Skip to comments.
Some facts about killer whales
orlandosentinel ^
| February 24, 2010
| Dewayne Bevil
Posted on 02/24/2010 4:18:50 PM PST by JoeProBono
Experienced whale trainer Dawn Brancheau died in an incident at SeaWorld Orlando on Wednesday afternoon while working with a killer whale. Facts about killer whales such as those found at the Orlando theme park include:
Tillikum (nicknamed Tilly), the whale involved in Wednesday's death at SeaWorld Orlando, is considered the largest orca in captivity, weighing in at nearly 12,000 pounds. He has lived at the Orlando theme park since 1992.
" Shamu" is merely a stage name that SeaWorld parks use for any adult whale male or female in a park show.
Adult killer whales at SeaWorld parks eat from 140 to 240 pounds of food mostly fish per day.
Newborn calves are about 8 feet long and weigh between 265 and 350 pounds.
When SeaWorld's "Believe" show had its Orlando debut in 2007, trainers were said to have incorporated 60 separate behaviors from subtle maneuvers to the trainers launching from atop the surging whales' beaks.
Killer whales are found in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Life expectancy for a male killer whale in the wild is about 30 years. For females, it's 50 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
TOPICS: Music/Entertainment; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: jpb; killerwhales; orca; orcas; seaworld; shamu; tillikum
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-79 next last
To: All
2
posted on
02/24/2010 4:20:40 PM PST
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: JoeProBono
So, “Fish Bambi” killed its trainer?
3
posted on
02/24/2010 4:21:00 PM PST
by
ConservativeMind
(Hypocrisy: "Animal rightists" who eat meat & pen up pets while accusing hog farmers of cruelty.)
To: JoeProBono
Some facts about killer whales
They kill.
4
posted on
02/24/2010 4:21:26 PM PST
by
oh8eleven
(RVN '67-'68)
To: JoeProBono
5
posted on
02/24/2010 4:22:30 PM PST
by
Marty62
(former Marty60)
To: JoeProBono
But.. but.. certain leftist ecoterror groups would have you believe these are NOBLE creatures.
(The ‘noble’ creature is a myth, people! Get over it!)
6
posted on
02/24/2010 4:24:48 PM PST
by
Darksheare
(Tar is cheap, and feathers are plentiful.)
To: ConservativeMind
SeaWorld trainers Dawn Brancheau and Sam Davis go sky high with a pair of killer whales during a performance of the park's new Shamu show, Believe.
7
posted on
02/24/2010 4:25:09 PM PST
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: oh8eleven
The first and most important fact!
8
posted on
02/24/2010 4:25:24 PM PST
by
BradyLS
(DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
To: JoeProBono
Until I read the caption, I thought that picture was of a pair of narrow wooden cow heads that someone had put in front of the altar in a New Age church sanctuary.
9
posted on
02/24/2010 4:27:40 PM PST
by
Styria
To: JoeProBono
Looks like the bottom teeth have been filed down in the top two photos.
10
posted on
02/24/2010 4:28:24 PM PST
by
kanawa
To: ConservativeMind
Tilly
11
posted on
02/24/2010 4:30:28 PM PST
by
JoeProBono
(A closed mouth gathers no feet)
To: oh8eleven
That’s what happens when folk try to treat wild animals as if they can be domesticated.
12
posted on
02/24/2010 4:30:48 PM PST
by
brwnsuga
(Not Black BUT Conservative, Black AND Conservative!!!)
To: JoeProBono
13
posted on
02/24/2010 4:33:18 PM PST
by
wally_bert
(It's sheer elegance in its simplicity! - The Middleman)
To: JoeProBono
What a horrendous thing to do to any wild animal-—keep them in captivity for decades. I cried at the Sea World show when we took our kids there. I cannot go to the zoo anymore either. It isn’t right.
To: JoeProBono
I surfed into a CNN interview w/ a trainer from a public aquarium in Georgia.
First, I thought I heard Blitzer say this was the third person killed by this whale. It could have been the third person ever killed in the US.
When Blitzer asked what next (as in - do we put down this whale?) I heard the trainer say we have to work on the relationship with the whale and give it more love.
15
posted on
02/24/2010 4:35:09 PM PST
by
oh8eleven
(RVN '67-'68)
To: JoeProBono
They are called ‘killer whales’ for a reason.
16
posted on
02/24/2010 4:36:16 PM PST
by
smokingfrog
(You can't ignore your boss and expect to keep your job... WWW.filipthishouse2010.com)
To: brwnsuga
17
posted on
02/24/2010 4:36:18 PM PST
by
trumandogz
(The Democrats are driving us to Socialism at 100 MPH -The GOP is driving us to Socialism at 97.5 MPH)
To: kanawa
You appear to be right about the filing of their teeth. Imagine having THAT job?
18
posted on
02/24/2010 4:37:46 PM PST
by
raybbr
To: JoeProBono
It should be noted that there is a good reason they aren’t called cuddly sea puppies.
19
posted on
02/24/2010 4:38:14 PM PST
by
cripplecreek
(Remember the River Raisin!)
To: JoeProBono
From the article I have the impression it was more misguided play than viscous attack on the whales part.
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-79 next last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson