Tilikum (orca)
Captive male orca (1981–2017)
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Key Takeaways
- December 1981 – January 6, 2017), nicknamed Tilly , was a captive male orca who spent most of his life at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida.
- He was subsequently transferred in 1992 to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, where he sired 21 calves throughout his life.
- Of the four fatal attacks by orcas in captivity, Tilikum was involved in three: Keltie Byrne, a trainer at the now-defunct Sealand of the Pacific; Daniel P.
- Description Tilikum was the largest orca in captivity.
- His pectoral fins were 7 feet (2.
Tilikum (c. December 1981 – January 6, 2017), nicknamed Tilly, was a captive male orca who spent most of his life at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. He was captured in Iceland in 1983; about a year later, he was transferred to Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He was subsequently transferred in 1992 to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, where he sired 21 calves throughout his life.
Tilikum was heavily featured in CNN Films' 2013 documentary Blackfish, which claims that orcas in captivity suffer psychological damage and become unnaturally aggressive. Of the four fatal attacks by orcas in captivity, Tilikum was involved in three: Keltie Byrne, a trainer at the now-defunct Sealand of the Pacific; Daniel P. Dukes, a man trespassing in SeaWorld Orlando; and SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau.
Description
Tilikum was the largest orca in captivity. He measured 22.5 feet (6.9 m) in length and weighed about 12,500 pounds (5,700 kg). His pectoral fins were 7 feet (2.1 m) long, his fluke curled under, and his 6.5-foot-tall (2.0 m) dorsal fin was collapsed completely to his left side.
His name, in the Chinook Jargon of the Pacific Northwest, means "friends, relations, tribe, nation, common people".
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