Dawn Brancheau, whose full name was Dawn Therese Brancheau, was a senior animal trainer at SeaWorld in America who was killed by an orca while performing a water show. The orca that killed Brancheau previously killed animal trainers Keltie Byrne and Daniel P. Dukes.
The orca that killed Brancheau was named Tilikum, the largest one at SeaWorld Orlando. Tilikum pulled Brancheau to the pool clutching her arm as the show ended, and she was not released for the next 45 minutes. The autopsy report claimed she drowned to death supplemented by blunt force trauma.
To know more about the killer orca, continue reading.
Orca Seaworld Killed The Trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010- Video Explained
The unfortunate incident dates back to 24 February 2010 when the senior animal trainer Dawn Brancheau and orca Tilikum performed in the aquatic performance “Dine with Shamu.” Toward the end of the show, the orca pulled its trainer to the pool and drowned her to death.
Tilikum was an enormous orca at SeaWorld Orlando, and it was performing in a setting where the visitors dined in an outdoor restaurant observing the show from the poolside. The show went smoothly with no pre-hunches of the attack. But an unexpected thing happened when it was time for the show’s climax.
Brancheau was stroking Tilikum’s head at the side of the pool as part of the end-of-show routine while lying on a slide-out. Slide-out is a platform in the collection that is submerged approximately a foot into the water. Brancheau was there at the slide-out with her face next to Tilikum’s. She was reportedly pulled inside underwater by her hair, according to SeaWorld. However, videos swirling on the Internet depict that Tilikum grabbed Brancheau by her shoulder, quickly pulled her down, and drowned her.
To detour Tilikum, SeaWorld employees dropped food and used nets to catch it. They eventually directed Tilikum to a smaller medical pool because they thought it would be simpler to calm him there. But, it was too late. Tilikum freed Brancheau’s body after around 45 minutes, and she was dead until then.
What Did The Autopsy Report Say?
Tilikum drowned Brancheau; therefore, the autopsy report did say that Brancheau died from drowning, but it further stated that blunt force injuries also contributed to her death.
The autopsy report indicated that she had her spinal cord severed and had fractured her ribs, jaws, and cervical vertebra. Brancheau’s left elbow and left knee were also dislocated, and her scalp was entirely pulled off.
Brancheau’s death resulted in a permanent change in how theme parks treat wild marine animals and the release of the award-winning documentary Blackfish based on this event. SeaWorld adopted an instant safety policy as a result of the tragedy. The rule stipulated that no SeaWorld trainer could perform a show with an orca inside the pool.
Similar internal and voluntary restrictions were introduced before by SeaWorld, following specific other injuries to animal trainers. Nonetheless, every time, SeaWorld lifted the rule with temporary execution. However, after the Brancheau tragedy, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) action strengthened the restriction. It prompted SeaWorld to request the revocation of numerous OSHA violations and decisions regularly until 2014.
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Keltie Byrne Was Another Victim Of Tilikum
Tilikum also claimed the life of Keltie Byrne, a Canadian animal trainer and champion swimmer. Byrne used to work as a trainer at the Canadian theme park Sealand of the Pacific when she was drowned in a pool of contained water by a herd of orca whales in 1991.
The date was 20 February 1991. During her shift at Sealand of the Pacific, Keltie Byrne slipped and fell into the whale tank that had three whales. Tilikum clutched Byrne’s foot and dragged her below the water as she fell. The whales reportedly refused to let Byrne go even after she passed out in the water, which prevented rescue efforts.
She was eventually declared dead, and her corpse was pulled from the three whales’ tank using a big net. The Tilikum that killed Byrne was then sold to the American SeaWorld parks by Sealand of the Pacific, announced defunct following the Keltie Byrne incident.