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 ...
And you know this "fact" how? You interviewed the whale, maybe? He sent you a text-message?
Killikum killed two other humans, and was sold specifically as a BREEDER ONLY, with NO HUMAN CONTACT.
Seaworld violated that proviso, and they will now pay out MILLIONS.
That's some bad mojo right there, considering that he'd killed a dude before he even arrived at Seaworld.
I know... tell it to the beancounters and then watch the look on their faces.
He killed TWO other humans before Seaworld.
That’s why he was sold as a “breeder only” with no human contact allowed.
What part of the word in "KILLER Whale" don't they get?
You're projecting human reasoning onto this whale. We've evolved the idea that killer whales don't attack humans because humans aren't their typical prey. But the same should hold true for other predators; lions, tigers, bears, etc. And yet we have seen enough of those types of attacks as well.
These are predators that have evolved over millenniums. Just because they haven't normally attacked humans doesn't mean a mistaken act won't trigger an impulse. While I agree that this whale should be returned to its proper environment instead of being destroyed, I can't agree that cavorting with predators is a sound practice.
What? Do you blame the beast?
We keep lions in zoos. We just don’t stick our heads in their mouths and nobody gets hurt.
I usually peel the wrapper off of my food, too ;-)
That killer whale is acclimated to man and could approach any swimmer it encountered.
Of course. Do you want the whale tried in a criminal court?
That's the line I use after every single date I have.
"Your Honor, if she were alive she would acknowledge it was her mistake."
It acted on pure instinct. It doesn’t “know” anything in the sense we know things.
Tim Treadwell, the ultimate bear nut. Treadwell spent 13 summers in Katmai National Park in Alaska literally among huge grizzly bears. In October 2003 Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie were killed and eaten in their camp in the park by one of the grizzly bears.
Early humans lived around wild animals, and had your common sense; it was our ‘survival instinct’.
Domesticated, captive animals still have it.
Selfishly, we capture and *tame* these beautiful wild predators expecting them to adapt to human living conditions.
We are romantic idiots!
Destroyed? It’s a Killer Whale! It was captured and brought into captivity! It is only doing what its instincts tell it to do. Just release the thing. I’m not an animal rights person at all, but this was not the animals fault.
This animal is a twelve-thousand pound predator. I don’t care how trained or tamed or domesticated you consider it to be, it’s still a predator.
July 22nd 2009...blond with ponytail...performing at seaworld....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj0NIYdgALg
Yeah, I have to agree with the poster. A Killer Whale killed. Huh, go figure.
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