Killed SeaWorld Trainer Believed in Trust Relationship with Whales
Posted on Feb 24, 2010 @ 08:39PM
Dawn Brancheau, the SeaWorld Orlando trainer who recently was killed by a whale, believed in the special relationship between the trainer and the animal. RadarOnline.com unearthed an old interview in which she discussed her childhood passion for the profession and talked about trust in the tank.
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"You can't put yourself in the water unless you trust them and they trust you," Brancheau told the Orlando Sentinel in January 2006 when the theme park revamped its signature Shamu show to feature new interactions between the whales and their trainers.
She reportedly died on Wednesday after slipping into the pool of a 30-year old whale named Tilikum- an animal responsible for two previous deaths.
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In the interview, she also described the moment she decided to be a trainer.
"I remember walking down the aisle [of Shamu Stadium] and telling my mom, 'This is what I want to do,'" she said about a trip to SeaWorld when she was nine. She began her career working at the Sea Lion & Otter Stadium before then spending over a decade working with killer whales.
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The Daily Juice
Tilikum DID NOT LIKE Dawn at all.so he whacked her.....R.I.P.
Posted Thu, 02/25/2010 - 1:18am
That is not true AT ALL! Dawn has an AMAZING relationship with him. I even have pictures of her with him while she gave us a special behind the scenes view at what goes on after and before the shows. Tilikum was a gentle...
Posted Thu, 02/25/2010 - 1:48am
but LARGE whale that didn't understand his own power and that is why no one swam with him and this came straight from Dawns mouth. The reports given from the audience hasn't been proven to be true.
Posted Thu, 02/25/2010 - 1:50am
The witnesses say the whale jumped up and grabbed her. A man who was there for an earlier performance said the whales did not answer the to trainers commands. they obvs had enough.
Posted Wed, 02/24/2010 - 10:11pm
Tilikum is also the largest whale in captivity and therefore is only used to splash the audience and no one swims with him. It was a tragic accident.
Posted Wed, 02/24/2010 - 10:07pm
I met both Dawn and Tilikum last February when my husband took me to "Eating with Shamu." She was an AMAZING woman with a GREAT passion for what she did. Tragic loss!
Posted Wed, 02/24/2010 - 10:06pm