Without a doubt, this incident is tragic for everyone involved. But let’s remember nothing in this scenario save Tilikum’s skin color is black and white. Many rush to blame Sea World for keeping Tilikum despite his involvement in several deaths in previous years. Many would also blame Dawn, speculating that she “did something to cause Tilikum to attack.”
I don’t know enough about Orca health and wellness needs, and will not comment on Sea World’s ability to care for those needs. From what I have read, they seem to take good care of their Orcas. This is also not the place for a discussion of whether or not these animals should be in captivity. Captive programs are here to stay for the coming future, so the best we can do is to make sure they are quality programs.
As a humane animal advocate I was thrilled to hear Jim Atchison, president of Sea World, state unequivocally that Tilikum would not see punishment for his actions. Tilikum and all captive Orcas are victims here and to be punished for the sole reason of being a wild animal just can’t be part of our world any longer. We have chosen to keep these animals close to us. Dawn chose to enter the water with a 22-foot, 12-ton killer animal. She knew the risk. As a fellow animal trainer, I understand that risk and would probably do the same thing. I feel sure Dawn would not have blamed Tilikum nor would want him punished.
We only have to take a moment to remember Montecore, the 600-pound white tiger who dragged his trainer, Vegas performer Roy Horn, off stage during another show nearly killing him. In 2008, Rocky, a 700-pound grizzly bear killed one of his trainers, Stephan Miller of Predators in Action, a company that trains wild animals for film and photo shoots. We as a society ask for interactions with wild animals as if they are domesticated pets that can have their instincts trained out of them. We pay for these interactions. We purchase tickets to Sea World and Vegas-style stage shows to watch people play with these creatures as if they are windup toys. We don’t ever stop to think about the emotional toll that living in captivity or the thoughts and feeling that these animals have regarding their care. They aren’t given the choice to “not do a show today.” These animals have emotional lives that aren’t considered. And when they “act out” because they are frustrated or angry at their trainers/keepers, often (and perhaps inadvertently) they kill them.
I do believe that we are all part of the problem of wild animal attacks in captive scenarios, and we can all be part of the solution. We can stop paying for tickets to stage shows. We can demand that places like Sea World be a sanctuary that cares for injured and captive-bred animals only. We can insist that their shows be much more about conservation and wellness of the total animal, both physical and emotional, and not about how people can get a 12,000-pound orca to mimic us as we bounce back and forth from one leg to the other.
As Courtney Vail of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said on CBS-TV, we don’t see enough scientific research and conservation work at these places. They are too focused on creating exciting stage shows and don’t have any room to create proper homes for the animals that are in their forced captive care. We can create sanctuaries that focus on the animal. We can create a connection with people and wild animals where respect, scientific research, conservation, and humane education are at the fore-front of what the public pays for. These places won’t be as flashy as watching an orca pushing a person twenty feet into the air or seeing dolphins jump through hoops in syncopated fashion, but they could be beautiful places.
Kat Berger, APDT
Owner, The Furry Nation
