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A great white shark that washed up on a beach in Australia appeared to be half-eaten. Scientists said the shark was likely attacked by an orca that just wanted to eat its liver. Advertisement A great white shark that appeared half-eaten when it washed up on an Australian beach had probably been attacked by a killer whale that just wanted its liver, wildlife scientists said. Portland Bait and Tackle in Victoria, Australia, posted photos of the white shark carcass to their Facebook page on Tuesday, calling it "equal parts cool and terrifying." The bait shop manager, Ben Johnstone, told Insider...

The whole story starts with a farmer. Specifically, the farmer at Jortveit farm in southern Norway. Around the beginning of the 1930s he decided to drain a wetland near the farm so he could cultivate new land. But while he was working on the deep drainage trenches, strange things started to crop up. Bones from a bluefin tuna and a killer whale. And huge fish hooks and harpoons made of bones. In the middle of the wetland! The tools eventually ended up in the University Museum of Antiquities in Oslo, where they were studied by archaeologists. The bones, on the...

Orca Spotted with Plastic Bag in Mouth Researchers snapped a picture of a baby killer whale in the Pacific Northwest holding a plastic bag in its mouth, just the latest example of plastic pollution in the world's oceans. Last month, scientists from the Center for Whale Research monitoring orcas in the Salish Sea say they spotted a calf playing with what at first looked like a small scrap of blubber. When the baby whale dropped the item from its mouth, they realized it was actually a plastic bag.

<p>The dolphin was originally part of a small group swimming off the Mexican coast But the others managed to get away - leaving it at the mercy of a whole pod of whales With the setting sun just beginning to turn the sky pink, a killer whale leaps out of the ocean and soars into the air, spray cascading down in its wake.</p>

A pod of killer whales appears to be trapped in a small pool of water surrounded by ice in Hudson’s Bay. In a number of videos shot by local residents near Inukjuak, Que., the whales are seen taking turns continuously coming up for air. The first video was posted on Tuesday on Facebook by local residents to try to get the attention of authorities to help the whales who appear to be in distress. It is believed the orcas became stranded on Monday and are still there.

Extraordinary pictures of orca surfing the wake of a boat off the coast of Mexico show the marine mammals playing in jet bubbles and chasing down a yacht. A fishing company from Loreto, Mexico, runs charters off the Baja Coast. Cast ‘n Reel owner Ashley Ross said it was “magical” to be able to snap the shots they did about a month ago. “As far as we know this is the first time orcas have surfed the wake of a boat here in Loreto. “They never played so closely to us. They usually keep their distance until we turn...

The headline-grabbing all-white adult killer whale spotted off Russia this month may well be one of a kind. But the sighting may not be the first time he's been caught on camera. Scientists were studying acoustic and social interactions among whales and dolphins off the North Pacific's Commander Islands (map) when the team noticed a six-foot-tall (nearly two-meter-tall) white dorsal fin jutting above the waves—hence the whale's new name: Iceberg. "The reaction from the team for the encounter, which happened on an ordinary day for spotting and photographing the whales, was one of surprise and elation," researcher Erich Hoyt said...

A quick check of the Sea World website shows a magnificent clip of killer whales performing. They have spent millions of dollars making safety improvements in order to use these orcas. But a whale is a whale and they can be triggered into bad behavior in an instant.

The killer whale who mauled and drowned a female trainer at Orlando's SeaWorld last year will begin performing in front of crowds again on Wednesday. Tilikum will participate in the park's main killer whale show, titled "Believe," SeaWorld officials said. The whale has not performed since Feb. 24, 2010, when he snatched trainer Dawn Brancheau from a shallow pool ledge and thrashed her around underwater, killing the 40-year-old in front of a horrified audience. The deaths made headlines worldwide, led SeaWorld to spend millions making safety upgrades and sparked federal and civil lawsuits against the water park. SeaWorld Animal Training...

ORLANDO--There are new doubts that SeaWorld will let the whale that killed a trainer perform again. These concerns come to light as the theme park works with Dawn Brancheau's family to seal surveillance video of the incident and tries to cope with outside pressures demanding the whales be released. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, flew a banner over the park Tuesday with the message: "Let the whales and dolphins out of prison."

