A lot of people believe that the trainers at SeaWorld are biologists or animal experts. However, the trainers often have no true education in marine biology or animal behavior!
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How much does a Sea World Trainer make? As of Sep 27, 2023, the average hourly pay for a Sea World Trainer in the United States is $23.50 an hour.
SeaWorld Orlando has always known that Tilikum, a 12,000-pound orca that killed trainer Dawn Brancheau on Wednesday, could be a particularly dangerous killer whale. SeaWorld trainers were forbidden from swimming with Tilikum, as they often did with the resort's seven other orcas.
SeaWorld apparently did not see it that way, and the killer whale shows have continued as before, only now the trainers do not perform any water work with the orcas. This of course saves trainers from being attacked but does nothing to relieve orcas from the frustrations and anxieties of incarceration.
OSHA came back with the decision that SeaWorld was obligated to protect their trainers from any known risk, and having them in the water with the ocean's top predator was way too dangerous to ever have happen again. So the ruling stood, despite many appeals to judges in various levels of court.
As of 2021, SeaWorld has ended its use of orcas in its shows and breeding program. In 2016, SeaWorld announced that it would no longer breed orcas in captivity and that its current orcas would be its last.
Tilikum pulled SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau into the water in 2010, killing her after a show at the theme park. In the wake of Brancheau's death, SeaWorld removed trainers from the water and implemented new safety procedures.
SeaWorld often keeps dolphins, whales, and other animals trapped with incompatible tankmates. The tension leads to fights and even fatal injuries. Staff members drug some animals to try to relieve their endless frustration.
(CNN) — Fri January 6, 2017 - Tilikum, the killer whale involved in the deaths of three people, including SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010, has died, SeaWorld reported Friday. Tilikum was at the center of the 2013 CNN documentary “Blackfish.”
As of September 20, 2023 there are:At least 176 orcas have died in captivity, not including 30 miscarried or still-born calves. SeaWorld holds 18 orcas in its three parks in the United States.