Animals can be dangerous and unpredictable creatures.
That fact is probably the reason why people are so entertained when we domesticate animals and teach them tricks. But sometimes these tricks can go horribly wrong, the most recent one being the SeaWorld incident.
Instead of being shocked by the story, like a normal person would be, I thought of a list of other animal attacks that might jog your memories.
SeaWorld trainer drowned by killer whale
A killer whale named Tilikum killed a SeaWorld trainer Feb. 24 by pulling her underwater during a show. It was unclear whether Dawn Brancheau, 40, drowned or died from trauma.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered Tilikum has killed before. On Feb. 21, 1991, a trainer fell into Tilikum’s pool and he grabbed her leg, bringing her to the bottom of the pool and drowning her. As scary as that sounds, it’s not like the whale had any intention of drowning her – at least I hope not. It’s thought that the whales weren’t used to having humans in their pools and were just trying to play with her.
On July 6, 1999, the body of a 27-year-old man was found floating on the whale’s back. However, officials said there were no signs that Tilikum attacked the stranger. They thought the man had probably hid in the park and jumped into the pool after hours. He got hypothermia from the cold water and drowned.
The president of SeaWorld said Tilikum will not be punished or released into the wild.
Siegfried and Roy fiasco
On Oct. 3, 2003, Roy Horn, an illusionist at The Mirage in Las Vegas was bitten in the neck by a tiger he worked with. He suffered a stroke and partial paralysis from the blood loss and pressure in his swelling brain.
Siegfried and Roy claimed Roy had fallen during the act and the tiger was attempting to drag him to safety. Mother tigresses often drag their cubs by their necks – their fur and thick skin protect themselves from injury. If the tiger had any intention of harming Roy, he would have snapped his neck and shaken him.
The tiger was quarantined for 10 days and returned to The Mirage. Roy asked that the tiger remain unharmed.
Chimpanzee mauls woman’s face
A Connecticut woman’s pet chimpanzee attacked a visiting friend on Feb. 16, 2009. The chimp, named Travis, had reportedly been given Xanax because he had been acting agitated.
Travis attacked and tore the face of Charla Nash, 55, leaving her with severe wounds and in critical condition. Authorities said they don’t know what caused the attack, but thought because Nash had recently changed her hairstyle Travis may have thought she was an intruder.
Sandra Herold, Travis’ owner, reportedly stabbed Travis several times, in an attempt to stop his attacks but it did not help. Police ended up shooting and killing the chimpanzee.
Jaguar kills zookeeper
Denver zookeeper Ashlee Pfaff died from a broken neck after a jaguar attacked her in February of 2007.
Zoo officials said Pfaff was the only person in the building at the time of the attack and they had no idea why she was in jaguar’s enclosure, as that was against zoo policy. Officials also said Pfaff had undergone extensive training for the jaguar exhibit and was an experienced worker.
The jaguar was shot and killed by a zoo employee when he approached emergency workers who were trying to save Pfaff.
Annabelle Vang is a junior journalism major from Pekin. She is the Scout news editor.
Annabelle is afraid of dolphins.
Direct questions, comments and other responses to avang@mail.bradley.edu.