Report issued on SeaWorld Orlando trainer's orca death

ORLANDO, Fla. — A SeaWorld Orlando trainer managed to free herself for a short time and tried to swim to the surface after she was dragged underwater by a killer whale, but the animal thwarted her attempts by striking her at least twice, according to a final death report released Wednesday.

Dawn Brancheau, 40, had been lying on her stomach on a cement slab in 3 inches of water, nose to nose with the killer whale, Tilikum, when her long hair floated into the orca's mouth and he dragged her down.

Lynne Schaber, a SeaWorld employee, told detectives that when she saw Brancheau underwater with the whale, she knew the trainer was in trouble since the Tilikum "is a possessive animal."

"He normally keeps things that he has and will not release them," the report said.

Another SeaWorld trainer, Jan Topoleski, told detectives that he sounded an alarm when he noticed Brancheau struggling to free her hair from the killer whale's mouth. When he turned back toward Brancheau, she had disappeared underwater.

She was dragged to her death at the end of a Dine With Shamu show Feb. 24, according to the report from Orange County Sheriff's Office homicide detectives.

Topoleski told detectives that Brancheau did nothing to agitate Tilikum.

SeaWorld workers used nets to try to corral Tilikum and free Brancheau less than three minutes after the trainer was dragged under. But it took at least a half-hour, moving from pool to pool in the orca complex, before they could recover her body.

SeaWorld worker Chahine Kish said Tilikum appeared to grow more frantic as other workers used nets and threw food to distract him from Brancheau.

Another employee said that once Tilikum was captured and raised out of the water on a platform, Brancheau's body was freed. But workers had to capture the whale again when they realized he still had Brancheau's arm.

The medical examiner said Brancheau died from drowning and traumatic injuries. The death was ruled an accident.

It marked the third time Tilikum had been involved in a human death. Tilikum was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia. Tilikum also was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld Orlando security was found draped over him.

Sea World trainers were forbidden from getting in the water with Tilikum because of the previous deaths.

-- Associated Press

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Video: Tilikum swims at SeaWorld Orlando. Credit: kalinaluvr via YouTube

Comments

[Jere Krischel]

Seriously, do they need to rename orcas to "really-dangerous-will-kill-you-if-they-have-a-chance-we're-not-kidding whales" before people realize just how stupid it is to have them in shows, much less in captivity? These are meat eating monsters who are more than happy to snack on human flesh given the chance. Pretending they're all cute and cuddly is a recipe for disaster.

[Free the Orcas]

Obviously the policy forbidding trainers to be in the water with Tikkum was violated here. I don't care whether it was 3 inches of water or 30 feet. You don't lie inches from a known killer's mouth and then wonder why something terrible happens.

I can't imagine the trainer's family getting far with a lawsuit here. I mean what ever happened to common sense?

[Jessica]

@Jere Krischel

A. They're not monsters who are happy to "snack on human flesh."

B. Why do you think they're called KILLER whales?

C. I don't think anyone is pretending they're cute and cuddly. But they are too damn smart for anyone to pretend that we have any kind of control over them.

@ Free the Orcas, this article doesn't say the family plans to sue Sea World. And I would hope they would know that this type of stuff can happen when someone attempts to "train" a wild animal with equal intelligence.

[Jere Krischel]

@Jessica

A. You're right. I have no idea if the monsters are happy, sad, or pensive when they snack on human flesh - I was anthropomorphizing. I should simply have stated that these are meat eating monsters who will snack on human flesh given the chance.

[Jessica]

@ Jere Krischel

I'm sure the "monsters" could call us omnivorous monsters who are ready to exploit anything and everything if it means turning a profit.

[happyHBmom]

People die in horseback riding accidents all the time, and moms pay people $1 to put their babies on them and take pictures. All large animals have the potential to be dangerous.

I spend a lot of time at a public stable and see people treating horses as though they are all Mr. Ed. The idea that animals are all altruistic human-loving gentle creatures is very misguided. Not even all humans are safe to be around, and they don't weigh 1500 lbs (or in this case what is it, 2 tons?).

Luckily trainers know they are taking risks and go into it with their eyes open.