killer whale

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PETA Sues SeaWorld for Whale 'Slaves'

Says their treatment violates 13th amendment

(Newser) - Never known for half-measures , PETA is suing SeaWorld—for violating the 13th Amendment. You know, the one that outlawed slavery. In a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of killer whales Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka, and Ulises, the animal rights group contends that SeaWorld keeps its orcas in conditions that violate...

Wrong-Way Whales Worry Biologists

Three killer whales are in Alaska river

(Newser) - Alaska biologists are keeping a worried eye on three killer whales who apparently took a wrong turn and have ended up in fresh water in the Nushagak River, reports the Anchorage Daily News . The whales already look to be showing signs of "freshwater stress," says one scientist, and...

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...

Tommy Lee: Sea World's Whale Masturbation 'Sick, Twisted'

Motley Crue drummer writes letter on behalf of PETA

(Newser) - Tommy Lee's seen some crazy stuff in his time but nothing to match Sea World's treatment of a "sperm bank" killer whale, the Motley Crue drummer writes in an angry letter to the park. Sea World claims Tillikum—an orca that has killed 3 people —no longer has...

SeaWorld Orca Dies Giving Birth

Orca who killed trainer is stillborn calf's father

(Newser) - SeaWorld Orlando lost an orca and its newborn calf today as the mother died giving birth. Both calf and mother were lost to complications associated with the whale birthing process, which SeaWorld personnel attributed to unusual positioning of the baby. The father of the calf was Tilikum, the orca who...

Dogs, Whales Display Special Connection

Video, anecdotes support notion of interspecies bond

(Newser) - Do dogs and whales share a mysterious special bond? Yes, according to Discovery News writer Jennifer Viegas. For proof, she offers the YouTube clip above and some anecdotal evidence from Carrie Newell, who runs Whale Research EcoExcursions. Newell often brings her dog on her whale watching expeditions, and she reports...

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...

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...

Freeing 'Magical' Orcas Easier Said Than Done

Writer notes 'primal connection' with captive whale

(Newser) - Whales like the one that killed a SeaWorld trainer on Wednesday belong in the wild, Susan Orlean writes, and humans should “just take fabulous videos of them and project them on gigantic high-definition screens”—but when you see the creatures up close in captivity, they’re just so...

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 .

Celebs Split on Killer-Whale Killing

 Celebs Split on 
 Killer-Whale Killing 
flu is way scarier, says dane
Feb 26, 2010 9:14 AM CST

Celebs Split on Killer-Whale Killing

Khloe Kardashian has whale-phobia; Dane Cook thinks flu is scarier

(Newser) - Celebs are split on which is more outrageous: that the whale that killed a SeaWorld trainer this week is still alive, or that the whale was a captured and trained to perform in the first place. Reactions from Hollywood, as rounded up by E! :
  • Nick Cannon: “People need to
...

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...

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,...

Whale in Deadly Attack Has Violent History

40-year-old trainer was fatally injured in front of spectators

(Newser) - The SeaWorld employee killed today by a 12,000-pound whale in front of spectators has been identified as 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau, a trainer with years of experience. About two dozen spectators at the Dine With Shamu show watched in horror as Tilikum, a male killer whale, pulled Brancheau into the...

Orcas Storm Beach to Grab Seals

Killer whales surf ashore for dinner

(Newser) - Innovative killer whales are breaching a beach in Argentina to grab seals and sea lions in the first such behavior ever witnessed. A pair of orcas particularly adept at the brazen strategy, nicknamed Mel and Maga by observing National Geographic scientists, have been spotted repeatedly riding the waves to shore,...

Long-Living Whales Shed Light on Menopause

Females see offspring through to maturity

(Newser) - Stumped scientists finally have a clue about the evolutionary purpose of post-menopausal women. Female killer whales—who outlive males by decades—stick around to nurture their kin through maturity, the Los Angeles Times reports. Similarly, human mamas may stick around to ensure their kids really, truly, don't need them anymore....

To Find the Killer Whale, Scientists Think Like One

Off of Scotland, team stakes out its prey

(Newser) - Killer whales spend most of their time tracking their prey, and so do the scientists who study them. Marine biologists at Scotland's St. Andrews University spent 3 months among the Shetland Islands in search of their cetacean quarry, and caught sight of whales only about 12 times. They explain to...

Puget Sound's Orcas in Trouble
 Puget Sound's Orcas in Trouble 
Oct 25, 2008 10:56 AM CDT

Puget Sound's Orcas in Trouble

(Newser) - The orca population in Washington’s Puget Sound is dropping, and scientists think a scarce food supply is to blame, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. A poor year for chinook salmon—and another is in the forecast—forced the killer whales to spend energy searching further afield for food. Two mature...

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