Shamu is shaking his head.
When a SeaWorld Orlando killer whale mysteriously fell fatally ill Monday evening, her death became the third killer whale death in just four months, and the 13th in the past 14 years.
And that’s not to mention the death of SeaWorld Orlando’s Dawn Brancheau in February when the 12,000-pound Tilikum drowned his 40-year-old trainer.
And did we forget to mention Tilikum is also responsible for the 1999 death of another man and one of three whales responsible for killing another trainer in 1991 at Sealand of the Pacific?
It’s shameful of us amid our amusement-seeking boredom, smitten between our Shamu bars and fanny packs, to expect these marine behemoths to act as if everything were just splendid when confining a six-ton whale to one of SeaWorld’s swimming pools is comparable to confining a human to a bathtub its entire life.
Of course, our hearts go out to the families of those SeaWorld employees killed as a result of company negligence.
But, then again, why should anyone be surprised when a killer whale attacks? It’s kind of in the name.
The death of the 25-year-old killer whale Kalina on Monday evening from a “sudden, mysterious” illness only further demonstrates that humans are not and will never be capable of properly caring and recreating a whale’s natural habitat.
And as the Orlando-based amusement park faces its toughest public scrutiny in its history, perhaps SeaWorld should realize that if it truly cares for its animals it should let its “family” swim free — in the oceans.
