When orcas attack

San Diego

A 17-foot-long, 5,000-pound killer whale pinned a trainer to the bottom of a 36-foot-deep tank during a performance at San Diego’s SeaWorld Adventure Park last week. Ken Peters suffered a broken foot in the attack by Kasatka, a 30-year-old female orca, or killer whale. Peters was to ride Kasatka to the surface and then dive off her nose. Instead, the whale grabbed Peters’ foot in her mouth and twice dragged him under the water before he coaxed her to release him. Killer whales, said whale researcher Ken Balcomb, can be dangerous in captivity, because “they’re big, and sometimes they’re not happy with their situation.” The day after the attack, Kasatka was back performing for SeaWorld visitors, though without a trainer on his back.

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