip to SeaWorld that inspired her career. “I remember walking down the aisle [of Shamu Stadium] and telling my mom, ‘This is what I want to do,’” she recalled recently.
The park is still open, but the whale shows for the rest of the day in both Orlando and San Diego were suspended.
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