Killer whale to be spared as ponytail blamed for trainer death

By Nick Allen in Los Angeles Published: 5:47PM GMT twenty-five February 2010

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Witnesses described saying the 30-year-old, 12,300-pound longhorn orca, declared Tilikum, grabbing maestro tutor Dawn Brancheau"s prolonged hair in the mouth prior to boring her underwater at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.

Chuck Tompkins, head of animal precision at all SeaWorld parks, said: "Dawn had only accomplished up a really great event with this animal. She was interacting with him, petting him on the nose.

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"Dawn had really prolonged hair in a ponytail. That ponytail had swung in front of him. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her underwater and hold her underwater."

Witnesses at an progressing show pronounced that the whale had been working similar to an uncontrolled kid but Mr Tompkins discharged the reports and pronounced he was a "good animal".

SeaWorld has at the moment sealed the whale attractions but there were reportedly no plans to remove the animal from the show.

Tilikum was one of 3 orcas blamed for the drowning of a prior tutor in Canada in 1991. Eight years after a late night play ground antagonist was found passed in his pool.

Brancheau"s comparison sister, Diane Gross, pronounced the trainer, who was tied together with no children, would not wish anything to occur to the whale and the family regarded her genocide as a comfortless accident.

"Dawn desired the whales similar to her children, she desired all of them," her sister said. "They all had personalities, great days and bad days."