Why do they think Tilikum killed Dawn?

The only place killer whales ever kill and injure humans is here, in the confines of tanks like these. Tilikum became so interested in the novelty of Dawn's ponytail, SeaWorld would have us believe, that he scalped and killed her. The autopsy report points to some impulse rougher than curiosity.



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Even when staff managed to guide him to the medical lift and raise the floor he refused to let Dawn go. Trainers were forced to pry his jaws open and pull their colleague free as her arm came off in his mouth. She had been scalped and dismembered and had almost every bone in her body broken before being drowned.

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After Tilikum killed Dawn, the show was over. Overnight, SeaWorld's impressive bull orca was forced into isolation. Relegated to a back pool, Tili had become SeaWorld's elephant in the room. Meanwhile, a family was irreparably changed.

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Why was Tilikum not euthanized? Euthanasia is different in a veterinary setting, but we have never euthanized an animal for being aggressive, SeaWorld spokeswoman Leigh Andrus said. The plan is to review our protocols and continue to care for Tillikum with the same high level of care.

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Shamu died that year at SeaWorld of pyometra (a uterine infection) and septicemia (blood poisoning). She was just 9 years old. In the wild, she could have lived to be older than 100.

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Since Blackfish's release, what has happened to orcas at SeaWorld? Seven orcas have died at SeaWorld parks since 2013. Unna, Kasatka, Kyara, Kayla, Amaya, Nakai, and Tilikum all died in the abusement park's small tanks.

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Tilikum was estimated to be about 36 years old at the time of his death. He was brought to SeaWorld after Canada's Sealand of the Pacific closed in 1992. He had been at the amusement park ever since.

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