He sido fanatica de Seaworld desde la primera vez que lo visite en el 1984. Soy y seguire siendo apasionada de las ballenas y su espectaculo. Lamento mucho la perdida de Dawn B., nos ha dejado un vacio grande en el corazon de aquellos que ano tras ano la vimos en el espectaculo de Shamu. He observado una y otra vez el video que han presentado en la television y sigo encontrando lo mismo...un accidente lo tiene cualquiera y que mejor muerte que haciendo lo que amamos. Si, me encantaria morir cerca del mar junto a los peces que he admirado toda la vida, ballenas y delfines y creo que ese era el pensamiento de esta grandiosa entrenadora. Que descanse en paz, y gracias a Dios por la oportunidad que nos dio de verte en los espectaculos. Ahora tendras la oportunidad de entrenar a tus animales favoritos (tu hijos del mar) desde el cielo.
Tilli no es culpable de nada al igual que su familia y no tienen por que negarles el amor que siempre han tenido. Esto seria mortal para ellas que no saben que paso y que no entienden por que Dawn no esta con ellas ahora. La familia de estas ballenas en cautiverio, no solo son sus companeras ballenas, somos y seguiremos siendo, todos los que las vamos a ver en sus espectaculos a diario y sus entrenadores. En este momento seria como quitarle un dulce a un nino pequeno, su llanto duele en el corazon de aquellos que los amamos y no en aquellos insensibles que les gusta ver y vivir el maltrato del ser humano. Seaworld, es la unica oportunidad que tenemos de conocer, ver, apreciar, vivir y cuando se da sin esperar nada a cambio. Estos animales nos han dado toda su vida a cambio de una expresion de amor y una coneccion divina unica, aprender de la vida marina, y Tilli es parte de esto.
La vida continua, el sol sale todos los dias aun en aquellos nublados. El amor no tiene precio y su recompensa es gratificante

Such a tragedy to lose such a wonderful trainer. My fiance' and I had been to many Shamu shows over the years and remember seeing Dawn. One thing that stands out is her passion and love for these beautiful creatures. I wonder what she would think now, knowing that due to this tragedy, people are wanting to throw these killer whales out into the unknown. As many of the whales in Sea World were bred there, why would we separate them from their family? I think that people dismiss the fact that these whales are part of a pod, whales and trainers. And having not seen the video, I am not certain that the attack was necessarily an attack. Was it possible that Tilly was playing and not realizing the damage he was doing? I can only speculate, as can the rest that have an opinion. Sea World is such a huge part of our conservation efforts and for one would hate to see this end. I wonder also, with the trainers not in the water, what are the whales thinking? This is something that they were used to. I say keep Tilly in the shows- for his own health and well being (obviously no trainers in water) but to simply give him the exercise and to showcase to the flocks of people pouring in the power and intelligence of Killer whales.

For a long time I believed that certain mammals ( such as whales) shouldn't be a part of any aquarium or zoo but I never said anything about it. Today I express my opinion with hope that it benefits those mammals. Do not take them from their natural environment. If we learn anything from them it will be learned where they live naturally.

For whatever it may count I am a dog care provider of 20 years and this takes place in my home and not a kennel which is an unnatural environment. My husband and I have safely raised three children with a variety of basic obedience trained and social dogs staying with us. These dogs have taught me to respect what is natural in the animal. Man and animal work to benefit each other because of respect. No respect is given to the mammal when it is removed from it's natural environment - the ocean. It doesn't surprise me that in time the mammal revolts as Tilikum did.

Please put aside profits. Put aside old ideas as dog owners (a terrible phrase), dog trainers etc. are. Be among the first to recoginize a wrong and correct.it. People will see the respect and profits will be earned in a new, safe, and mammal friendly way. Respect will be the byproduct and is without a monetary value.

Joan

What caused the Killer Whale (Tilikum) to attack the trainer?

Greater the confinement, greater the aggression!

Being a passport member of SeaWorld for many years I feel as much a part of this family
as those who work there. The loss of Dawn B. has grieved me like she was my sister. I
don't have the answer to any of the questions given to God concerning this, but this I do
know; Dawn's goal in life was to share her passion and help others to love and care
about the ocean life she loved and lived for. I applaud her because she did just that for
many. Most of us would never know what the creatures of the sea were capable of if
not for places like SeaWorld, the specialists, and the many who truly want to care for god's
creatures. We all have our opinions, but we should all look for the common good. We are
destroying our planet and killing the wild to near distinction with our carelessness
and selfishness. If we truly care about those in the "wild" then we should be caring
for them. This is what SeaWorld stands for, what Dawn stood for, and because most of
our whales were born in captivity they only know what they have now. My prayer is that
the whales are not starved of the love and affection they've been given since birth. There
is much to be learned from this tragedy and my heart breaks everytime I think of it, but
ignorance has no place here. Much prayer and asking God for wisdom is what should be
the main thing. I love Sea World, I love every trainor there and I pray for you and always
will. I BELIEVE God is very proud of you...HE is almighty.

I hope that the management at Sea World will consider the relocation of its large mammals, like Tilikum, back to the wild to one of the coastal sanctuaries created by Brazil and Chile. I am sure that the trainers and others who work with these animals do indeed love them and have their best interests in mind. But, the fact remains that a wild animal can best be observed in the wild, and that we can all support their healthiest existence through groups such as Sea Sanctuary, Greenpeace, and the World Wildlife Fund. No one should make a profit off the confinement and breeding of these innocent animals.