Stock image of an orca. Credit: Gunter Marx Photography/Getty

The Incident

Following a “Dine with Shamu” show, where guests dined while watching the performance, Brancheau engaged in a post-show routine with Tilikum. She was lying on a slide-out platform, rubbing the orca’s head, when Tilikum grabbed her by the ponytail and pulled her underwater, WESH reported.

Despite immediate rescue efforts by the staff, including the use of nets and food to distract Tilikum, the orca held onto Brancheau for approximately 45 minutes.

The autopsy revealed that she suffered severe injuries, including a severed spinal cord, fractures to her jawbone, ribs, and vertebrae, and her scalp was torn from her head.

SeaWorld. Credit: Matt Stroshane/Getty

Tilikum’s History

Tilikum had been involved in two previous fatal incidents. In 1991, while at Sealand of the Pacific in Canada, he was one of three orcas involved in the death of trainer Keltie Byrne. In 1999, after being transferred to SeaWorld Orlando, a man named Daniel Dukes was found dead in Tilikum’s tank. ​

Brancheau’s death led to increased scrutiny of SeaWorld’s practices and the ethics of keeping orcas in captivity. The incident was a focal point in the 2013 documentary “Blackfish,” which criticized the treatment of captive orcas and had a significant impact on public perception of marine parks.

In response to growing criticism, SeaWorld announced in 2016 that it would end its orca breeding program and phase out theatrical orca shows.

A video taken moments before the incident shows Brancheau smiling as she interacted with Tilikum, unaware of the impending tragedy.

Last year, an orca who fatally attacked a trainer and allegedly chewed concrete out of insanity died.

Keto was an orca who “suffered a lifetime of abuse,” according to the animal rights organization, PETA.

In a newly published report, it was confirmed that the killer whale had tragically passed away aged 29 after reportedly falling ill at Loro Parque in Spain where he was confined to numerous tanks throughout his lifetime.

The average lifespan for male killer whales is about 30 years, but they can live up to at least 60 years in the wild, per NOAA Fisheries.

Keto was born at SeaWorld Orlando in 1995 as a result of the company’s sordid orca breeding program – an operation that has since ended following intense backlash from groups such as PETA.

While members of Keto’s family stayed at the facility, the orca – who was only four years old at the time, was transferred to numerous other amusement parks including SeaWorld Ohio, followed by SeaWorld San Antonio.

He ended up at Loro Parque so that he could be used to breed more orcas, most of whom died when they were young. However, one of Keto’s calves, Adán, did manage to survive and remains at the park.

In 2009, things took a turn for the worse when the orca accidentally killed Alexis Martinez, a trainer at the establishment, during a session that a SeaWorld senior trainer was reportedly supervising.

After that, SeaWorld allegedly cut ties with the park and allowed them to keep the orcas, keeping them confined to small areas and also continuing to breed them between the same families.