SeaWorld announces Blackfish killer whale has a possibly fatal disease

(Image credit: Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)

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.