SeaWorld did not "buy" Tilikum in a traditional direct sale from his original captors; rather, they acquired him from another marine park. Tilikum was captured in Iceland in 1983 and initially lived at Sealand of the Pacific in Canada. Following a tragic incident in 1991 where a trainer died, Sealand decided to close its doors and sell its orcas. SeaWorld applied for an emergency permit and officially moved Tilikum to its Orlando facility in January 1992. While SeaWorld effectively purchased him as part of this transaction between parks, he became their most famous and controversial inhabitant, eventually siring 21 calves through their breeding program. Tilikum lived at SeaWorld for 25 years until his death in 2017. In 2026, his legacy remains a central pillar in the global debate over the ethics of cetacean captivity, largely popularized by the 2013 documentary Blackfish, which scrutinized the circumstances of his acquisition and subsequent life in Florida.