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Former trainer said mistake triggered orca attack
hosted ^ | Feb 26

Posted on 02/26/2010 5:36:59 AM PST by JoeProBono

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The former boss of a trainer drowned by a killer whale in Orlando says he believes the attack was triggered by the trainer's mistake.

Thad Lacinak (lah-CIN'-ick), a former head trainer at SeaWorld, told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday that he has seen video of the moments preceding the fatal attack Wednesday. He said he believes trainer Dawn Brancheau (bran-CHOH') made a mistake by letting her ponytail drift in the water in front of the killer whale.

Lacinak says the killer whale grabbed the ponytail in his mouth and pulled her in the water.

Lacinak says Brancheau, if she were alive, would acknowledge it was her mistake......

(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...


TOPICS: Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: dawnbrancheau; jpb; killerwhale; orca; seaworld; tilikum
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To: Doogle
...blame the victim

Because the ensuing lawsuit is going to be expensive for Sea World.
21 posted on 02/26/2010 5:50:14 AM PST by TomGuy
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To: atc23

So your contention is that the killer whale was merely “doing what it was created by God to do”? Is that really your stance?

Unbelievable.


22 posted on 02/26/2010 5:52:00 AM PST by RightOnline
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To: JoeProBono

You gotta love that one.


23 posted on 02/26/2010 5:52:44 AM PST by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: JoeProBono

I read a post yesterday that said the trainers were allowed to swim with all the whales, EXCEPT Tilly.

There is already a tourist’s video online that shows Brancheau swimming WITH Tilly just seconds before the ‘attack’ occurred.


24 posted on 02/26/2010 5:53:24 AM PST by TomGuy
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To: RightOnline

It may be unbelievable to you, but it’s reality.

Just like if she stuck her arm into a lion cage, because she “trusted” the lion.

That happened recently too. And the lion was just doing what lions do.


25 posted on 02/26/2010 5:54:06 AM PST by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: atc23

Beat me to it!


26 posted on 02/26/2010 5:56:03 AM PST by tgusa (Gun control: deep breath, sight alignment, squeeze the trigger ....)
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To: JoeProBono

Hard to say what the Orca was thinking, but it sounds like with all that hair floating around, she made herself look like a large fishing lure, and subsequently hooked a big one...


27 posted on 02/26/2010 5:56:44 AM PST by Bean Counter (I keeps mah feathers numbered, for just such an emergency...)
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To: Travis McGee
"Orcas pull seals off of beaches and ice floes to eat them."

In early 2000, I went TDY to Camp Astoria Oregon to help the OR National Guard prepare for a deployment to Bosnia. One morning, I went for a run along the beach and saw the head of a basking shark, about the size of an end table, washed up on shore. There was little doubt in my mind what had happened to the rest of it...

28 posted on 02/26/2010 5:56:54 AM PST by Joe 6-pack (Que me amat, amet et canem meum)
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To: Doogle
...blame the victim

IMO --- The animal was doing what comes naturally. It saw a ponytail in the water which probably looked like a fish. As a trainer, she had to know that the whales respond to signals. It's just like Sigfried & Roy with their tigers. One reason they are able to train the animals in the first place is by using visual cues. In this case, the cue was a ponytail.

29 posted on 02/26/2010 5:56:57 AM PST by arasina (So there.)
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To: JoeProBono
Thread from yesterday [note that video does NOT show the actual attack]:

6:56 Minute Video Before Whale Kill. Trainer was IN THE WATER with Whale [SeaWorld]
 
02/25/2010 8:00:20 PM PST · by BunnySlippers · 83 replies · 2,003+ views
WESH TV ^ | 02/25/10
I found this video VERY interesting. It now becomes apparent that despite what SeaWorld says the trainer DID get into the water with the Orca. They have denied this happened. And they claim it is against policy. She is smiling widely. The video ends seconds before he grabs her. Some news sources have a still of the trainer in the water with the killer whale ... but now the video. I know many will not agree with me, but I think it is barbaric to treat animals like this. http://www.wesh.com

30 posted on 02/26/2010 5:57:12 AM PST by TomGuy
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To: PapaBear3625

Recall those two boys who were teasing the tiger in that zoo some years ago? Or other incidents where people have fallen into pits containing dangerous animals such as bears? While not all incidents end up tragically, those involved put their lives in danger. The same is true here.

Zoos are one thing, where those in charge of the animals don’t consort with them (usually) in public. Here, it’s the norm. So, I’m frankly surprised this doesn’t happen more often.

Why should a whale be killed because it’s following its instincts? That’s absurd. I agree, it’s a mistake to place such predators in a position where their instincts can come into play. Trained or not, these show people put their lives at risk daily. It’s nonsense.


31 posted on 02/26/2010 5:57:48 AM PST by bcsco (Obama: Hokus Pokus POTUS)
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To: PapaBear3625

Considering the great lengths to which humans have to go in order to create a situation in which a killer whale is a threat to a human, your statement is laughable.


32 posted on 02/26/2010 5:58:22 AM PST by Wolfie
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To: Travis McGee

Sorry, Travis, my friend. That’s a straw man. The whale was in a supposedly family-friendly environment, supposedly regularly interacting very directly with humans. It knows the humans aren’t food. This one has now killed three people. If they don’t destroy it, they need to cut it loose in the ocean somewhere.

Contrary to popular belief, killer whales do not routinely kill human beings.

It’s clearly a dangerous, flighty, temperamental animal that is unfit to be around people. Three funerals prove that.


33 posted on 02/26/2010 5:58:40 AM PST by RightOnline
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To: Tax-chick
When people get up close and personal with dangerous animals, sometimes the people die

Steve Irwin learned that the hard way.

34 posted on 02/26/2010 5:59:53 AM PST by libh8er
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To: Joe 6-pack

In San Diego out on Point Loma, on the Pacific side “tide poools,” I saw the skin of a seal floating against the shore. The skin was INSIDE OUT. My guess is an orca “flipped” it that way to skin the seal for better eating.


35 posted on 02/26/2010 5:59:56 AM PST by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: JoeProBono

An Ocra witha rap sheet? Oh please, that fish would be in a can so fast it would make HIS head spin. Can him and ship him to Hati where he can do some good and feed some people. Sorry Charlie!


36 posted on 02/26/2010 6:00:08 AM PST by 70th Division (I love my country but fear my government!)
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To: JoeProBono
“If she were alive she would acknowledge it was her mistake”

I believe that this should be on Mary Jo's headstone, as well...

37 posted on 02/26/2010 6:00:57 AM PST by Onelifetogive (Flame away...)
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To: TomGuy

38 posted on 02/26/2010 6:01:00 AM PST by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: libh8er

So did that crazy brown bear loving dude in Alaska.


39 posted on 02/26/2010 6:01:38 AM PST by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: PapaBear3625
For many thousands of years, predators that were a threat to humans were killed. The ones who survived did so by figuring out that attacking humans was a fast way to die.

Ding! COO COO, Ding! COO COO

40 posted on 02/26/2010 6:01:51 AM PST by 1raider1
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