Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity
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16. Letter from Minister of Fisheries Thorsteinn Palsson to SeaWorld vice president for zoological operations Brad Andrews, May 7, 1992.
17. Interview transcript from PBS “A Whale of a Business,” www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/interviews/mcbain.html. The interview was with Brad Andrews and SeaWorld director of veterinarian services Jim McBain; it is not clear if Andrews, rather than McBain, made the statement, though it is probable.
14. Arrival
1. Letter from Erich Hoyt, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, to William Fox, assistant administrator for fisheries, NMFS, January 31, 1992.
2. “Infection kills 36-day-old killer whale,” Canadian Press, March 11, 1992.
3. Letter from Nancy Foster, director, Office of Protected Species, NMFS, to Brad Andrews, vice president of operations, SeaWorld, Orlando, October 7, 1992; and NMFS Public Display Permit No. 774, issued to SeaWorld, Orlando, October 7, 1992.
4. “B.C. whales airlifted to new U.S. homes—Orca trio fly south in water-filled crates,” Hamilton Spectator (ON, Canada), January 8, 1993
15. Humane Society
1. Information on early captures of killer whales was also derived from PBS’s Frontline, “A Whale of a Business,” www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/orcas1.html; and other sources, including Erich Hoyt, Orca: The Whale Called Killer (Camden House, 1990 ed.), and Tim Zimmermann, “The Killer in the pool,” Outside, June 30, 2010.
2. www.imdb.com/title/tt0060737/.
3. Zimmermann, “Killer in the pool.”
4. “Judge sets ‘killer’ whales free,” Associated Press, March 13, 1976.
16. Backstage Doubts
1. Letter from F. B. den Herder, director, Dolfinarium Harderwijk, Netherlands, to Lanny Cornell, zoological director, SeaWorld, San Diego, January 1987. Available at www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/seaworld/gudrun/amstltr.html.
2. “Killer whale born at Orlando SeaWorld,” Gainesville Sun, January 1, 1994.
3. “Killer whale born,” Tuscaloosa News, September 13, 1993.
4. “Killer whale born at Orlando SeaWorld,” Gainesville Sun.
5. “SeaWorld loses second killer whale this year,” Associated Press, April 2, 1996.
6. Information about Kalina’s fighting for dominance with her mother, Katina, comes from the personal observations of Jeffrey Ventre and John Jett.
17. Blood in the Water
1. More information on deaths of captive killer whales is available from the Marine Mammal Inventory Report (MMIR), as well as several websites, including www.orcahome.de and www.cetacousin.bplaced.net.
2. Death of Kandu: Marine Mammal Inventory Report, www.databases.sun-sentinel.com.
3. “Shamu dies of infection,” Eugene (OR) Register-Guard, August 31, 1971.
4. Death of Frankie: Marine Mammal Inventory Report, www.databases.sun-sentinel.com.
5. Death of Canuck: Erich Hoyt, Orca: The Whale Called Killer, “Appendix Six: Killer Whales Kept Captive” (Camden House, 1990 ed.).
6. Death of Kandu III: Ibid.
7. Death of Kona: Ibid.
8. Death of Kandu II: Ibid.
9. Rescue of Sandy: “No-Name finds unlikely friend,” Associated Press, June 1, 1973.
10. Death of Kilroy: “Killer whale dies,” Associated Press, September 24, 1978.
11. Death of Kanuck II: Hoyt, Orca.
12. Death of Ramu: Ibid.
13. Death of Baby Shamu II: “Baby killer whale dies,” Modesto (CA) Bee, January 17, 1986.
14. Death of Winston: “Whale dies,” Associated Press, April 29, 1986.
15. Death of Kona II: “Performing killer whale dies at SeaWorld,” Palm Beach Post, October 29, 1987.
16. Death of Nootka (Knootka): “Killer whale dies of infection at SeaWorld,” Los Angeles Times, March 14, 1990.
17. Death of Kahana: “Killer whale’s death probed,” Associated Press, May 16, 1991.
18. Vanessa Williams, “Captive Orcas ‘Dying to Entertain You’—the Full Story,” report for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Chippenham, UK, April 30, 2001, 44, www.wdcs.org/submissions_bin/orcareport.pdf.
19. Death of Samoa and calf: “Killer whale, calf die during birth,” Gainesville Sun, March 15, 1992.
20. Death of Orky II: Linda Roach Monroe, “Orky, killer whale that fathered calf at SeaWorld, dies,” Los Angeles Times, September 27, 1988.
21. Death of Kandu V: “Killer whales collide, SeaWorld attraction dies in accident,” Associated Press, August 21, 1989.
22. “Performing whale dies in collision with another,” New York Times, August 23, 1989.
23. Attack on Annette Eckis: “Killer Whale/Show Girl,” CBS Evening News, April 20, 1971, footage available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9HwRvmfz6o.
