Orca at centre of controversy dies
Tilikum, the orca who killed several people and was featured in the documentary Blackfish, which put the case against keeping orca in captivity, has died.
Thought to be about 36 years old, Tilikum drew international attention for dragging a SeaWorld trainer underwater to her death during a 2010 show in Florida.
Tilikum died yesterday after experiencing declining health and receiving treatment for a bacterial lung infection, SeaWorld Entertainment said.
It said an official cause of death would not be known until a necropsy was completed.
The whale was ‘‘surrounded by the trainers, care staff and veterinarians that provided him around-the-clock world-class care’’, the company said.
‘‘Tilikum had, and will continue to have, a special place in the hearts of the SeaWorld family, as well as the millions of people all over the world that he inspired,’’ SeaWorld president and chief executive Joel Manby said.
Tilikum had been sick since last March, when a SeaWorld veteranian, teary and voice cracking, warned that the whale’s illness was ‘‘chronic and progressive’’.
The Washington Post profiled the whale that month, writing that Tilikum ‘‘has shouldered a fraught history, emerging as the symbol of both orcas’ elegance and their capacity for violence’’.
The theme park company saw its image tarnished after the release of the 2013 documentary Blackfish, which depicted the captivity and public exhibition of orca as cruel.
The film chronicled the life of Tilikum, who was captured in 1983, aged about 2. He spent 25 years in SeaWorld’s care.
Blackfish painted the whale as a victim of captivity – ‘‘psychotic’’ with boredom, as one researcher put it. It helped to launch an unsuccessful movement to free Tilikum.
In addition to killing trainer Dawn Brancheau in front of horrified guests in Orlando, Tilikum was involved in the deaths of a worker at a different marine park in 1991, and an Orlando tourist who was found dead on the whale’s back in 1999 after trespassing into his tank.
‘‘From the moment he was taken from his ocean family, his life was tragic and filled with pain, as are the lives of the other animals who remain in SeaWorld’s tanks and exhibits,’’ said Lisa Lange, senior vice president for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Tilikum sired at least 21 calves, most of them at SeaWorld Orlando, which acquired him from a Canadian theme park a quarter of a century ago. Eleven of his offspring had previously died, PETA said.
After the documentary and protests by PETA, SeaWorld lost promotional deals and faced falling attendance at its parks, and cut jobs. The company last year pledged to stop breeding orca in captivity and to phase out its whale entertainment shows.
With Tilikum’s death, now has 22 orca at Orlando, San Antonio Diego.
The company said Tilikum was slightly older than wild orca in the region he came from.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says male orca typically live for 30 years, but can reach 50 to 60 years, while females typically live 50 years and can reach up to 100 years.
The world’s oldest known orca, called Granny, was estimated to be over 100 years old when she went missing late last year, according to researchers. SeaWorld parks in and San