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WDCS blogTragedy At Sea World Orlando
WDCS is horrified to learn of the death of a trainer at Sea Worlds parkin Orlando, Florida yesterday. She appears to have drowned afterfalling or being pulled into the tank with a 30-year-old male orca,Tilikum. Our condolences are with the trainers family and colleagues,following this shocking incident.Thereare currently thought to be 42 orcas held in captivity in aquariaaround the world. Half of these are held at three Sea World parks inthe USA. Since 1961, 136 orcas have been taken into captivity from thewild. 123 of these unfortunate animals are now dead, surviving only anaverage of four years in captivity. This situation contrastsdramatically with orca survival in the wild, where individuals can livefor up to 90 years.
Unfortunately, this was not an isolatedincident. Tilikum, who was captured from the wild in Iceland, was, withtwo other orcas involved in the death of a trainer in Canada in 1991and in 1999, a man who had reportedly snuck into the park during thenight was found dead, draped over the back of Tilikum, also at SeaWorlds Florida facility. The incident also follows the death of another trainer at Loro Parque in Tenerife at the end of 2009, during in-water training with an orca who was imported from Sea World in 2007.
Orcasare inherently unsuitable for confinement in captivity, which placesthem under considerable stress and where they live short lives and areliable to aggressive behaviour towards humans and other orcas that isnever seen in the wild. The tragic events are a reminder that orcas arewild, strong and often unpredictable animals.
This tragedy highlights the fate of other captive orcas such as Corky, held at another of Sea Worlds parks and confined for 40 years after being captured from her native waters in Canada. WDCS and Orcalab are calling for her to return to her native waters.
Please find more detailed WDCS information at ORCAS in Captivity: A Tragic Story
Related programs linksCaptivity
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