"The other morning on Fox News, they interviewed a nice gentleman from New York and asked him what “Tili” was thinking when she killed her trainer. What the whale was thinking? We have shrinks that talk to whales now?! Is this a Dr. Doolittle comedy or something? Why are we trying to get into the mind of this whale to better understand its feelings?! Actually, the White House today announced you can no longer call them Killer Whales at Sea World. They actually are Freedom Fish taking part in an Underseas Contingency Operation!! After all, to just call them...

Miami Sequarium Curator Says Relationships with Orcas Are Built Over Years, Countless Hours of Interaction, Play. In the wake of the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau, killed by a whale named Tilikum at SeaWorld Wednesday, Robert Rose, curator at the Miami Seaquarium, said on "The Early Show" Friday he has no fear of the killer whales in his care. He said his relationship with the whales at the Seaquarium has been built over years through countless hours of interaction and play. "They're part of our family. We care very deeply about these animals," he said. "We really love and enjoy...

About a week before the 2008 election, Tom Brokaw sat in front of Charlie Rose on PBS stating we really don’t know much about Barack Obama. The two then exchanged back and forth all the things the mainstream media failed to ask Obama or dig up as we headed into the election just a few days later. This was the sad assessment of the state of the media and its bias leading into election day. The mainstream media failed to report on Obama’s college days, his birth certificate, his drug use, his associations with Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, Frank Marshall...

Tilikum, the male killer whale that fatally injured trainer Dawn Brancheau in front of a stunned audience at SeaWorld in Orlando on Wednesday, was a breeding "stud" often housed in isolation. Experts believe he did not kill for food, but may have been acting out due to stress and raging hormones. While some reports have been portraying Tilikum as a particularly aggressive orca, a nearly identical incident involving another killer whale male named Ky occurred in July 2004 at the San Antonio SeaWorld. Trainer Steve Aibel, like Brancheau, was pulled underwater by the whale, which also attempted to bite, but...

Chuck Tompkins, curator of zoological operations at SeaWorld Orlando, told "Good Morning America." "Dawn had very long hair in a ponytail. That ponytail had swung in front of him. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her underwater and held her underwater." Eyewitnesses could see clearly through viewing glass as the 12,000 pound killer whale named Tillikum thrashed Brancheau viciously underwater.Though it's the third time Tillikum has been involved in a human's death, there are reportedly no plans to take the massive animal out of the show. "We need to evaluate how to do this the right way," Tompkins...

(Feb. 25) -- Tragedy struck SeaWorld Orlando on Wednesday afternoon when a 40-year-old trainer named Dawn Brancheau was killed by an orca whale during the opening of a packed performance. Brancheau was recognized as one of the park's most seasoned trainers, and relatives have testified to her lifelong love for marine life, making the incident all the more heartbreaking. Now, Shamu Stadium has been closed indefinitely and an investigation begun into the possible causes of the fatality, leaving various media outlets and commentators asking, Why would a 12,000-pound, 30-year-old male whale named Tilikum suddenly snap, attack and kill his trainer?...

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/video/22671481/index.html

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...

Killer whales can weigh up to 22,000 pounds, and may be as long as 32 feet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They often travel in groups of up to 50, being highly social. Confining such an enormous animal in an aquarium tank leads the animal to display neurotic behavior, experts say. "They get very stressed out," marine biologist Nancy Black of Monterey Bay Whale Watch said on CNN's "Larry King Live." SeaWorld whale trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, died Wednesday from "multiple traumatic injuries and drowning" after a whale called Tilikum grabbed her ponytail and pulled her underwater...

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Trainers will continue to work with a killer whale that grabbed one of their colleagues and dragged her underwater, killing her, but SeaWorld said Thursday it is reviewing its procedures. People lined up to get into the Orlando park a day after the whale named Tilikum killed veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau as a horrified audience watched. Tilikum had been involved in two previous deaths, including a Canadian trainer dragged under water by him and two others whales in 1991.