24. Attack on Doug Cartlidge: Orca Homepage, “Violent Incidents Between Humans and Killer Whales in Captivity,” www.orcahome.de/incidents.htm.
25. Attack on Jill Stratton: Cathleen Decker, “Trainer leaves hospital, isn’t angry with whale,” Los Angeles Times, May 1978.
26. Robert Reinhold, “At SeaWorld, stress tests whale and man,” New York Times, April 4, 1988.
27. Attack on Joanne Hay: Mike Lee, “SeaWorld San Diego suspends Shamu show,” San Diego Union-Tribune, February 24, 2010.
28. Attack on Georgia Jones: Ibid.
29. Attack on Bud Krames: Ibid.
30. Attacks on trainers at Marineland Ontario: Enzo di Matto, “Mayhem in Marineland,” NOW, October 10, 1996.
31. Incident with Mark Beeler: Dayna Lynn Fried and John Wilkens, “Kandu bled to death,” San Diego Union-Tribune, August 23, 1989.
32. Attack on Jonathan Smith: Erich Hoyt, The Performing Orca—Why the Show Must Stop (Bath, England: Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, 1992).
33. Attack on Joanne Webber: “Ex-trainer suing SeaWorld for neck injury,” San Diego Union-Tribune, June 15, 1987.
34. Attack on Chris Barlow: “Killer whale injures trainer,” Torrance (CA) Daily Breeze, October 1, 1987.
35. Biting of Mark McHugh: Ibid.
36. Rash of attacks in San Diego: Newspapers reported on a “white paper” with at least fourteen orca-trainer injuries within five months at SeaWorld, only a few of which were reported to the media. Janny Scott, “Waves of trouble at SeaWorld,” Los Angeles Times, December 20, 1987.
37. Injury of John Sillick: Hoyt, Performing Orca; and Reinhold, “At SeaWorld, stress tests.”
38. “SeaWorld Investigation: Secrets Below the Surface Part 2,” 10News San Diego (ABC affiliate), May 17, 2007.
39. Chris Kraul and Greg Johnson, “SeaWorld president fired in aftermath of whale accident,” Los Angeles Times, December 2, 1987.
40. Smith lawsuit against SeaWorld: Jenifer Warren and Greg Johnson, “Ex-trainer sues SeaWorld over whale injuries,” Los Angeles Times, March 4, 1988.
18. The Case Against
1. The most notorious primate social-deprivation study was Harry F. Harlow et al., “Total Social Isolation in Monkeys,” Department of Psychology Primate Laboratory and Regional Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, presented to the National Academy of Sciences USA on April 28, 1965.
2. “Recovery Plan for Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca),” National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Region, Seattle, Washington, 2008.
3. “Response to Erich Hoyt Report Commissioned by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society,” SeaWorld, October 1992.
4. Press release, American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, Bethesda, MD, July 16, 1993.
19. Free Willy
1. Much of the biographical information on Keiko comes from PBS’s Frontline, “A Whale of a Business,” www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/keiko; as well as Kenneth Brower, Freeing Keiko (Gotham Books, 2005).
2. The account of the meeting in Mexico City with Oscar Porter was confirmed by Naomi Rose and Kenneth Balcomb. The meeting was also captured on videotape.
2
1. Kiss of Death
1. Bill Hutchinson, “Dawn Brancheau lived her dream at Orlando SeaWorld before losing her life in Shamu whale attack,” New York Daily News, February 25, 2010.
2. “SeaWorld fights to up whale population,” Associated Press, September 22, 1984.
3. Tim Tucker, “This is one whale of an outdoorsman—SeaWorld trainer likes working with killer whales and hooking largemouth bass,” Palm Beach Post, July 13, 1989.
4. “Death of SeaWorld whale may be linked to delivery,” Ocala Star-Banner, September 15, 1994.
5. “SeaWorld welcomes new whale,” Associated Press, November 22, 1994.
6. “Killer whale born in Texas,” United Press International, November 20, 1994.
7. “Killer whale calf at SeaWorld dies,” Associated Press, December 29, 1994.
8. Tim Zimmermann, “Do Orcas at marine parks injure one another?” posted at Current TV Web site, September 14, 2010, http://current.com/1b7n74c.
22. Catch and Release
1. Maria Ricapito, “Warner and the Whale—‘Free Willy’s’ whale finds a new home,” Entertainment Weekly, February 17, 1995.
2. “Keiko’s Arrival Date Set for Newport, Ore.,” news release, Oregon Coast Aquarium, October 17, 1995.
3. MARMAM archives may be accessed by joining the MARMAM list at https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam.
23. Tilly’s Willy
1. “Killer whale at SeaWorld gives birth to a dead calf,” Orlando Sentinel, February 22, 1996.
