Tilikum (c. December 1981 – January 6, 2017), nicknamed Tilly, was a captive male orca who spent most of his life at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. He was captured in Iceland in 1983; about a year later, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He was subsequently transferred in 1992 to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, where he sired 21 calves. Tilikum was heavily featured in CNN Films' 2013 documentary Blackfish, which claims that orcas in captivity suffer psychological damage and become unnaturally aggressive. Of the four fatal attacks by orcas in captivity, Tilikum was involved in three: Keltie Byrne, a trainer at the now-defunct Sealand of the Pacific; Daniel P. Dukes, a man trespassing in SeaWorld Orlando; and SeaWorld Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau.
Description Tilikum was the largest orca in captivity. He measured 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in length and weighed about 12,500 pounds (5,700 kg). His pectoral fins were 7 feet (2.1 m) long, his fluke curled under, and his 6.5-foot-tall (2.0 m) dorsal fin was collapsed completely to his left side. His name, in the Chinook Jargon of the Pacific Northwest, means "friends, relations, tribe, nation, common people".
Life
Origin Tilikum was captured when he was two years old, along with two other young orcas, by a purse-seine net in November 1983, at Berufjörður in eastern Iceland. After almost a year in a tank at the Hafnarfjördur Marine Zoo, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific in Oak Bay, a suburb of the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. At Sealand of the Pacific, he lived with two older female orcas named Haida II and Nootka IV. As both orcas were pregnant, Haida II and Nootka IV behaved aggressively towards Tilikum, including forcing him into a smaller medical pool where trainers kept him for protection.
Fatalities While orca attacks on humans in the wild are rare, and no fatal attacks have been recorded, four humans have died due to interactions with captive orcas. Tilikum was involved in three of those deaths.
First death Keltie Lee Byrne (December 6, 1970 – February 20, 1991) was a 20-year-old Canadian student, animal trainer, and competitive swimmer. She had been working with orcas Tilikum, Nootka IV, and Haida II at Sealand of the Pacific. On February 20, 1991, Byrne was working a shift when she slipped and fell into the whale pool. Witnesses recalled that Byrne screamed and panicked after realizing that one of the whales was holding her foot and dragging her underwater. According to the coroner's report, rescue attempts were thwarted by the whales, who refused to let Byrne go even after she was believed to have fallen unconscious in the water. Her body was later retrieved with a large net, after which she was determined to be deceased. Her death was ruled an accident. Shortly after the accident, Sealand of the Pacific management decided to sell all of its orcas to SeaWorld and, eventually, to close the park entirely. On January 3, 1992, SeaWorld applied to the National Marine Fisheries Service for a temporary emergency permit to bring Tilikum to the United States due to concerns for his health. He had been the subject of systematic aggression from Nootka IV and Haida II after the latter gave birth to a calf, Kyuquot, on December 24, 1991, and was confined to a small medical pool that was only slightly larger than he was. The application was approved on January 8, 1992, and Tilikum was immediately moved to SeaWorld Orlando. Byrne's death received renewed attention after the 2010 death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau and the 2013 documentary Blackfish, which discusses Tilikum's involvement in Byrne's death, as well as in the deaths of Daniel P. Dukes and Brancheau. The latter two deaths occurred after Tilikum had been sold by Sealand of the Pacific to SeaWorld. Steve Huxter, head of animal training at Sealand of the Pacific at the time, said, "They never had a plaything in the pool that was so interactive. They just got incredibly excited and stimulated." No motive of the three whales was established; the case was over twenty years old when it resurfaced in relation to the death of Brancheau.
Second death Daniel P. Dukes was a 27-year-old man from South Carolina. SeaWorld claimed that Dukes was a vagrant who climbed into Tilikum's pool and drowned, while the coroner's report, along with animal rights advocates for Tilikum, have pointed out that Dukes' corpse was severely mutilated by the whale. Dukes was regarded by the media as a trespasser and nuisance rather than a direct victim of Tilikum. This perception is challenged in the documentary Blackfish. Little has been published regarding the early life of Dukes. A drifter with a love of nature and environmentalism, he was known for acts of petty theft and general vagrancy. At some point on the night of July 6, 1999, Dukes, who had hidden inside SeaWorld Orlando after it closed, went to the whale pool where Tilikum was held. The following morning, his body was discovered by staff, draped over Tilikum's backside as the whale swam around. As SeaWorld has no security tape footage of the pool on that night, it is unclear exactly what transpired. Orange County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) reported that a 911 call was received from SeaWorld Orlando at 7:25 a.m.. Detective Calhoun arrived at the park eight minutes later. Dukes' corpse was retrieved and identified. Two months after their son's death, Dukes' parents filed a lawsuit against SeaWorld which was later dropped. Dukes' death became a frequent example in arguments over the welfare of marine mammals in captivity. Former marine mammal trainer Ric O'Barry argued that Dukes was probably not near Tilikum's tank with any form of malicious intent, but instead that the nature-loving man was "fascinated" by the whale and wanted to visit it. He argued, "I think the whale probably pulled [Dukes] down, held him underwater. I don't think they know how often we breathe. The problem is that the whales have nothing better to do," O'Barry said. "They're bored. We literally bore them to death. It's like you living in the bathroom for your life."
Third death
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