It's been nearly two months since Tilikum, Sea World's captive orca, pulled his trainer, Dawn Brancheau into the water, resulting in her death by drowning.
The incident spawned thousands of news stories worldwide, raising controversy over keeping an orca in captivity. But interest fell as suddenly as it peaked after Sea World told the press that Brancheau made a mistake, and was thus responsible for her own death.
"I have been listening to a lot of discussion regarding the death of this young lady with the whale," said Winston Nurse, a remodeling contractor in Colorado. "It seems the whale was just playing with her hair."
Like Nurse, most people were satisfied that the horrific death of Brancheau was easily explained away.
But is Sea World's story believable, or just skilled public relations? How realistic is anything that Sea World told the public?
And whatever happened to Tilikum?
Brancheau was one of Sea World's "most experienced trainers," and had worked with Tilikum for years, Dan Brown, president of Sea World Orlando, told CTV, a Canadian news agency, after her death.
Yet, according to Sea World officials, this highly experienced trainer made a stupid mistake, allowing her ponytail to dangle over Tilikum's pool.
She was "a fabulous trainer," said former Sea World trainer Jeff Ventre on The Early Show Saturday Edition on Feb. 27. "You never expect something like this to happen."
Maybe it didn't.
Eyewitnesses reported that Tilikum grabbed Brancheau by her waist, not by her ponytail.
Whale biologist Toni Frohoff doesn't accept the story about the ponytail.
"It's generally acknowledged in science that orcas are not that stupid," she said. "That's an insult to his intelligence unless there's an association between her ponytail and some traumatic event the ponytail resembled that brought back the PTSD."
An expert in whale behavior and communication, Frohoff points out that not only was Tilikum not trying to play with Brancheau's hair when he pulled her in, he was trying to communicate an urgent message to his captors.
"Neither Dawn nor Tilikum were responsible relative to the people who forced Tilikum to continue the same miserable existence even after he had clearly communicated his distress repeatedly," she said. "It was clear Tilikum was communicating. People tend not to listen to other animals when profits are involved. In such cases it is tempting for animal behavior to either be ignored or misrepresented. The goal of profit reigns supreme."
"That whale is worth his weight in gold," said Leah Lemieux, a Canadian dolphin advocate. "He's sired 11 babies that have survived, each worth millions of dollars. They're not going to put the whale down or set it free. A trainer is expendable. You can bet there are ten girls waiting to fill that spot despite what happened."
"He's worth millions, and he represents the future of the breeding program for Sea World," said Ventre on The Early Show.
But orcas have needs too, and they are not the same as the needs of Sea World.
Orca intelligence rivals that of apes and humans, said Frohoff. Their brains are highly developed, more so than those of humans in some ways. Biologically, "orcas are capable of as much emotion around pain and suffering as we are," she said.
Like humans, they're also subject to post-traumatic stress disorder.
"PTSD has been diagnosed in people, elephants, and other species that have been documented to exhibit aberrant, sometimes violent behavior that may not even be related to the situation that's occurring. The nervous system and neurobiology of all animals, including people with PTSD operates differently. For example, elephants who have witnessed the slaughter of their families are known to exhibit abnormally high and unusually violent behavior, some of which has never been documented in the wild. The same thing is happening in captivity with some of these orcas."
"Tilikum is very unpredictable. He can't be trusted," said Naomi Rose, senior scientist with Humane Society International.
"These animals are always stressed at some level and are unpredictable and any one of us can do something that sets them off without knowing it," said Marc Bekoff, an internationally respected biologist and expert in animal emotions.
Bekoff was interviewed for a segment on CBS' The Early Show after the tragedy, but the interview didn't air.
"CBS has scrapped the Tilly segment but won't say why," he said. "I don't think we should have them (whales) on display in captivity."
"I think Tilikum's killing is a manifestation of extreme stress and trauma endured through capture and captivity," said Frohoff.
Brancheau's was the third human death Tilikum was involved in. But although news reporters tagged Tilikum a "serial killer whale," orcas in the wild are not violent. "Orcas live together in complex sophisticated societies," said Frohoff. "They are remarkably peaceful with each other." They are gentle with humans they meet in the wild as well. "Look at the extraordinary grace and gentleness they extended to humans while socializing with the public in the wild," she said. "If anything, many orcas who have been slaughtered or captured and held captive have demonstrated remarkable restraint towards humans, especially considering their vastly superior strength." "I don't think you can blame the whale's reaction on a pony tail," said Lemieux. "That's 30 years of captivity, that's what that was."
"Tilikum would do better if allowed to live in an ocean pen in his natural environment," said Rose. "He can barely turn around in his enclosure. I wish people could see how wrong that is."
It would also be safer for his trainers, who could approach him in a boat and would not be in danger of being pulled into the water, she said.
"I think there should be an orca sanctuary developed asap," said Frohoff. "Then it can be determined whether Tilikum and other orcas can be safely returned to the wild.