2. Paul Spong, “New Orca Deaths at SeaWorld—Father Tilikum’s Baby Dies Stillborn, Mother Gudrun’s Death Follows Quickly,” press release, OrcaLab, Alert Bay, BC, Canada, February 29, 1996.
24. Better Days
1. R. Small and D. DeMaster, “Survival of five species of captive marine mammals,” Marine Mammal Science 11, no. 2 (1995): 209–26.
2. Douglas S. DeMaster and Jeannie K. Drevenak, “Survivorship patterns in three species of captive cetaceans,” Marine Mammal Science 4, no. 4 (1988): 297–311.
3. Howard Garrett, “Keiko’s Life,” Orca Network, www.orcanetwork.org/captivity/keikostory.html.
4. “Keiko’s Timeline,” Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society, www.oceanfutures.org/action/marine-mammals/keiko.
5. “Dispute over whale’s care stalls plan to ‘Free Willy,’” Associated Press, October 7, 1997.
6. More information on PBS’s Frontline program “A Whale of a Business” is available at www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales.
25. The Salish Sea
1. Candace Calloway Whiting, “40th anniversary of Whidbey’s Penn Cove orca capture,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer blog, August 7, 2010, http://blog.seattlepi.com/whidbey/2010/08/07/40th-anniversary-of-whidbeys-penn-cove-orca-capture/.
26. The Strange Case of Daniel Dukes
1. Kasatka “Animal Profile,” SeaWorld San Diego, revised June 2010.
2. “Killer whales: Other SeaWorld attacks,” Orlando Sentinel, February 27, 2010.
3. “Man drowns in orca pool at SeaWorld Orlando,” Environmental News Service, July 7, 1999.
4. Paul Wilborn, “Killer whale image questioned: One expert says SeaWorld’s marketing efforts have ‘turned them into Mickey Mouse,’” St. Petersburg Times, July 9, 1999.
5. “Report of Autopsy: Daniel Patrick Dukes, Case No. MEA 728-99,” Office of the Medical Examiner, District Nine, Orlando, FL, July 7, 1999.
27. Transatlantic Ties
1. Howard Garrett, “Keiko’s Life,” Orca Network, www.orcanetwork.org/captivity/keikostory.html.
2. “Keiko the whale moves one step closer to home,” Associated Press, June 10, 1998.
3. Garrett, “Keiko’s Life.”
4. “Keiko, Cousteau groups merge for education,” Newhouse News Service, March 18, 1999.
5. E. C. M. Parsons, Sarah J. Dolman, Andrew J. Wright, Naomi A. Rose, and W. C. G. Burns, “Navy sonar and cetaceans: Just how much does the gun need to smoke before we act?” Marine Pollution Bulletin 56 (2008): 1248–57.
6. L. S. Weilgart, “Review: The impacts of anthropogenic pollution noise on cetaceans and implications for management,” Canadian Journal of Zoology 85 : (2007) 1091–1116.
7. Donald McNeil Jr., “Keiko makes it clear: His ‘Free Willy’ was just a role,” New York Times, November 6, 2001.
8. Patrick McMahon, “Killer whale project loses big source of funding,” USA Today, March 28, 2002.
9. “Whale Expert: ‘Best to destroy Keiko’—Human-loving whale from Free Willy in trouble,” Aftenposten of Norway Multimedia, September 3, 2002.
28. Abnormal Activities
1. Shanna McCord, “Killer-whale trainer suffers broken arm in SeaWorld incident,” San Diego Union-Tribune, August 8, 2002.
2. Linda Roach Monroe, “Orky, killer whale that fathered calf at SeaWorld, dies,” Los Angeles Times, September 27, 1988.
3. Terry Rodgers, “Deaths of marine mammals hit staffers especially hard,” San Diego Union-Tribune, April 24, 2005.
4. “News from Keiko’s Veterinarian,” Free Willy-Keiko Foundation website, November 2002, www.keiko.com/news2.html.
5. Kyuquot “Animal Profile,” SeaWorld San Antonio, revised 2010.
6. James Aldridge, “Killer whale dies unexpectedly at SeaWorld San Antonio,” San Antonio Business Journal, April 12, 2002.
7. “Killer Whale Attacks SeaWorld Trainer During Performance,” WFTV News, San Antonio, July 27, 2004, www.wftv.com/news/news/killer-whale-attacks-seaworld-trainer-during-perfo/nFCcT/.
8. Christopher Sherman, “Killer whale jolts trainer,” Orlando Sentinel, April 4, 2005.
9. Rodgers, “Deaths of marine mammals.”
10. Patricia Dibsie, “SeaWorld gets a new pair of killer whales,” San Diego Union-Tribune, March 9, 1999.
11. “SeaWorld San Antonio staff has a whale of a nursing job,” San Antonio Express-News, October 23, 2005.
