(The headline writer for the Orlando Sentinel really missed the boat on this one... or else he owns a lot of stock in Sea World. – Mod. MJB)
chicagotribune.com
SeaWorld guard: Killer whale appeared to pull trainer underwater by her arm, not hair
By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel
10:00 AM CDT, September 20, 2011
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Federal investigators on Tuesday challenged claims by SeaWorld Orlando that a killer whale grabbed trainer Dawn Brancheau by her long ponytail when the animal pulled her underwater and killed her in February 2010.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the whale, a six-ton male named Tilikum, instead grabbed Brancheau by the arm. The assertion came during early testimony on the second day of an expected weeklong hearing examining the safety of SeaWorld Parks & Entetainment's killer-whale program.
Fredy Herrera, a security officer at SeaWorld Orlando who was working at Shamu Stadium on the day Brancheau was killed, testified that it appeared to him she was pulled in by her left arm.
"From my angle, I saw her left arm go underwater as the whale started descending," Herrera said.
SeaWorld officials have said repeatedly that Tilikum grabbed Brancheau after her long ponytail drifted into his open mouth, suggesting the whale was reacting to a novel stimulus when he suddenly submerged with her.
But some SeaWorld opponents have accused the marine-park operator of fabricating the theory to make Tilikum's actions that day appear more benign.
SeaWorld officials have also said repeatedly that they do not believe Tilikum was acting out in aggression when he killed Brancheau. The head of animal training for the Orlando park testified Monday that the she did not consider Tilikum's behavior that day aggressive but merely "undesirable."
Upon cross-examination from SeaWorld attorneys, Herrera testified that he was not 100 percent certain that Brancheau was grabbed by her arm — only that it appeared she was from his vantage point.
During Tuesday morning's proceedings, OSHA also played a 15-minute video of the Dine with Shamu performance that Brancheau was leading with Tilikum the day she was killed. The tragedy occurred moments after the performance ended.
John Black, a U.S. Department of Labor lawyer representing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, repeatedly pointed out moments where Brancheau appeared to be in potentially vulnerable positions — such as when she would bend over Tilikum's head while standing on the edge of the pool or when she would pull a fish out of his jaws.
While the video played, Black questioned Herrera to establish that everything Brancheau was doing had been done many times before in other performances.
The video ended in the moments before Tilikum grabbed Brancheau. The trainer was lying down in a few inches of water almost face-to-face with the giant killer whale. Black asked Herrera if he had seen trainers in similar positions before: "I believe so," Herrera replied.
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