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Tilly Near Death?
posted on March 25, 2016
The orca known as “Tilikum” was reported near death by Sea World a few weeks ago. His estimated young age is 35 when males can live up to 60 years in the wild. Lifeforce Founder predicted that he would kill others after the death of Keltie Byrne at the now defunct Sealand, Victoria, BC in 1991. Lifeforce made recommendations in response to the BC inquest and when Sealand announced plans to sell the orcas to Sea World Lifeforce advised Sea World owners to never put people into the pools with “Tilly”.
“He had a tragic life full of tragedies,” stated Peter Hamilton, Lifeforce Founder, “Humans caused his suffering and he caused human suffering. The harm and deaths will continue until the captivity of all cetaceans ends.”
In 1999, a 27-year-old man named Daniel P. Dukes trespassed into the pool and was found dead. In 2010 Tillikum killed Dawn Brancheau, a trainer at Sea World, Florida.
Physical and psychological abuse
As with other orcas and dolphins imprisoned in aquarium tanks there was a history of physical and psychological abuse. In this case, during evenings Tilikum and two females were lock up in a steel pen.
Lifeforce Activist’s Rare Footage in Blackfish Movie
“Tilly’ was in the documentary “Blackfish”. It helped exposed the aquarium industry.
After the death of the whale trainer in the early 90s, activist Peter Hamilton obtained photographic evidence of the abuse of three orcas at Sealand of the Pacific, Victoria. During a covert operation Lifeforce obtained footage of the secret “holding module”. This “prison” was only approximately 25’ x 30’ x 12’. The orcas were locked up every night. They suffered physically and psychologically. Captivity causes abnormal aggressive behaviours.
The footage is in the Lifeforce video “Tillikum: A Time for Change” (Note: through his life his name was spelt in various ways.) http://lifeforcefoundation.org/ecotv_play.php?id=54
Lifeforce Orca Protectors Continues Ocean Friends. Continuing To Speak For Them!
Everyone can take action to try to save the endangered orcas. We must immediately implement fishing moratoriums, enact strong legislation/enforcement of marine mammal protection laws, stop the commercial/private boats from interrupting orca lifestyles, halt pollution such as the dumping of raw sewage off Victoria, and end military weapon tests where orcas reside.
In the US there has been increased legal protection to protect orcas from boat harassment and to restore salmon populations. Canada falls behind as they have failed to finalize a 2014 draft action plan to stop the decline of orca populations. The Federal Government has also failed to release new Marine Mammal Regulations.
We must also boycott cetacean captivity now because the lucrative aquarium/zoo industry always depend on wild captures and can deplete populations under the guise of “conservation”.
Belugas and others still suffer from captivity. The Vancouver Aquarium send wild caught belugas to Sea Worlds and they supported the US Georgia Aquarium permit request to import 18 wild caught belugas from Russia.
http://www.straight.com/news/700456/vancouver-aquarium-beluga-whales-used-cross-continent-breeding.
Help Lifeforce Fight for Captive and Endangered Orcas and more!
In the 80s Lifeforce started campaigning against the never-ending Vancouver Aquarium expansions. We succeeded in getting their plans downsized and that meant fewer captives.
Over 20 years ago we were the first to take actions to get the Pacific Northwest orcas designated as endangered. Whale researchers and other organizations needed a push. When I asked one researcher why wasn’t anything being done to protect them I was told that it’s (the low number of orcas) always been that way. A present fundraising campaign by a BC organization claims any population must not go below “30”. The fact is that the Southern Resident Community has already reached the point of probable extinction at only 84.One of the main causes was that the aquarium captures took a whole generation of young orcas and that created an abnormal age/sex ratio.
Lifeforce was the first to be on the Salish Sea off Vancouver to educate boaters. Our volunteer work led to fines against companies and private boaters harassing orcas. We helped get increased government orca patrols in US waters. We developed methods to keep orcas away from oil spills. Our decade long wildlife rescue work helped many seals and seal pups. We made countless comments on government reports. Our list of accomplishments is very long and it continues.
Times have changed but beware of those organizations that claim to have been protecting orcas but not opposing the captivity of cetaceans at the Vancouver Aquarium. Check out those organizations that report the accomplishments of others and not themselves! Please help Lifeforce volunteers who continue the fight for captive and endangered orcas and others.
Together We Can Make A Difference!Hopefully you will join and/or donate.
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