Sea World torpedo whale attack: Trainer Dawn Brancheau was still exposed

They are joyous images that vaunt a conspicuous down payment in in in between lady and beast.

But that down payment was tragically cracked this week when the tutor in these cinema was killed by one of the whales she loved.

Yesterday, it was still misleading what gathering a five-ton orca to drown Dawn Brancheau at the SeaWorld play ground in Florida.

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Dawn Brancheau was filmed stuff oneself the torpedo whales customarily moments prior to she was pounded and killed

A torpedo whale approaches Dawn Brancheau, seconds after she was dragged underneath the H2O

But there was conjecture that a elementary swish of her ponytail could have been the trigger for the deadly attack.

Officials claimed Mrs Brancheau"s hair brushed the nose of the torpedo whale, called Tillikum, as she petted him in a pool on Wednesday.

The whale grabbed the 40-year-oldmarried tutor in the overwhelming jaws and hold her until she drowned. Thedeath was witnessed by up to 50 tourists.

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An post-mortem inform showed that Mrs Brancheau died from "multipletraumatic injuries and drowning".

A rough inform in to her genocide by military suggested that otherSeaWorld staff were incompetent to assistance her due to the "aggressive nature"of Tilly.

"Rescuers were not means to rught afar burst in and describe assistance," saidthe report.

It is not well well well known since the whale, well well well known to staff as Tilly, reacted to being touched.

One speculation is that he mistook the transformation of her hair as a authority to grab something in in in between his teeth.

Close bond: Dawn Brancheau with a torpedo whale called Nalani

All smiles: As a child, Mrs Brancheau dreamed of precision whales

Last night, bosses at the play ground saidthe whale would not be broken and could even perform again - despiteit right afar carrying been concerned in 3 deaths.

Tilly had been prisoner in the wild. He was held nearby Iceland elderly about dual years old in 1983 and has lived in chains ever since.

The whale was blamed for the drowning ofa tutor when he was at a play ground in British Columbia in 1991. Soonafterwards he was sole to SeaWorld where he sired twelve calves.

In 1999, a without a country man was found opposite the whale"s back, carrying climbed in to his pool and drowned.

Nevertheless, Chuck Tompkins, curator of zoological operations at SeaWorld in Orlando, said: "He"s a great animal.

"We need to re-evaluate the trainingprocedures and protocols and patently we"re going to have any changeswe need to have certain that this never happens again."

He pronounced Mrs Brancheau, anexperienced trainer, was lying down in a couple of inches of H2O with herhead close to the whale when it reached opposite to grab her hair.

Hug of love: The orca seems in witty mood

Sheer power: Tillikum, the torpedo whale that killed Mrs Brancheau

"This was an communication Dawn haddone majority thousands of times with Tilly," he said. "She had beenpetting Tilly for a pursuit well finished in the show.

"There was an additional tutor standingbehind her that is customary practice. She did not trip or tumble in thewater, but was lying down with her head close to the whales. The whaledid not burst out of the H2O to grab her.

"The ponytail from her hair did brush opposite Tilly"s nose. We customarily don"t know since he reacted in the approach that he did."

The torpedo whales at SeaWorld are rewarded with fish when they successfully lift out at authority in the pool.

Mr Tompkins said: "Dawn was one of the majority experienced trainers and was unequivocally gentle operative with Tilly.

"She would never get in the H2O with him but there was an component of certitude in in in between them that authorised her to get close.

Joyful harmony: Mrs Brancheau behaving with Nalani

SeaWorld tutor Dawn Brancheau was dragged to her genocide by a torpedo whale at the journey park

"Something happened to Tilly on that day. We will be seeking at the behind of tosee if there was something that occurred, but we competence never know."

Mrs Brancheau"s sister pronounced she would not wish to see the whale broken and deliberate her genocide an accident.

Diane Gross added: "She desired thewhales similar to her children, she desired all of them. They all hadpersonalities, great days and bad days."

Mrs Brancheau"s mother, MarionLoverde, pronounced her daughter, who had no children, had longed for to be atrainer from the age of 9 when she initial visited SeaWorld.

Because of his distance and the previousdeaths, trainers were not ostensible to get in to the H2O with Tilikum,and customarily twelve of the park"s twenty-nine trainers worked with him.

"We do have a singular volume of trainers who work with him since of his distance and prior incidents," Mr Tompkins said.

The SeaWorld play ground in Orlando, Florida, and the pool, right, where Dawn Brancheau died

"We did not provide him as though hewas one of the animals that we could get in the H2O and float with, wewere majority some-more clever with him and attempted to provide, as majority as wecould, a protected sourroundings for the trainers."

Officialsat PETA called on the play ground "to stop restrictive ocean-going mammals to anarea that to them is similar to the distance of a bathtub".

A orator said: "It"s not startling when these huge, intelligent animals lash out."

MrTompkins strike at the behind of yesterday, saying: "Obviously, youre going to have allof these activists entrance out of the woodwork to try to take advantageof a unequivocally unhappy situation.

"Ihave taken caring of these animals my complete hold up and they are well kept.I wouldnt be you do this pursuit if I thought I was mistreating animals."

MrsBrancheau had some-more experience with the 30-year-old whale than most, andwas one of the park"s majority experienced trainers overall.

The conflict happened at lunchtime on Wednesday when about 50 tourists stayed at the behind of after the "Believe" showto watch trainers feed the orcas.

Dan Brown, ubiquitous physical education instructor of SeaWorld Adventure Park, centre, walks with Kelly Flaherty Clark, left, curator of animal precision at SeaWorld, prior to holding a headlines discussion after the genocide of Dawn Brancheau

KILLER WHALES

Since the 1970s, torpedo whales have pounded twenty-four people worldwide.

