Tilikum, the SeaWorld killer whale protagonist of the documentary "Blackfish" which tells the life of marine animals in captivity, has a bacterial lung infection that could cause their death.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himTilikum, l'orca di SeaWorld protagonist of the documentary "Blackfish" which tells the life of marine animals in captivity, ha a bacterial lung infection which could cause their death.
We are saddened to announce that over the past few weeks, Tilikum's behavior has become increasingly lethargic and vets are seriously concerned about his health, the SeaWorld website reads.
For some time now, in fact, Tilikum has a chronic lung infection and there is no optimism about his future.
Our vets are trying to better manage the disease by trying to stem the suffering of the orca. As with so many other animals older than Tilikum - which is 35 years old - there is no shortage of significant health problems. We will continue to keep his fans updated on our site, officials explain.
Tilikum is not a born whale in captivity, but was captured in 1983 off the coast of Iceland when she was only a two-year-old pup. Before arriving at this water park she lived in Sealand in Canada. After her closure, since 1992 she has sadly become the protagonist of daily underwater shows.
In 2013 this mammal - that is the biggest who lives in a zoological park - he had shown in the documentary "Blackfish" of the CCN a disturbing portrait of killer whales reared in captivity.
They were certainly not lacking the controversy and the dry replies from SeaWorld which called the film "false, misleading and in favor of emotionally manipulative propaganda".
In reality, immediately after, the denunciation of the documentary and the support of the environmental activists, the California Coastal Commission had approved a financing plan to ensure that the tanks of the killer whales were larger, also placing the clause that in the park they could not be bred more than 11 mammals of this species.
SeaWorld recently announced that it could scrap the expansion plan and end marine shows forever by creating a "Most natural park" for animals.
In our opinion, the only "most natural park" would be the ocean, which is the habitat in which the orca should swim. Surely being in a tub did not help Tilikum to live peacefully, generating in him an always repetitive behavior. And shows like this that we see in the video they shouldn't exist.
However, this stress did not only damage the animal, in 2010 the killer whale killed the trainer Alba Brancheau and two other accidents occurred in 1991 and 1999.
The painful story of Tilikum should make us think: enough with tricks, stunts and shows, we leave the free animals trying not to repress their true disposition.
Dominella Trunfio
Photo: Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP
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