The Killer Whale that Killed
In February 1991, the captive bull orca, Tilikum, drowned his trainer, Keltie Byrne at Sealand in BC, Canada. It was the first recorded killing of a human by an orca whale.
On February the 20th 1991, the captive bull orca, Tilikum, drowned his trainer, Keltie Byrne at Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia, Canada. It was the first recorded killing of a human by an orca whale. 19 years later - almost to the day - Tilikum killed another trainer, Dawn Brancheau. Rebecca Kesby has been speaking to Corinne Cowell, an eye witness to the first killing, and biologist Eric Walters, the whale trainer who warned the authorities 2 years before that keeping orcas in captivity could be fatal.
(PHOTO: SeaWorld orca Tilikum performs at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida, in 2009. REUTERS)
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Broadcasts
- Tue 7 Feb 2017 08:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet
- Tue 7 Feb 2017 13:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Americas and the Caribbean
Featured in...
![]()
Witness Archive 2017—Witness History
History as told by the people who were there. All the programmes from 2017.
![]()
Animals who made history—Witness History
Listen to and download our programmes
Podcast
-
![]()
Witness History
History as told by the people who were there
