Trainer Killed by Whale at Sea World Florida
 

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2421601020100224

Please Note: This is the same park that Danny (TMNTerminator) is a trainer at. Upon reading this this morning I paniced and got ahold of him to make sure he was ok. Thankfully he is fine, but as you can imagine they are all pretty shaken. So please lend some posative thoughts today.

Damn when I read the title I got worried as well. Thats why I will never go into the water with one of those things. Cant trust em. Wonder how much this affects the other trainers. Id quit lol.

The only animals I would willingly get into the water with are Dolphins. Dolphins have an intellectual capacity which we can't begin to explorer, and they value life. They've saved people from drowning, and protected children from shark attack. Dolphins have shown more kindness than most people.

Now, Killer Whales scare the crap out of me. They're like Dolphin's bigger retarded cousins, with a bigger mouth, and a shorter temper. I don't trust them. Never have. I've always hated the Circus because of the animal cruelty, but I let Sea World off the hook because of the genuine bond the trainers try to form with the creatures; plus the fact that they work to save whales and dolphins that would have otherwise died.

So basically, my condolences go to that trainer's family. Its a tragedy--make no mistake, but you do take the risk when you mess with animals big enough to eat you.

Quoted for truth..............never trust anything that can eat you. Whales are wild animals...not pets. Wild animals are never 100% tame. It's probably a risk these trainer's know and accept.

Wow, that is tragic, glad to hear Danny is ok..

Hey guys. At this point, there's been no official comment, other than verifying the deceased. Needless to say, things have been insane.

As far as training animals goes I will say this. When it comes to circus, I hate them. I refuse to go to them. Ringling is the worst. I've been behind the scenes enough times to know how things are. And animal lover or not, it would break your heart. I refuse to support them. They train using "negative" reinforcement and I'll leave it at that.

Now with marine parks (such as Sea World) keep in mind while they are amusment parks, they are governed zoological assoications. Reasearch, rehabilitation, etc. are all just as important as the shows the public sees. Every trainer you see out in the water has a Bachelors degree at the minimum. I can't tell you how many manatees and sea turtles we have rehabbed and released. After the recent freeze here in Florida, there were hundreds of turtles that had to be resuced.

With larger maring animals (such as dolphins, whales, sea lions), yes, there is a risk. Working in any aquatice environment, without any animals at all, is dangerous. Throw in animals weighing from 500lbs up to about 6 tons and things can interesting.

Please keep Dawn in your prayers. Thanks

Haven't seen this article yet then, huh?

Glad to hear you're okay, Terminator.
My thoughts go out to you and your co-workers.

I read that article. I wonder if any of those dolphins have been used by the U.S. and U.K. navies for mine hunting, sentry duty, etc and were then released because they did not want them anymore for some reason. I know that the U.S. uses dolphins for such purposes: http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/

Very sad news. My condolences to everyone involved, especially Danny and his co-workers. I'll say a prayer for you guys tonight.

This made me laugh , I dont know why.

Wow. That sucks. My condolences to the family and the woman's co-workers.

My condolences too, to the family and the woman's co-workers,
Sadly ...we had recently another similar case in Canary Islands, another trainer died when whale was playing/training with him...
His name was Alexis Martinez, 29 years old...
http://www.adn.es/lavida/20091224/VI...ntrenador.html