How is Tilikum doing? Anyone know?

[Dolphina]

with respect to my friend i will keep their name confidental. He is a worker in SWF as an A/C specialist in the Orca stadium.

"Tillikum is doing very well, they are deciding if this week they should begin putting him in shows, he has been with Taima and Malia on and off. But the trainers are working on different ways to handle him. They still give him love, he still gets toys and of course proper feedings, however they changed the reward system a bit along with behavior modification. Tilly was observed for 3 days after the incident and the trainers have gone through a weeks worth of logs to see if anything was awkward leading up to the indicent. So in short he's okay, eating well and acting like his lazy self again."

Im always worred about the big guy, My friend called me 15 minutes after it happened. Dawn was a real sweetheart she loved what she did and her parents respected her choices. They all knew this could be a dangerous outcome of the job but supported her no matter what.

Thank you so much for letting us know! I'm glad Tilly is fine!

 

[Pooh93]

Thanks for letting us know. I have not posted about this tragedy, but have been reading everyone's compassionate thoughts.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved humans and orcas alike. None of this can be easy for any of them.

 

[FloraFauna]

Thank you so much for the update. I've been checking this thread daily. This whole situation has been so sad and its been on my mind.

 

[BamaTigger]

THATS AWESOME!!! im so happy that TILI is doing ok!!! I know he didnt mean to harm Dawn and just knowing how much she loved the orcas will keep the her spirit at SW!

Thank you so much for letting us know! If you or anyone else hears anything else please keep us updated! Phew...I feel so much better now!

 

[charming23]

Thanks so much for the update on Tili. I have been wondering about he is doing. Whales are intelligent creatures and he has to know something is not right. Glad to hear he is doing well.

 

[MellieluvsDisney]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

This is great news! Hopefully, things will get back to normal very soon for Sea World and Believe.

 

[inkkognito]

That's about what I would have expected them to do. I feel sorry for Tilly and imagine he will mourn for Dawn but it sounds like the other trainers are doing what they can for him. I hope he gets back into the shows soon. I know some people think that's exploitive but I suspect he enjoys the exercise and interaction.

Hopefully the new procedures will keep everyone safe...it's so easy to get complacent around a large animal that you handle every day. I have a horse and often do stupid things around him, like walking behind him or messing with his tail. He is sweet as pie and would never willingly hurt a human, but he could get startled one day and lay me out with a kick. Same thing with the whales...animals must always be respected, and as humans we must remember that they can easily return to instinct if startled or confused.

 

[CinderALLIE]

Glad to get an update on Tilly. Have been worried about him since the accident. Like alot of people on here he's my fave Orca.

To TillikumTrainer, I love your tag...but super jealous!!

 

[SandrA9810]

I heard he might return to the shows pretty soon as well. The other whales are cute and all... but they just don't know how to soak people. Although they got a few unsuspecting people tonight.

Sorry I didn't get back to you all last night... got home pretty late.

I also noticed that none of the trainers seemed to be touching the whales during the show. They just looked so lonely up there waiting for attention and praise. Several times they had to repeat the hand signal before they would leave. The show just seemed so empty and meaningless. They're still doing the moment at the beginning for Dawn, which seemed to get a lot of praise. But I've also noticed that now there's 6-7 whales in the same tank for the show, the trainers don't stand in the stadium for the ending or meet with Guests after the ending. Besides the one guy that "passes on the whale tail", and he seemed to be gathering quite the crowd even with the very small amount of people.

 

[Tillikumtrainer]

Your all welcome Im glad i can help out with some info. f there is anything new I will let you know

Glad to get an update on Tilly. Have been worried about him since the accident. Like alot of people on here he's my fave Orca.

To TillikumTrainer, I love your tag...but super jealous!!

Lol thank you, He's my fave also. lol my hubby took that picture. I am glad so many people share concern for the big guy. I feel better now knowing that im not alone here

 

[joyah]

Tillikumtrainer thank you for caring about him. this probably sounds silly but the last time we made it down there was 2002 (job issues and fulltime school issues) well my youngest was just 22 months and he fell in love with Tilly to the point he thought he didn't need his ring in the pool and slipped himself out of it!!! needless to say he sunk and his dad grabbed him. We had to explain that when he was big like Tilly he could swim like him. and so he gladly put his ring back on. Well the short story is I was kind of hiding the whole incedent from my boys just for lack of how to explain it to them (my bad I know) well he snuck up on me when I was watching some of the you tube videos showing him stuck in that little pool and he was outraged that his "buddy" was stuck there all alone. Well the kiddo is 9 now and he just wouldn't accept a half explaination of why Tilly was alone. so I sat him down and told him that Tilly made a mistake and that Dawn had passed ( RIP Dawn) and they needed to make sure that everyone including Tilly was taken care of. Out of a 9 year olds mouth he spun around and looked at me and said "Mamma Tilly would never intentionally hurt his trainers, he's a good boy. I make mistakes you make mistakes". and I told him yes buddy we all make mistakes.
He was so glad to hear that Tilly would be back doing what he loved and soaking the crowd shortly.
So thank you for making my little boys day.

 

[Tillikumtrainer]

wow Im glad I could help make your son's day. if he has any questions reguarding Tilly i can help anwer them, that also goes to the entire thread

 

[SandrA9810]

tili is hanging out in the viewing pool... One of the people at the viewing pool said it could be summer time before they get in the water again. I guess i won't be going back over to the show for a while. It doesn't really have much meaning. Although it'd be nice to see tili perform again.

 

[joyah]

That's not what I wanted to hear. As is that little bity one?

I can't imagine him being left there all this time. Maybe it's for the time that shows are going on only Hoprfully.

 

[SandrA9810]

no this was just after the show ended. But they don't transfer the whales in and out of the show pool, like before.

If i'm not mistaken, that pool is like the second largest after the show pool.

 

[919Florida]

I just got back from Sea World today. This was my first time seeing the modified show and I have to say they did a great job today. While I miss the trainers in the water the routines they were doing today was very good.

Anyways, I have a question about Tilly. I have never heard of the whales referred to by their names before so I am trying to find out which one is Tilly. I went to the Underwater Viewing area today and took this picturehttp://twitpic.com/172d0k are either of these two Tilly? Thanks

 

[SandrA9810]

The one just hanging there is Tilikum. You can tell by the size of his fins, his tail is curled inward a bit, and his dorsel fin is completely over to one side. The other whale with him is one of the more dominant females in the whole pod.

I was probably there the same time as you.

 

[SandrA9810]

I stayed and watch shamu rocks. Which still seemed to have quite a bit of the energy in the show. But maybe cause I haven't seen it since last summer, it didn't seem so bad.

I had seen believe shortly before the modified show, so the way it's supposed to be performed was a bit more fresh in my head.

 

[joyah]

Something about that picture made me really sad. He looks so lonely and depressed. I'm wishing I'd never clicked on it.

 

[919Florida]

The one just hanging there is Tilikum. You can tell by the size of his fins, his tail is curled inward a bit, and his dorsel fin is completely over to one side. The other whale with him is one of the more dominant females in the whole pod.

Thanks for letting me know. THats what I thought but was not for sure.

Something about that picture made me really sad. He looks so lonely and depressed. I'm wishing I'd never clicked on it.

I know what you mean. I felt the same way when I was there and seen him like that.