Who was Tilikum? SeaWorld orca from Blackfish documentary who killed his trainer – here’s what we know
The killer whale lived in captivity for more than 30 years, and was involved in the deaths of three humans
TILIKUM, the orca who lived in SeaWorld and became famous around the world after featuring in the documentary Blackfish, has died.
The killer whale lived in captivity in zoos and marine theme parks for more than 30 years, and was involved in the deaths of three humans.
Here’s what we know about him:
How old was Tilikum and where was he from?
Tilikum was captured at Berufjördur, near the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, along with two other young orcas in 1983.
He was around two years old when he was taken, so was estimated to be 36 years old at the time of his death.
The orca spent a year in a zoo in Reykjavik, before being transferred to Sealand of the Pacific in Canada.
After he was involved in the first of the three deaths that brought him to wider fame, Tilikum moved to SeaWorld Orlando in 1992 – it would be the killer whale’s home for the rest of his life.
Tilikum measured almost seven metres in length, weighed almost six tonnes – making him the largest recorded male orca in captivity – and sired 21 calves.
Which deaths was Tilikum involved in?
In 1991 Tilikum was sharing a tank with two female orcas, Haida II and Nootka IV, at Sealand of the Pacific, when 21-year-old part-time trainer Keltie Byrne fell into their pool.
As horrified visitors watched on, the three whales submerged Byrne, dragging her around the pool and stopping her from coming up for air.
She managed to resurface three times before she drowned. It was several hours before her body could be recovered, and the theme park closed shortly afterwards.
Eight years later, drifter and nature lover Daniel Dukes stayed in SeaWorld after the park had closed and avoided security guards before sneaking into Tilikum’s tank.
The following morning, the 27-year-old was found dead on the whale’s back – an autopsy found that he had drowned, but his body was also covered in wounds and abrasions.
Most famously, in 2010, experienced trainer Dawn Brancheau was rubbing Tilikum as part of a SeaWorld show when he grabbed her by her arm or hair and dragged her into the water.
Brancheau died from drowning and blunt trauma – her spinal cord was severed, she had broken several bones and Tilikum had torn off the trainer’s left arm.
The incident was the first time a SeaWorld trainer had been killed, made headlines across America and led to the theme forbidding their trainers from entering the water with an Orca.
What was Blackfish?
The 2013 documentary Blackfish brought the story of Tilikum and SeaWorld’s other captive killer whales to a global audience.
It used footage of the orca’s 1983 capture and struggles with his tankmates at Sealand to argue that the stress these traumatic incidents caused contributed to the orca’s moments of aggression.
The BAFTA-nominated film also attempts to disprove various claims from SeaWorld over the lifespan and quality of life of whales in captivity, and interviewed many of the theme park’s trainers, who described their experiences with Tilikum and other orcas.
Blackfish earned rave reviews and had a huge impact on attitudes towards captive whales across the world.
SeaWorld, who refused to take part and claimed the film was inaccurate, announced a $15.9 million loss in the aftermath of its release.
How did the orca die?
Tilikum died on Friday January 6 2017, with SeaWorld saying that the orca was “surrounded by trainers, care staff and vetenarians”.
While his precise cause of death will not be known until a necropsy is completed, the killer whale had been suffering from serious health issues since March 2016.
According to the theme park, Tilikum had been suffering from “a persistent and complicated bacterial lung infection” before his death.
The same week of Tilikum’s death, the world’s oldest known killer whale “Granny” died, according to researchers – the matriarch’s estimated age was over 100 years old.
Early in 2016, SeaWorld announced it was stopping its orca breeding program – the current killer whales living at the theme parks will be the last generation.
READ MORE
Heartbreaking footage shows SeaWorld Killer whale ‘trying to kill herself
Tilikum the Seaworld orca from Blackfish documentary dies aged 36
Killer Hurricane Matthew forces SeaWorld Florida to shut its doors