Critics explain the animals can turn assertive in chains due to higher levels of stress.

In Nov 2006, torpedo whale Katsatka dragged the handler Ken Peters underwater twice atSeaWorld Florida during a slight trick. The same torpedo whale had alsograbbed Mr Peters by the feet during a 1999 show and dragged him incircles.

In 2004 at San Antonio"s SeaWorld, an additional torpedo whale pounded the tutor repeatedly, withdrawal him in a critical condition.

Killerwhales, the largest class of the dolphin family, eat fish, marinemammals together with sea lions, seals and walruses and are regarded as topof the food sequence as they have no healthy predators.

Mr Tompkins told MailOnline that Mrs Brancheau was some-more a sister than a colleague.

He said: "Id worked with Dawn since thefirst day she proposed here seventeen years ago. I knew her very, unequivocally well.Were a small group of people here in this play ground and were some-more than justco-workers, were similar to family members and its similar to losing a sister.

"Dawn outlayed her complete career takingcare of these animals. She desired you do it, she desired operative with thesekiller whales. To contend these animals have the wrong sourroundings is soincorrect.

"She was unequivocally gentle in theirpresence. We outlay years precision people removing ready to get in thewater with these torpedo whales. By the time you are interacting withthese animals you have certainty and you know how to hoop yourself."

Parkguest Victoria Biniak pronounced she was examination as the trainers talkedabout the show to a throng of people when one of them was unexpected sweptaway in the whale"s mouth.

The whale "took off unequivocally fast in thetank and afterwards he came at the behind of around to the glass, shot up in the air,grabbed the tutor by the waist and proposed jolt her violently, andone of her boots flew off," she said.

"Wewalked down and there was a lot of people there. There was a trainerstanding by the window articulate about the whale. People were askingquestions similar to how majority does he weigh and things similar to that," she said.

"Thenthe whale floated upside down and the tutor pronounced he longed for a bellyrub. He unequivocally likes that. Then Tilikum customarily took off similar to a bat outof you know where."

"Animal lover": Dawn Brancheau, who was desirous to turn an animal tutor at SeaWorld after a revisit when she was customarily nine, poses with her house pet dog

12M VISITORS A YEAR

Twelve million people revisit the 3 SeaWorld parks opposite America each year with tens of thousands of Britons streamer to the flagship play ground in Orlando annually.

Performances by torpedo whales are between the park"s majority renouned attractions and a host of celebrities together with Uma Thurman, Tiger Woods and British Olympic diver Tom Daley have been between prior assembly members.

The 30-minute Believe show is customarily achieved 3 times a day in a track that seats some-more than 5,000 people.

British Olympic diver Tom Daley outlayed time with the whales at SeaWorld during a revisit to Orlando in Feb last year.

The 15-year-old stream World Diving hold up non-stop SeaWorld"s Blue Horizons show, looming to one side dolphins, whales and SeaWorld trainers and was since a VIP debate of the torpedo whale enclosure.

After diving in the show Daley said: "Performing to one side the dolphins was an extraordinary experience. It is a illusory show, mixing jaunty skills and animal energy and the assembly were brilliant."

Gary Biniak pronounced Tilikum, a masculine orcaweighing over 12,000lbs, "literally charged one of the trainers who wason the side of the pool precision and stuff oneself the whales".

Hesaid: "The whale pulled the tutor in to the H2O and was thrashingaround. He dragged her underneath the H2O and wouldn"t let her comeup. It was terrible.

"Generally, they don"t concede any of thetrainers to float with this sold whale since he is so large andhas a opposite temperament."

"This sold tutor didn"t burst in to the water, she was taken forcibly," he added.

Dan Brown, the park"s manager, fought at the behind of tears as he pronounced thetrainer "drowned in an situation with one of the torpedo whales".

Hewouldn"t criticism on what is expected to occur to the torpedo whale. TheBelieve show has been dangling as an review is carried out butthe play ground stays open.

Inan interview, Mrs Brancheau concurred the risks of the job, saying:"You can"t put yourself in the H2O unless you certitude them and theytrust you."

"I recollect on feet down the aisle [of Shamu Stadium]and revelation my mom, "this is what I wish to do"," she told the OrlandoSentinel in 2006.

Steve McCulloch, owner and module physical education instructor at the Marine MammalResearch and Conservation Program at Harbor Branch/Florida AtlanticUniversity, pronounced the whale might have been playing, but it is as well earlyto tell.

"I wouldn"t burst to conclusions," he said.

"These are unequivocally largepowerful sea mammals. They vaunt this sort of poise in the wild."

Wild killerwhales are not in all seen as a hazard to humans, however captivekiller whales have been well well well known to conflict their handlers at thesis parks.

Since the 1970s, torpedo whales have pounded customarily dual dozen people worldwide.

Butcritics explain the animals can turn assertive when kept serf dueto higher levels of highlight and assumed vital conditions.

In Nov 2006, a 7,000lb torpedo whale dragged the handlerKen Peters underwater twice at the SeaWorld thesis play ground in Florida during a routinetrick.

After the attack, the whale, Katsatka, circled her tank asKen Peters was treated with colour by paramedics and whisked afar on a stretcher.He was not severely harmed in the attack.

One witness pronounced at the time: "We realised she had the tutor by the feet and she took him underneath and submerged for a minute."

The same torpedo whale additionally attempted to drown Mr Peters during a 1999show, again grabbing him by the feet and boring him in circles.