"They deserve better. They're suffering. Even with veterinary care and provisioning of food, their mortality is unacceptably and statistically high in captivity. That shows they're suffering.
"There are sanctuaries for practically every type of animal. We need sanctuaries for marine animals. Why do we not have sanctuaries for them? This situation illustrates the need for that."
But Sea World has decided not to release Tilikum.
"He will stay in Orlando," said Dave Koontz, director of communications for Sea World.
"He's not releasable for a couple of reasons," Ventre said on The Early Show. "Number one, he spends a lot of time surface-resting – a wild orca swims pretty much its entire life. Number two, he doesn't have any viable teeth left."
"Just because he doesn't have any teeth doesn't mean he can't eat fish. He doesn't need teeth," said Rose. "The person who made that comment doesn't understand how whales eat fish."
"We need to regain a sense of education from a perspective of humanity."
- Toni Frohoff
"These animals are always stressed at some level and are unpredictable and any one of us can do something that sets them off without knowing it."
- Marc Bekoff
"This is just insane and shows how little they care about Tilly."
- Marc Bekoff
Frohoff was not surprised that Tilikum spent most of his time surface resting instead of swimming.
"Of course he doesn't swim very much. What options does he have? That's one of the most ludicrous things I've ever heard," she said.
"He's their breeding stud," said Rose. "And if they do release him then they're admitting something's wrong and has been wrong all along. They're acting out of a commercial sense of protecting their corporate image."
Many argue that Sea World is providing an important service for the animals it holds captive. It provides an educational experience for humans, allowing them to interact with whales. Some say that without such an experience, humans wouldn't care about whales and would not act to protect the species.
"The humpback has never been in captivity but they're supported by conservationists," said Lemieux. "Animals in zoos are on the brink of extinction, but seeing them in captivity didn't galvanize the public to go out and save them."
Frohoff questions whether there is any educational goal being served by calling them "killer whales" and subjecting the public to a horrific incident like Brancheau's death by a tormented orca.
"We need to educate people about who orcas are as individuals," she said. "It's not just a matter of their collaborative intelligence and social sophistication. It's who they are, what their needs are. We need to regain a sense of education from a perspective of humanity rather than one that is arguable abuse.
"If anything, having orcas in captivity is giving orcas a bad name, when they're blamed instead. ‘Killer' whales, now ‘serial killer' whales. How is this educational? They're not killers. The public has been mis-educated, getting a literally mutilated perspective of what orcas are."
"We have 3D movies in IMAX," said Lemieux. "You can have a full size whale swimming over your head in an IMAX theater. No whales have to be removed from their environment to do that."
Although Sea World officials claim they are providing a primarily educational experience, their parent company, Anheuser Busch, lists Sea World only as "entertainment" on their website.
After Brancheau's death, Sea World officials decided to isolate Tilikum from the public and said they were going to do a review to determine how Sea World employees were going to interact with him in the future.
And then things got quiet.
"We're reviewing the incident and will make a determination. There is no deadline," said Koontz.
"This is just insane and shows how little they care about Tilly," said Bekoff.
An orca needs social interaction like people need food. They are a highly social species.
"You have to interact with him somewhat for him to stay sane. Isolation would drive him mad," said Rose. "He's going to do this again if they don't change."
When is a decision for Tilikum forthcoming? How long will he have to remain in isolation? How long before the review is completed? Will the public learn the outcome? Will he spend the rest of his life confined to a pool so small he can barely turn around, trying in vain to communicate with his captors? Is he still alive?
Koontz declined to answer any more questions. He said he couldn't answer them because they were "very specific questions." He promised sharkfriends.com that someone from Orlando better able to answer would call back. No one did. Follow up calls to Koontz were not returned.
"As I'm sure you can understand, we are handling an incredible amount of media inquiries at this time and cannot provide individual interviews for each one," Becca Bides, spokesperson for Sea World Orlando, told sharkfriends.com. The date of her email was March 16, at which time Tilikum was no longer a hot news item, and had not been for some time.
The captive marine mammal community is also silent.
"The marine mammal community has been asked to avoid commenting at this time. I need to do as they ask," said an employee of one of the other captive marine mammal facilities in Florida. The employee said a memo was sent to all employees and others affiliated with the organization requesting they remain silent.
"APHIS (USDA's Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Service) standards, as well as that in many other countries, clearly acknowledge the vital importance of keeping captive cetaceans in the company of others," said Frohoff. "Orcas are among the most social beings of all animals on the earth; to keep am orca in isolation not only exacerbates the otherwise harmful effects of captivity, but is unnecessarily cruel and archaically inhumane and barbaric. It is nothing less than torture." "They owe this whale," said Rose. "They owe their trainers to keep them safe. If he stays at Sea World, he'll have to be isolated. He won't last much longer. Orcas can't live isolated. "I think they're making the wrong decision. But public pressure can change their minds."
"When people stop buying tickets, it will change," said Lemieux.
In the meantime, the show goes on.