Tonight at 9 p.m. ET, CNN will air the documentary "Blackfish." The film tells the story of Tilikum a 12,000 pound male orca living in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando. The film chronicles Tilikum's life from the moment he was captured in 1983 up to 2011 when he began once again to perform in shows at SeaWorld. "Blackfish" centers on one particular event in Tilikum's life, the fatal mauling of SeaWorld Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau. Tilikum pulled Brancheau into his pool, repeatedly bit and rammed her until she died from a combination of internal trauma and drowning.
Dawn Brancheau's was the third death associated with Tilikum. "Blackfish" looks to uncover why Tilikum would, as the film's director Gabriela Cowperthwaite put it, "bite the hand that feeds him." What Cowperthwaite uncovered was that Tilikum's killing of Dawn Brancheau was not a singular event by an overly aggressive orca. "Blackfish" explores the dynamic that the small enclosures and the substandard stimulation tactics of captivity leads to psychosis on the part of the whale. Eventually the frustration that captivity brings on will manifest itself in aggressive ways. "Blackfish" uncovered the fact that Tilikum is not the only captive orca to attack, injure and kill a trainer.
"Blackfish" goes to great lengths to point out that there is no record of an orca attacking or killing a human being in the wild. With expert analysis and testimony from former trainers at SeaWorld, "Blackfish" uncovers what has been called "the dark side of whales in captivity." While the incident involving Dawn Brancheau is the jumping off point for the film, "Blackfish" shows footage of other captive killer whale attacks and testimony from witnesses. One attack took place in Spain two months before Brancheau was killed.
Alexis Martinez worked at Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife Island, Spain. On December 24, 2009 Martinez was doing a training session with a killer whale named Keto. The Orca was on loan to Loro Parque from SeaWorld. Trainers in the film "Blackfish" describe Martinez as being a talented trainer and the only one from Loro Parque that could hold his own in a SeaWorld park. On Christmas Eve 2009, while working with Keto, Martinez was attacked and killed by the whale. Underwater cameras captured the attack but you will not see it in "Blackfish."
Loro Parque put out a statement two days after Martinez's death saying that Martinez's "body did not present signs of violence, nor hitting or biting, being the lack of oxygen which appears to be the cause of death, ruling out an attack." The medical examiner's report refutes the statement made by Loro Parque. The M.E's report listed the numerous injuries inflicted on Martinez by Keto. The injuries included "bruised lungs with rips in the pleura and liver with a wide tear."
The medical examiner's report also listed bite marks that are consistent with the jaws of a killer whale. "The rounded marks of the external exam are compatible with the teeth marks of an orca." When SeaWorld was brought to court by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over the death of Dawn Brancheau and the issue of trainer safety, the circumstances surrounding Alexis Martinez's death was discussed. Tim Zimmerman, author of "The Killer in the Pool" attended the OSHA hearing on Nov. 15, 2011, during which the Alexis Martinez incident was examined.
Zimmerman said that the curator of animal-training at the Orlando park, Kelly Flaherty was critical of the way the trainers, including a SeaWorld trainer working at Loro Parque handled the incident involving Keto and Martinez. Flaherty was also critical of the trainers working at the park and their experience levels training killer whales. When Alexis Martinez was killed SeaWorld made the decision to pull all trainers from water work with the whales. After SeaWorld reviewed the circumstances surrounding Martinez's death they decided to allow trainers back into the water, having placed blame on Loro Parque and its employees.
In his description of the hearing Zimmerman wrote: "Today, SeaWorld Florida animal-training curator Kelly Flaherty-Clark also discussed the death of Alexis Martinez. She discussed the corporate incident report and talked about reviewing the video of Alexis's death, captured by an underwater camera. She was critical of how Brian Rokeach handled the moments leading up to Alexis' death, saying: "He made decisions spotting the session that I would not have made, that my team here [at SeaWorld Florida] would not have made." Flaherty-Clark also was critical of the general level of experience of the trainers at Loro Parque, saying "I understood that the level of experience of trainers at that park did not mirror the level at my park."
Two months to the day after Alexis Martinez was killed Dawn Brancheau was killed by Tilikum. On February 24, 2010 while finishing up a Dine with Shamu show, Brancheau was laying on a shallow platform with Tilikum in the water next to her. Witnesses were watching the seemingly innocent encounter between orca and trainer when suddenly Tilikum grabbed Brancheau by the arm, pulling her into his tank and sealing her fate. A park guest captured footage of Brancheau working with Tilikum but shut his camera off seconds before the whale grabbed her.
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite wrote an editorial for CNN explaining why she choose to make "Blackfish" and what she hopes the future of places like SeaWorld will look like. In her piece Cowperthwaite writes that the official explanation given by SeaWorld about Tilikum and Brancheau did not feel right. Cowperthwaite decided she was going to figure out "why would America's loveable Shamu turn against us? How could our entire collective childhood memories of this delightful waterpark be so morbidly wrong?"
"I came in with these questions. I set out to understand this incident, not as an animal activist -- because I'm not one -- but as a mother who had just taken her kids to SeaWorld, and of course as a documentary filmmaker who unfortunately can't let sleeping dogs lie," Cowperthwaite wrote. "I knew immediately that I wanted SeaWorld to have a voice in the film. We emailed back and forth for about six months. I gave them every chance to talk, but they eventually declined." Cowperthwaite wrote that as she dug deeper into the captive marine mammal issue she was increasingly surprised by what she learned.
Cowperthwaite wrote the after finishing "Blackfish": "I can say that my crew and I are all profoundly changed by this experience. I know that killer whales are not suitable for captivity. I am dedicated to spreading the word. The early deaths, the grieving, the boredom, the daily fighting, and the attacks -- what we learned over two years is impossible to shake. Once you see it, you can't unsee it." "Blackfish" will air tonight on CNN.
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