SeaWorld announces Blackfish killer whale has a possibly fatal disease
SeaWorld announced Wednesday that Tilikum, the infamous killer whale who killed three people including a Sea World trainer, has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal respiratory disease. SeaWorld staff says Tilikum, who was also heavily featured in the documentary Blackfish, has become increasingly lethargic and the bacteria in his lungs appears to be resistant to treatment.
"I wish I could say I was tremendously optimistic about Tilikum and his future," Tilikum's veterinarian, Scott Gearhart, said of the 35-year-old orca, "but he has a disease which is chronic and progressive, and at some point might cause death." Gearhart added that he believes Tilikum's care at SeaWorld has helped him to live longer, saying "there's no doubt in my mind he'd have been gone a long time ago" if he was still out in the wild.
Tilikum, who has been with SeaWorld since 1992, has been at the center of the park's controversy over the negative effects of holding the giant marine animals in captivity.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Ottawa climate talks: can global plastic problem be solved?
In the spotlight Nations aim to draft world's first treaty on plastic pollution, but resistance from oil- and gas-producing countries could limit scope
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Netherlands split on WFH for sex workers
Speed Read Councils concerned over 'nuisance' of at-home sex work, but others say changes will curb underground sex trade
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'He adored Trump, and then rejected him'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published