Shamu is hungry, "Splash Section" given whole new meaning - Page 6

No?

But if it bit her arm, that contradicts what the Magistrate said. He said he only bit her hair.. I watched it live on TV whne he said that.

PS Bill Maher talked about the Telecom incident on his show last week. It turns out that once again, Maher's mind and mine are in complete alignment. She was trying to play with a 'killer whale', there should be no surprise and nothing 'went wrong'. Nature took it's course.

Just wanted to say that the name of the whale is Tilukum, not Telecom.

Thanks, Spook. Telecom/Telukum is it's slave name. I'm sure it's Whale Name is unpronounceable with human physiology. When I saw the press conference, I thought they were saying 'Tele-comm', as in Telephone Communications, and I've just stuck with it because it's easier than remembering how to spell something like Tilukum

But thanks for the info, appreciated!

fucking LMFAO

All killer whales are named Kevin. You knew that, right?

An update. SeaWorld is fighting the release of security camera footage that shows the incident:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busin...,2152669.story

I have to say that, as much as I would like the shows to be discontinued, I have to side with SeaWorld on this one because releasing that footage would be just fucking ghoulish. I'm sure that some people on my side of the argument want it out there to sensationally drive home their point, but those people are dicks.

On the *other* hand, they're also talking about putting Tilikum back in the shows after an "internal review of training and safety policies":

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/bus...ive-shows.html

If they're going to return him to the shows, I'm officially changing my stance to "release him into the wild". Partly because it's a little bit ghoulish as well, in my opinion. Not as much as releasing the video, but there would definitely be an influx of sensation-seekers who just want to see the real *killer* whale. I can see the point that he needs some sort of stimulation. He's stuck in a pool, of course he does. But damn, putting him back in the shows just seems like a bad idea based at least partially on the fact that he represents a significant investment and need to earn his keep.

He more than earns his keep as a breeding animal. If he never did another show again, SeaWorld would still keep him around for that.

What's your take on putting him back in to the shows? I'm still torn on whether to release him or put him out to stud, but putting him back into the shows doesn't seem like a good idea.

Putting aside my problems with the shows themselves, it seems that things are bound to repeat themselves. They'll implement new safety procedures in the short term, but will eventually slip back into the shows as they've come to be.

It started with firing up the shows again after a matter of a few days. I sincerely doubt that they won't let the trainers back into the water with the orcas after their internal review. Then Tilikum comes back into the mix, with the caveat that trainers can't go into the water with him. Then it will be fine for a while and they'll eventually let that one fall by the wayside too. Wasn't there a restriction about trainers being in the water with him already in place? I think it was for the big show, not necessarily the Dine with Shamu bit.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think that the pressures of going back to the status quo are going to eventually overcome the new stresses on safety. And that is another symptom of the underlying problem that I keep coming back to. That the only reason for putting on the shows is financial. It doesn't matter how much conservation and rehabilitation work they do, their core business is getting asses in the seats and extracting as much cash from those asses as possible.

That's all well and good when everyone involved has a choice and nobody gets hurt. Disneyworld? Go nuts. Six Flags? Have at it. Strip club? Let me hit the ATM. But the animals at SeaWorld are unwilling ambassadors for their kind, coaxed into performing for fish in an environment that causes them more harm than good. I want to be very clear that I don't think they are abused in any conscious way. But the environment is not good for them in any show aquarium.

In the stadium show, he's really barely in it. He comes out at the very end, does a couple of jumps to splash the audience real good, then swims off. Trainers are never in the water with him. So I don't think anything would really have to change from a procedure standpoint to put him back in the show.

The Dine with Shamu experience may be as good as gone though.

Free Killy!

That reminds me...

http://5secondfilms.com/watch/skimboarding_scheme/

I was starting to look into an update on what's going on with SeaWorld since the OSHA investigation is coming to a close, but thought that you might have a little more insight on the state of the shows over the past six months.

Is the Dine with Shamu experience still around? Have they kept the trainers out of the water with the orcas?

I just checked the SeaWorld site and it advertises the Dine with Shamu experience, so that's still a go. As far as I know though, the trainers are still not allowed in the water.

And it may get uglier for SeaWorld. The park's former director for Health and Safety gave an interview where she not only claims she was fired for wanting to speak to OSHA about the incident, but mentioned the talk trainers get about this particular whale:

"If you get into the water with Tilly, you will come out a corpse."

So yeah, the trainers may not be getting back in the water any time soon, and it looks doubtful Tilikum is ever going to be back in the show.

I probably could have checked the SeaWorld site myself, I guess! From our previous conversations I thought you were more in the thick of things, information-wise...but thanks for letting me know anyway.

The accusations from the former health and safety director from the article you linked to would probably have a lot more weight if she had been a long-time employee. That she was only there for a couple of weeks before the incident makes it pretty easy for employers to trot out the "disgruntled employee" moniker, even if she came into the position like an old west sheriff bent on cleaning up a one-horse town.

Between that and the following, it seems like there could definitely be some questionably-ethical attempts to wriggle out of responsibility. Alan Grayson, in a very disappointing turn of events, has apparently intervened in some fashion with the investigation. There are no details of course, so it may be entirely on the level, but it certainly doesn't seem like that would be the case. I'd like to think that he always fights the good fight, but who knows. I guess everyone has to get elected somehow.

And I was kind of surprised at the low figure for the fine SeaWorld received as a result of safety violations found in the investigation. I suppose on some level they have to treat this as they would any other business...but it seems like if one of your employees is killed by a huge predator as a result of willful safety violations, a stiffer penalty would be in order.

Seems like it would be pretty weird to go to the Dine with Shamu show in light of what happened. I wonder if they have to fend off uncomfortable questions from the diners often.

That $75,000 fine is pretty much covered by the first hour of business on a typical summer day.

Oh, and apparently the Dine with Shamu experience is NOT happening, despite the web site advertising it. My wife said they have not done it since the accident.