His name is Tilikum, who is a killer whale that was involved in the attack at SeaWorld. He killed three people in incident in 2010. Lucky for him they kept him and allowed him to a normal life at the aquarium there. 7 years after the incident TIlikum passed away. His captors reported that the 35 year old killer whale had the possibility to pass away at any time. He passed away on January 6, 2017. The company had received scrutiny for its treatment of killer whales in CNN's documentary "Blackfish", but denied any allegations. Tilikum was one of few killer whales seen in an aquarium in the world.
If you were the captors of Tilikum, how would you feel from his passing after everything that has happened?
Would you have kept him after the incident in 2010? Why or why not?
My opinion: I would feel very bad for him because he has been through a lot. Also they had to do a lot to keep him there and make sure he could live a normal life. I would have kept him after the incident, but I would have kept him away from people for a little while until you felt ready for him to be back for show.
Link: Tilikum
Replies
Good job!
I would still feel bad for him because he still was an animal and he was in captivity and that's no way for an animal to live so he has been through a rough life so I would feel bad. I would have kept him if he wasn't capable of handling and taking care of himself in the ocean alone.
i would have been sad and disheartened but not sobbing or crying. especially after it killed people. i would not have kept it as far as i know around here if a dog bites you it has to be out down but this whale killed people and it was allowed to stay. now that is just weird. i would have at least let it go, its primal instincts would take over that probably what happened when it killed those people. and if it came down to it i would have no problem putting it down humanly.
I agree with you about being sad because who wouldn't after taking care of an animal. I also can see how putting it down was an option, but really they just couldn't do that. There is no way you could put it back in the wild though, because what if the reason they have it is because of injury or because it doesn't have instincts.
I would have been very sad after he passed. They had probably grown use to him and they will most likely miss him. I would have kept him because they were the ones who put him there, in a place he doesn't know. I would have made sure that he was not around people for awhile and when he was put back out that he was okay around people.
I agree because there is no way you wouldn't be sad. They had taken care of him for most of his life. I also agree you would need to keep him because you were the ones that have been taking care of him and he needs you. The people at Sea World did keep him away from people for a little while until it was clear he could be back for showing.
I would be really sad because he has to live in a certain amount of space and he can't really travel a lot. I think I would still keep him but I would probably put up a sort of warning sign.
I agree with you because he didn't really get to live his life. Mostly because of the incident where he killed the few people. I also would keep him because how can you let an animal go without knowing if he would be able to survive in the wild or not.