Dawn Brancheau

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Whale Nearly Drowns Sea World Trainer in Video

Ken Peters pats orca's back, barely escapes alive

(Newser) - A chilling video of an attempt by a Sea World whale to drown her trainer has been shown at a hearing concerning workplace safety at the amusement park. The female orca Kasatka grabs trainer Ken Peters by one of his feet during a performance and drags him deep underwater in...

Whale That Killed Trainer to Perform Again

SeaWorld putting Tilikum back to work

(Newser) - Tilikum, the killer whale that drowned a trainer last year and has been involved in two other human deaths, is returning to show business. Officials at Orlando's SeaWorld say the 6-ton whale, the largest killer whale in captivity, will take part in shows beginning today. The park has spent millions...

Trainer's Death Was SeaWorld's Fault: Ex-Safety Chief

Accuses park of gross negligence as OSHA levies fine

(Newser) - It's not a good day for SeaWorld Orlando. As the news comes that OSHA has fined SeaWorld $75,000 for three violations that led to the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau, the park's former safety chief claims SeaWorld was grossly negligent in its safety preparation and has filed a federal...

Orca, Owners Shouldn't Be Stoned ... Just Euthanized

Bible-thumping blogger clarifies after firestorm

(Newser) - You might remember the blogger who advocated Bible-based killings of SeaWorld’s deadly orca and its owners; after an Internet firestorm, Bryan Fischer is clarifying. Though he cited Exodus passages about stoning, he was merely calling for Tilikum—and those who kept him in the park’s show after earlier...

Rescuers Had to Pry Trainer From Orca

Workers also say they had trouble deploying nets

(Newser) - SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau had to be forcibly extracted from the mouth of the orca that killed her, say witness accounts released by police. The accounts rehash much already known information but paint a more complete portrait of the chaotic rescue efforts. After the whale bit down on Brancheau's ponytail,...

Hundreds Mourn Slain SeaWorld Trainer

Dawn Brancheau remembered as 'a great lady'

(Newser) - Family and friends remembered SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau today as someone who died doing what she loved. "You could see it on her face every day," a family friend said as he arrived at Brancheau's funeral in Chicago. "She loved what she did." Brancheau, 40, died...

SeaWorld Resumes Shows, Honors Trainer

Photo montage pays tribute to Dawn Brancheau

(Newser) - SeaWorld in Orlando resumed its whale show today, preceded by an emotional tribute to the female trainer killed three days ago. Spectators, some of whom waited in line two hours before the first show began, gave the trainers a standing ovation when they first emerged, notes the Orlando Sentinel .

SeaWorld Will Resume Orca Shows

Company continues review into killer whale attack

(Newser) - SeaWorld will resume orca shows tomorrow while the company conducts a review of the events leading to a trainer's death at the Florida park. The "Shamu Believe" show will go on, but trainers will not be allowed in the water with the killer whales until after the review is...

SeaWorld Will Keep Killer Whale
 SeaWorld Will Keep Killer Whale 
Feb 25, 2010 9:37 PM CST

SeaWorld Will Keep Killer Whale

Park will change procedure, won't euthanize orca

(Newser) - SeaWorld’s Orlando park said tonight it will keep the whale that killed its trainer yesterday. The 12,000-pound orca, Tilikum, had a history of violence before it grabbed Dawn Brancheau, 40, by her ponytail and dragged her to a death by drowning, and there have been calls for him...

Video Shows Trainer in Water, Playing With Whale

She's seen smiling, in up to her shoulders

(Newser) - A tourist's video shows SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau playing in the water with the whale moments before the fatal attack. In the nearly 7-minute video posted by Orlando station WESH-TV, a smiling Brancheau is seen in the water up to her shoulders, right by the whale, at about the 6:...

SeaWorld: Killer Whale Grabbed Trainer's Ponytail

Dawn Brancheau was 'underwater for an extended period of time'

(Newser) - The SeaWorld trainer slain by a killer whale yesterday was pulled underwater by her ponytail, according to the company, the latest in a variety of explanations as to how she ended up in the water. Because of Tillikum’s size and history, trainers never got into the pool with him....

Trainer Death Sparks New Call to Free Killer Whales

Captivity is cruel, and accidents are unavoidable, activists say

(Newser) - The death of a SeaWorld trainer is being met with the inevitable calls to free Willy, and end orca captivity once and for all. “These behemoths are denied all of their natural, instinctual inclinations,” one tells the Christian Science Monitor . “We humans tend to think, ‘Well,...

12 Stories