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Tilikum (orca)
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Tilikum (orca)
Tilikum (c. December 1981 – January 6, 2017), nicknamed Tilly, was a captive male orca who spent most of his life at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. He was captured in Iceland in 1983; about a year later, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He was subsequently transferred in 1992 to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, where he sired 21 calves.
Tilikum was heavily featured in CNN Films' 2013 documentary Blackfish, which claims that orcas in captivity suffer psychological damage and become unnaturally aggressive. Of the four fatal attacks by orcas in captivity, Tilikum was involved in three: Keltie Byrne, a trainer at the now-defunct Sealand of the Pacific; Daniel P. Dukes, a man trespassing in SeaWorld Orlando; and SeaWorld Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau.
Tilikum was the largest orca in captivity. He measured 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in length and weighed about 12,500 pounds (5,700 kg). His pectoral fins were 7 feet (2.1 m) long, his fluke curled under, and his 6.5-foot-tall (2.0 m) dorsal fin was collapsed completely to his left side.
His name, in the Chinook Jargon of the Pacific Northwest, means "friends, relations, tribe, nation, common people".
Tilikum was captured when he was two years old, along with two other young orcas, by a purse-seine net in November 1983, at Berufjörður in eastern Iceland. After almost a year in a tank at the Hafnarfjördur Marine Zoo, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific in Oak Bay, a suburb of the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. At Sealand of the Pacific, he lived with two older female orcas named Haida II and Nootka IV. As both orcas were pregnant, Haida II and Nootka IV behaved aggressively towards Tilikum, including forcing him into a smaller medical pool where trainers kept him for protection.
While orca attacks on humans in the wild are rare, and no fatal attacks have been recorded, four humans have died due to interactions with captive orcas. Tilikum was involved in three of those deaths.
Keltie Lee Byrne (December 6, 1970 – February 20, 1991) was a 20-year-old Canadian student, animal trainer, and competitive swimmer. She had been working with orcas Tilikum, Nootka IV, and Haida II at Sealand of the Pacific. On February 20, 1991, Byrne was working a shift when she slipped and fell into the whale pool. Witnesses recalled that Byrne screamed and panicked after realizing that one of the whales was holding her foot and dragging her underwater.
According to the coroner's report, rescue attempts were thwarted by the whales, who refused to let Byrne go even after she was believed to have fallen unconscious in the water. Her body was later retrieved with a large net, after which she was determined to be deceased. Her death was ruled an accident.
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Tilikum (orca)
Tilikum (c. December 1981 – January 6, 2017), nicknamed Tilly, was a captive male orca who spent most of his life at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. He was captured in Iceland in 1983; about a year later, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He was subsequently transferred in 1992 to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, where he sired 21 calves.
Tilikum was heavily featured in CNN Films' 2013 documentary Blackfish, which claims that orcas in captivity suffer psychological damage and become unnaturally aggressive. Of the four fatal attacks by orcas in captivity, Tilikum was involved in three: Keltie Byrne, a trainer at the now-defunct Sealand of the Pacific; Daniel P. Dukes, a man trespassing in SeaWorld Orlando; and SeaWorld Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau.
Tilikum was the largest orca in captivity. He measured 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in length and weighed about 12,500 pounds (5,700 kg). His pectoral fins were 7 feet (2.1 m) long, his fluke curled under, and his 6.5-foot-tall (2.0 m) dorsal fin was collapsed completely to his left side.
His name, in the Chinook Jargon of the Pacific Northwest, means "friends, relations, tribe, nation, common people".
Tilikum was captured when he was two years old, along with two other young orcas, by a purse-seine net in November 1983, at Berufjörður in eastern Iceland. After almost a year in a tank at the Hafnarfjördur Marine Zoo, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific in Oak Bay, a suburb of the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. At Sealand of the Pacific, he lived with two older female orcas named Haida II and Nootka IV. As both orcas were pregnant, Haida II and Nootka IV behaved aggressively towards Tilikum, including forcing him into a smaller medical pool where trainers kept him for protection.
While orca attacks on humans in the wild are rare, and no fatal attacks have been recorded, four humans have died due to interactions with captive orcas. Tilikum was involved in three of those deaths.
Keltie Lee Byrne (December 6, 1970 – February 20, 1991) was a 20-year-old Canadian student, animal trainer, and competitive swimmer. She had been working with orcas Tilikum, Nootka IV, and Haida II at Sealand of the Pacific. On February 20, 1991, Byrne was working a shift when she slipped and fell into the whale pool. Witnesses recalled that Byrne screamed and panicked after realizing that one of the whales was holding her foot and dragging her underwater.
According to the coroner's report, rescue attempts were thwarted by the whales, who refused to let Byrne go even after she was believed to have fallen unconscious in the water. Her body was later retrieved with a large net, after which she was determined to be deceased. Her death was ruled an accident.
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