Orca attacks
Wild Orcas are not usually considered a threat to humans. However, there have been about two dozen cases of Orcas attacking humans.[1] Five documented incidents involving captured Orcas are listed below.
- On April 20, 1971; SeaWorld secretary Annette Eckis was riding on Shamu at the park in San Diego, California. Eckis was clearly thrown off the whale as it thrashed around deviating from its normal routine and Shamu grabbed her leg in its mouth. After a few minutes, Shamu was coaxed into letting Eckis go, and she was taken away from the tank on a stretcher, and required 100 stitches on her leg. Shamu may have done this out of curiosity, as Eckis was wearing a bathing suit while riding the Orca, instead of the traditional wet suit that was usually worn.[2]
- On February 20, 1991, a group of 3 Orcas (Haida, Nootka, and Tilikum) killed a trainer named Keltie Byrne at Sealand in Victoria, British Columbia (where employees were not allowed in the water with Orcas). After this, and due to Tilikum being bullied by the two females in the tank, Tilikum was relocated to SeaWorld of Orlando, Florida, where he remains. He is currently the largest Orca in captivity.
- On November 29, 2006, Kasatka, one of SeaWorld San Diego's seven Orcas, twice grabbed her trainer by the foot (breaking it in the process) and pulled him underwater. The same Orca and trainer were also involved in a similar incident in 1999, when Kasatka grabbed Peters by the leg and attempted to throw him from the pool during a public show. [3][4]
- December 24, 2009, An orca at Loro Parque, an aquarium on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, accidentally killed its trainer during a practice session in preparation for an upcoming Christmas Show. It was claimed that the trainer was knocked unconscious and drowned before rescuers could come to his aid.