Tilikum Research Paper
“A killer whale gone very bad” talked about a killer whale at SeaWorld who weighs about 12,000 pounds by the name of Tilikum. He is also the star of the movie called “Blackfish.” SeaWorld made Tilikum out to be a killer, but he is actually a victim of their greed. He was captured in 1983 from the wild at the age of 2 from his mother in Iceland where he was kept in a tank for about a year. Afterwards, he was sent to a park called Sealand of the Pacific. There he spent most of his day in a tank where 2 female whales bullied him. The article also explained how during a performance at Sea Land a performer fell into the water and 3 whales including Tilikum drowned her. While the whales very extremely vicious to her, there were no lawsuits filed
against the corporation. Eventually the park closed and Tilikum was sold to Seaworld where nobody who interacted with him on a daily basis knew anything about his past. In 1999 a man by the name of Daniel Dukes was found dead in Tilikum’s tank. It was obvious that he was aggressive with Dukes because bite marks were all over his body and he was stripped of his genitals as well. The explanation that SeaWorld provided was that he had hypothermia. Tilikum’s most recent killing was in 2010; he slaughtered one of his trainers by dragging her into the water. Following her killing, SeaWorld alleged that she slipped and fell. Her death led to a ruling where trainers were required to keep something in between them and the killer whales. SeaWorld has appealed the decision, but “Blackfish” made it very clear that her killing was for a different reason. They declared it was because of psychological problems since he was kept isolated for so long. Since most whales have the ability to live well into their 80’s SeaWorld has kept Tilikum for breeding purposes. It is unbelievable how they thought that they could take a wild animal out of its natural habitat and expect it to have no issues. It should be expected for Orcas to have some type of psychological problem since it is isolated for so long.
against the corporation. Eventually the park closed and Tilikum was sold to Seaworld where nobody who interacted with him on a daily basis knew anything about his past. In 1999 a man by the name of Daniel Dukes was found dead in Tilikum’s tank. It was obvious that he was aggressive with Dukes because bite marks were all over his body and he was stripped of his genitals as well. The explanation that SeaWorld provided was that he had hypothermia. Tilikum’s most recent killing was in 2010; he slaughtered one of his trainers by dragging her into the water. Following her killing, SeaWorld alleged that she slipped and fell. Her death led to a ruling where trainers were required to keep something in between them and the killer whales. SeaWorld has appealed the decision, but “Blackfish” made it very clear that her killing was for a different reason. They declared it was because of psychological problems since he was kept isolated for so long. Since most whales have the ability to live well into their 80’s SeaWorld has kept Tilikum for breeding purposes. It is unbelievable how they thought that they could take a wild animal out of its natural habitat and expect it to have no issues. It should be expected for Orcas to have some type of psychological problem since it is isolated for so long.