29. Ken and Kasatka
1. Terry Rodgers, “Marine park cited after whale attack,” San Diego Union-Tribune, March 4, 2007.
2. “SeaWorld Trainer in Fair Condition After Killer Whale Attack,” CNN, November 30, 2006.
3. Details from the 2006 Kasatka attack on Ken Peters were presented in the original Narrative Summary provided by Cal/OSHA in 2007, which can be viewed at www.orcanetwork.org/captivity/070302seaworldreport.pdf.
4. Terry Rodgers, “State withdraws report critical of SeaWorld—Marine park cited after whale attack,” San Diego Union-Tribune, March 3, 2007.
30. Tenerife
1. “Killer whale calf is born at SeaWorld,” San Diego Union-Tribune, May 4, 2002
2. “Killer whale at SeaWorld has new 350-pound bundle of joy,” Associated Press, February 12, 2004.
3. “Breathing lessons: Killer whale Taima nudges her newborn calf towards the water’s surface,” caption, Associated Press wire photo, appearing in the Lodi (CA) News-Sentinel, November 9, 2000.
4. Tekoa page, Cetacean Cousins website, http://cetacousin.bplaced.net/orca/profile/tekoa.html.
5. Ines Davis Parrish, “SeaWorld’s latest birth provides whale of a time,” Orlando Sentinel, June 19, 1995.
6. “There’s a new whale in town,” Associated Press photo caption appearing in Victoria (TX) Advocate, February 21, 2001.
7. Tim Zimmermann, “Blood in the water,” Outside Online, July 15, 2011, www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/Blood-in-the-water-Keto.html?page=all.
8. Ibid.
9. “Woman survives killer whale ordeal,” Associated Press, October 9, 2007.
10. Marine Mammal Inventory Report, www.databases.sun-sentinel.com.
11. “Killer whale born,” Associated Press photo caption, Tuscaloosa News, September 13, 1993.
12. “SeaWorld announces killer whale Katina gives birth to seven foot long calf,” Environmental News, September 22, 1996.
13. “Orca at SeaWorld San Antonio dies,” Associated Press, June 17, 2008.
14. Wendy Cooke, “Orca Traine
r Alexis Martinez, Death at Loro Parque Caused by Known Aggression,” www.withoutmethereisnoyou.com, January 24, 2011.
15. Zimmermann, “Blood in the water.”
16. Jason Garcia, “SeaWorld Orlando will flip to new owner—After months of talks, Busch Entertainment will be sold to Blackstone Group for up to $2.7 billion,” Orlando Sentinel, October 7, 2009.
17. “Policy on Care of Animals,” Merlin Entertainments, www.merlinentertainments.biz/en/environment/marinemammals.aspx.
32. Wake
1. Annie Hartnett, “SeaWorld Revives ‘Dine with Shamu’ Program After a Year of Deaths,” www.change.org, January 25, 2011.
2. Eric Montenegro, “Ocean embassy abandons plans for dolphin park in San Carlos,” Panama America, July 18, 2008, www.panama-guide.com/article.php/20080718123656879.
3. Carl Franzen, “SeaWorld’s Killer Whale Shows Will Go On,” AOL news, February 26, 2010.
4. “SeaWorld killer whale trainer: ‘We treated Tilikum differently,’” Guardian, February 25, 2010.
33. Battle Stations
1. Anika Myers Palm and Eloísa Ruano González, “SeaWorld trainer tribute: Shamu Believe show resumes with standing ovation,” Orlando Sentinel, February 27, 2010.
2. Ros Clubb and Georgia Mason, “Captivity effects on wide-ranging carnivores—Animals that roam over a large territory in the wild do not take kindly to being confined,” Nature 425 (October 2, 2003).
3. Ann Oldenburg, “Bob Barker urges SeaWorld to release sea animals,” USA Weekend, February 25, 2010.
4. From transcript of Tippi Hedren on CNN’s Larry King Live, “SeaWorld Trainer Laid to Rest,” March 1, 2010.
5. “Matt Damon Speaks Out on SeaWorld Tragedy,” Entertainment Tonight and ET Online, February 25, 2010.
6. Paul Thompson, “Whale that killed its trainer at SeaWorld ‘must be stoned to death,’ says American religious group,” Mail Online (UK), March 6, 2010, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1255453/SeaWorld-whale-killed-Dawn-Brancheau-stoned-death.html#ixzz1leroEmzg.
7. James Quinn, “Blackstone chief Schwarzman likens Obama to Hitler over tax rises,” Telegraph (UK), August 16, 2010.
8. Allegations of SeaWorld’s withholding documents came from two former employees-turned-whistle-blowers and other contacts familiar with the investigation. SeaWorld denies all allegations of misconduct or foot-dragging in the Brancheau/OSHA probe.